Shareholder Activism: New Podcast Series Explores a Growing Trend

1 minute read | August.26.2024

A new podcast series will focus on shareholder activism, a topic of increasing importance to public companies and boards of directors.

J.T. Ho, head of Orrick’s Public Company Advisory practice, co-hosts “Understanding Activism with John and J.T.” Ho co-hosts with John Jenkins, managing editor of TheCorporateCounsel.net and DealLawyers.com.

The inaugural podcast zeroes in on activist challenges to advance notice bylaws. It also:

Focuses on the implications of the Delaware Supreme Court’s decision in Kellner v. AIM Immunotech. The case involved an activist challenge to the validity of amendments to a company’s advance notice bylaws during a proxy contest.
Shares suggestions for companies to consider in response to recent bylaw challenges.
Covers the impact of new Delaware law updates on cooperation agreements with activist investors.

Listen to the podcast

Related Lawyers

J. T. Ho Partner, Head of Orrick’s Public Company Advisory practice, Corporate Governance, Capital Markets

San Francisco

See my bio

D:+1 415 773 5624
E: [email protected]

Practice:

Corporate Governance
Capital Markets
Compensation & Benefits
Environmental, Social & Corporate Governance (ESG)
Responsible Business

vCard

See full bio

J. T. Ho Partner, Head of Orrick’s Public Company Advisory practice

San Francisco

Corporate Governance. J.T. counsels companies on Board and committee oversight, assessment, independence and composition issues. He also helps companies to develop effective shareholder engagement programs and governance-related disclosures, and understand and consider the views of proxy advisors, shareholders, and other stakeholders in their decision making.

Securities Reporting. On the securities front, he focuses on advising clients in connection with securities offerings, proxy statements, periodic SEC reports, stock exchange listing obligations, stock repurchases and the sale and reporting of securities by insiders. He regularly counsels companies on difficult and emerging disclosure issues and provides training on disclosure best practices.

Shareholder Activism. J.T. has helped many companies successfully navigate shareholder proposals and activism campaigns through leveraging his knowledge of shareholder perspectives and securities laws. He also helped many companies identify and address potential activist threats through adopting reasonable defenses, collaborating on effective shareholding engagement and communication strategies and addressing risk oversight issues.

Executive Compensation and Succession Planning. J.T. advises on compensation committee matters and related disclosures, executive transitions, and succession planning. He also advises on the design of cash and equity incentive plans, and has helped over a dozen companies remediate failed or low "say on pay" votes.

Sustainability. J.T. helps companies identify and understand the risks and opportunities associated with sustainability initiatives and disclosures and incorporate sustainability into their overall business strategy and executive incentive plans. More recently, he has helped companies navigate ESG-focused proposals and activism issues and the growing anti-ESG movement.

J.T. serves on the advisory board of The Corporate Counsel and hosts “J.T. Ho's Fast Five,” a monthly podcast on The Corporate Counsel where J.T. covers the five new things public companies ought to know each month. J. T. also hosts "Understanding Activism," a podcast on Deal Lawyers and Corporate Counsel that focuses on different perspectives on shareholder activism.

He has presented at notable conferences sponsored by The Corporate Counsel, the Securities Regulation Institute, The Rock Center for Corporate Governance, the Society for Corporate Governance, the ABA, the Practical Law Institute, Compensation Standards, Practical ESG, National Investor Relations Institute and NASPP. He is recognized as a Next Generation Partner by Legal 500, as one of the Ones to Watch® Best Lawyers in America, and was named a Rising Star by Super Lawyers in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.