2026 Director's Agenda Podcast
In our latest episode, we discuss the rising expectations for corporate oversight and what that means for directors and officers in an increasingly complex regulatory and litigation environment. Corporate directors today face scrutiny from regulators, plaintiffs' firms, proxy advisors, investors and shareholder activists. That scrutiny is translating into increased litigation risk, regulatory interventions and targeted campaigns—and, increasingly, personal exposure for directors and officers. We're seeing expanded theories of individual liability tied to compliance failures, cyber incidents, AI governance gaps, inconsistent disclosures and greenwashing. And with enforcement-first approaches from regulators like the SEC, as well as active state attorneys general and private plaintiffs, the stakes continue to rise. Oversight expectations now span AI governance, climate transition planning, cybersecurity and ESG disclosures, making the role of the board more complex than ever. To help us unpack all of this, we're joined by two terrific colleagues—Jim Deeken, a partner in Akin's Dallas office who advises private fund managers and regularly speaks and writes on corporate governance and regulatory issues, and Stephanie Lindemuth, a partner in the New York office, focused on complex commercial litigation including securities, derivative suits and ESG-related disputes. Let's dive in.
