Shearman & Sterling LLP Introduction | 3
Introduction
What is surprising, however, is the unprecedented level of scrutiny on corporate governance issues that the
federal government has recently shown. Shortly before publication of this year's Survey, the Dodd-Frank Wall
Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Reform Act" ) was signed into law by President Obama.
This long-anticipated legislation supersedes Senator Dodd's bill, introduced in November 2009 and passed
by the Senate in March 2010 and entitled the "Restoring American Financial Stability Act," Representative
Frank's bill, introduced in the House of Representatives and passed in December 2009 and entitled "The Wall
Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009," as well as the broad governance directives contained in
Senator Schumer's earlier "Shareholder Bill of Rights Act." The Reform Act focuses primarily on the financial
industry but includes provisions relating to corporate governance that represent an extraordinary foray by the
federal government into the corporate governance arena.
When added to an ever-changing regulatory framework, the pressures brought to bear on corporate governance
practices and policies by shareholders and legislative action have caused and continue to cause significant
evolution in the corporate governance landscape. This year's Survey provides the most current summary of
where we are in that evolution.
