Corporate & Securities Blog

On September 17, 2026, the SEC issued a five-year exemptive order—the “Innovation Exemption”—which allows certain trading platforms called tokenized securities venues (“TSVs”) that use blockchain technology to trade tokenized versions of exchange-listed, national market system (“NMS”) stocks. The exemptive relief took effect immediately, and for public companies, the principal takeaway is that an unaffiliated third party can tokenize a company’s stock without its involvement, leaving the issuer only 30 days to object.

On December 6, 2026, Nasdaq and several other U.S. national securities exchanges will add an overnight trading session from 9:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. ET, Sunday through Thursday, to existing trading hours of 4:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET—extending the trading day to an almost-continuous 23 hours, 5 days a week. A one-hour trading pause will remain each weeknight from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. ET to complete system maintenance and clear trades. The SEC has conditionally approved “23/5” trading for the following exchanges: Nasdaq, NYSE Arca, 24X, Cboe EDGX, and MEMX, subject to the consolidated market data processors (SIPs) being ready to support overnight quotes and trades.

On August 14, 2026, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance (the “Division”) announced it will no longer respond to any no-action requests from companies seeking to exclude shareholder proposals from their proxy materials under Exchange Act Rule 14a-8. The announcement follows the Division’s November 2025 decision to temporarily suspend most no-action requests for the 2025 – 2026 proxy season. What was an initial scale-back has now become a permanent change, effective immediately and until further notice.

On May 4, 2026, the SEC took the first step toward undoing its dormant 2024 climate-related disclosure rules, submitting a proposed recission to the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for review.

After months of speculation, the SEC on May 5, 2026 announced a rule proposal that would give public companies the option of reporting earnings results every six months instead of every three—eschewing a decades-long requirement under federal securities laws.

On November 17, 2025, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance issued a statement regarding no action letter requests related to Rule 14a-8 shareholder proposals.

On October 26, 2025, the Chief Revenue Officer of Snowflake Inc. appeared to overstep the bounds of Regulation Fair Disclosure (“Reg FD”) when he made statements regarding Snowflake’s future financial results during an impromptu interview posted by a social media influencer (@theschoolofhardknockz). The Chief Revenue Officer’s statements indicated Snowflake would exit the fiscal year with “probably just over $4.5 billion”, which was approximately $100 million more in additional revenue compared to the company’s guidance released in August.

Reg FD is ...

October 1, 2025 marks the beginning of the 2026 federal fiscal year. However, if Congress does not enact the requisite appropriations bills or a temporary funding measure known as a continuing resolution, the federal government’s spending power will dry up and operations will largely grind to a halt.

On June 10, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the dismissal of a securities class action after finding the plaintiff sufficiently alleged a real estate investment fund and its managing executive misled investors by exaggerating potential investment returns and failing to disclose a SEC staff comment letter that instructed the fund to remove the overstated projections from its offering materials. Notably, the court viewed the fund’s decision to comply with the SEC’s directive and remove exaggerated projections as evidence that the fund and its manager knew the projections were false. The court’s decision in Pino v. Cardone Capital, LLC provides cautionary guidance regarding the legal significance of SEC comments—namely, that a company’s failure to dispute a comment letter could be construed as an implicit admission of falsity, potentially exposing it to liability under Section 12(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Act”).

The settlement in House v. NCAA (“House Settlement”) was formally approved by Judge Claudia Wilken on June 6, 2025. The House Settlement is poised to bring significant changes to the landscape of college athletics, with schools now permitted to make direct payments to student-athletes. This shift introduces a range of legal and operational challenges that increasingly mirror the compensation structures of professional sports. Navigating this new environment will require legal and financial expertise traditionally found in the professional sports world. Issues related to contract structuring and enforceability, salary caps, and endorsement deal oversight will become central to how athletic programs operate and make strategic decisions. These concepts extend beyond compliance and will play an integral role in roster building, financial planning, and long-term program sustainability and success.