There is no doubt that ESG both as a concept and as a social, political, and litigation phenomenon has changed over time. Due to political backlash and changing investor priorities, ESG and ESG-related issues recently have featured less prominently in general economic and business dialog than even just a short time ago. An interesting and thought-provoking May 2, 2024, article (here) from the Rock Center for Corporate Governance asks the question whether the circumstances surrounding ESG are changing because ESG “is a luxury good”? (Hat Tip to Cydney Posner’s May 13, 2024, post on the Cooley law firm PubCo blog, here). The article raises some interesting questions and reflects interesting data and observations.Continue Reading Is ESG a “Luxury Good”?

In the current difficult business environment, many businesses face a broad array of daunting business challenges, including economic inflation, rising interest rates, supply chain and labor supply disruptions, the continuing threat of COVID-19 shutdowns, and the war in Ukraine. These various circumstances not only represent potential operational hurdles they may also involve increased litigation risk as well – as I have noted on previous posts (for example, here) these various business challenges can translate into litigation, as well. In the latest example of this phenomenon, earlier this week a plaintiff shareholder launched a securities class action lawsuit against the healthcare apparel firm FIGS, Inc. relating to the increased supply chain costs the company experienced since its June 2021 IPO. A copy of the November 1, 2022 complaint against the company can be found here.
Continue Reading Apparel Company Hit with Supply Chain-Related Securities Lawsuit

I hope many readers saw and read my recent post “What to Watch in the World of D&O.”  A few days ago I recorded a podcast as part of the Rising Edge Ltd’s podcast series in which I discuss several of the themes raised in the “What to Watch” post. In the podcast recording, I