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ARTICLE · 28 JUNE 2024

Board Responses To Political Issues

Foley & Lardner LLP
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When a company's board of directors is faced with the decision to respond publicly to or support a political situation or issue, in most cases the answer should be easy: "No comment.

United StatesCorporate/Commercial Law
Steven Barth
Steven Barth
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When a company's board of directors is faced with the decision to respond publicly to or support a political situation or issue, in most cases the answer should be easy: "No comment." The bottom line is that a board should avoid controversy that could adversely affect its business.

However, there has been increasing pressure on boards to respond to political issues, especially coming from employees and customers. If faced with such circumstances, a board must first consider how important or marginal the pressure to speak is, and who is it coming from. In addition, there are several guidelines a board should follow if they feel like they "must" respond to a controversial political issue:

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