TheCorporateCounsel.net

January 30, 2008

How to Attend Today’s “Rule 144” Conference

Many of you have registered for the big webconference – “New Rule 144: Everything You Need to Know – And Do NOW” – which will be video webcast today starting at noon eastern (video archive will be available starting tomorrow).

Remember you need to register to attend; members of TheCorporateCounsel.net get a discount – but the Conference is not automatically part of the site’s membership. It’s not too late to register, even if the Conference has started since everything will be archived.

Here are instructions on how to attend the Conference:

1. Ensure you have the proper “Player”: To watch the Conference, you will need either the Windows Media Player or the Flash Player (which works for a Mac); RealPlayer will not work for this Conference. You can download a free player if you need to.

2. Determine whether CLE credit is available in your state: This Conference is accredited for CLE in 15 states – here is the list of CLE states. CLE credit will not be available for states that are not on this list.

3. If you seek CLE credit, you will need to input your contact information in our “Online CLE Tracker”: To comply with certain state bar requirements, we have built a system whereby those in states where this webcast is accredited and want to earn CLE will need to click through a series of periodic prompts (i.e. about every 15-20 minutes) to prove they sat through the webcast. When you go to the webconference, you will see a link in a red box to go to the “Online CLE Tracker.”

4. Print out the Course Materials: You should print off these “Course Materials,” including this printable set of model documents.

5. Attend today starting at noon eastern: If you intend to attend live today, the Conference starts at 12:00 noon eastern time. Here is the Conference Agenda, which has the schedule of panels (remember that all panels will be archived and you can watch them afterwards).

To attend, go to the home page of TheCorporateCounsel.net and – and click on the large link at the top with the Conference title and input your ID and password when prompted. If you have questions, please email our HQ at info@thecorporatecounsel.net.

Part II: “The Latest Developments: Your Upcoming Proxy Disclosures —What You Need to Do Now!

Last week, you heard primarily from Corp Fin’s Michael Reedich about the Staff’s expectations for this proxy season (audio archive available now). Catch Part II of this CompensationStandards.com webconference tomorrow and hear from the experts – Dave Lynn, Mark Borges, Alan Dye and Ron Mueller – about how to meet the Staff’s expectations in “The Latest Developments: Your Upcoming Proxy Disclosures—What You Need to Do Now!

Over 50 Executive Compensation Comment Letters: Our Updated List

In the “SEC Comments” Practice Area on CompensationStandards.com, we continue to update our list of links to the SEC’s executive compensation comment letters and responses.

We have now posted 50 comment letters and responses (some companies have more than one letter and response available). During last week’s CompensationStandards.com webcast, Staffer Mike Reedich noted that about 70% of the 350 companies that received comment letters had received a second comment letter – so my guess is that the number of letters being posted to the SEC’s site will continue to trickle rather than flood.

By the way, these letters and responses were the inspiration for an article in yesterday’s WSJ entitled “SEC Unhappy With Answers on Executive Pay.” It still strikes me as odd whenever the mainstream media writes a piece about the SEC comment process…

House’s Severance Hearing Postponed

Perhaps because Countrywide CEO Anthony Mozilo agreed to forego the $37.5 million in cash severance and other benefits that he stood to receive if the company’s acquisition by Bank of America is completed, the hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on severance packages – originally scheduled for next week – has been postponed until Thursday, February 28th.

– Broc Romanek