Photo of Sheri Adler

Sheri advises boards, compensation committees, and companies on executive compensation matters. She designs and documents equity incentives, cash bonus arrangements, employee stock purchase plans, and deferred compensation plans. Sheri also negotiates individual contractual arrangements with C-suite executives, including employment, retention, change in control, severance, and separation agreements.

The SEC announced on May 16 that it will host a roundtable discussion with representatives from public companies, compensation consultants, lawyers, investors, and other stakeholders on the topic of executive compensation programs and the related disclosures required in public company proxy statements. The roundtable will take place on June 26 at the SEC’s headquarters. If you are interested, you can register in advance to attend in-person, or you can watch the roundtable virtually. The virtual link will be available on June 26 at www.sec.gov, and the SEC intends to make a recording available at a later date. The agenda and panelists for the roundtable were announced on June 11 and are described in more detail here.

The Consumer Finance Podcast

In this episode of The Consumer Finance Podcast, Chris Willis delves into the renewed focus on incentive compensation by federal financial regulators. Joined by colleagues Sheri Adler and Jina Davidovich from the Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation group, the discussion centers on the implications of Section 956 of the Dodd-Frank Act. The episode explores the historical context, proposed rule changes, and the potential impact on financial institutions and their employees. Key topics include the scope of covered institutions, specific requirements for senior executives and significant risk-takers, and the governance and compliance obligations that may arise if the rules are enacted.

The Consumer Finance Podcast

In this episode of The Consumer Finance Podcast, Chris Willis is joined by Sheri Adler to discuss the implications of the upcoming change in securities law that shortens the settlement period for broker-dealer transactions from T+2 (two business days after the trade date) to T+1 (one business day after the trade date). This change, effective May 28, 2024, has significant implications for employers who offer equity-based compensation to their employees. Adler provides an overview of the history of the settlement cycle, the reasons behind the shift to T+1, and the impact on tax withholding obligations for equity awards. She also offers practical advice for companies to prepare for this change, including potential adjustments to the calculation of fair market value for withholding purposes.

The Consumer Finance Podcast

In this episode of The Consumer Finance Podcast, Chris Willis is joined by Partners Sheri Adler and Mary Weeks to discuss the recent uptick in SEC enforcement activity related to whistleblowers. They focus on the implications for financial institutions and other companies, particularly those targeted by the SEC for documents potentially restricting whistleblowers from reporting violations of securities laws.

Hiring to Firing Podcast

In this episode of the Hiring to Firing Podcast, Partners Tracey Diamond and Evan Gibbs, along with fellow Partners Sheri Adler and Mary Weeks, chat about the ultimate whistleblower — police officer Frank Serpico — and the SEC’s recent crackdown on whistleblower provisions in employment and separation agreements. Listen in as the group shares a top 10 list of drafting tips to ensure compliance.