Thomas J. Kim

Partner, Washington, D.C.

+1 202.887.3550

Thomas J. Kim is a partner in the Washington D.C. office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP, where he is a member of the firm’s Securities Regulation and Corporate Governance Practice Group. Mr. Kim focuses his practice on a broad range of SEC disclosure and regulatory matters, including capital raising and tender offer transactions and shareholder activist situations, as well as corporate governance, environmental social governance and compliance issues. He also advises clients on SEC enforcement investigations – as well as boards of directors and independent board committees on internal investigations – involving disclosure, registration, corporate governance and auditor independence issues.

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Early Insights from the Insider Trading Policies Filed by S&P 500 Companies under the SEC’s New Exhibit Requirement

September 9, 2024 | Posted by Aaron K. Briggs; Thomas J. Kim; Brian J. Lane; Julia Lapitskaya; James J. Moloney; Ronald O. Mueller; Michael A. Titera; Lori Zyskowski Topic(s): Audit Committee; Capital Markets; Corporate Governance; Disclosure; Securities Regulation

I. Introduction

For fiscal years beginning on or after April 1, 2023, domestic public companies are required to disclose whether they have adopted insider trading policies and procedures governing the purchase, sale, and/or other dispositions of their securities by their directors, officers and employees, or the companies themselves, and if so to file those policies and procedures as an exhibit to their annual reports on Form 10-K.[1] While calendar year companies must comply with these requirements in their Form 10-K for, or proxy statement following, the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024, 49 S&P 500 companies had addressed these requirements in filings as of June 30, 2024.[2]

Division of Corporation Finance Issues Interpretive Guidance on the SEC’s Cybersecurity Incident Reporting Requirements

June 25, 2024 | Posted by Michael A. Titera; Lori Zyskowski; Thomas J. Kim; Brian J. Lane Topic(s): Corporate Governance; Disclosure; Securities Regulation

As discussed in our previous client alert, on December 18, 2023, new rules went into effect requiring companies to report material cybersecurity incidents on Form 8-K within four business days of the company’s determination that the cybersecurity incident is material. In the last several weeks the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance (the “Staff") of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC") has provided guidance regarding incident reporting in the form of a May 21 statement and a June 20 announcement from the Division of Corporation Finance Director Erik Gerding and, most recently, more formal Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations (“C&DIs") on June 24.

SEC Division of Corporation Finance Director Erik Gerding Offers Guidance on Form 8-K Disclosure of Cybersecurity Incidents

May 22, 2024 | Posted by Ronald O. Mueller; Thomas J. Kim; Lori Zyskowski; Julia Lapitskaya; James J. Moloney; Elizabeth A. Ising; Brian J. Lane Topic(s): Corporate Governance; Securities Regulation

As detailed in our client alert, the SEC adopted cybersecurity disclosure rules on July 26, 2023 that require disclosure of material cybersecurity incidents under new Item 1.05 of Form 8-K. If a company determines that a cybersecurity incident is material, it is required to disclose the incident within four (4) business days of such determination. In addition, such determination is required to be made “without unreasonable delay after discovery of the incident.”

SEC Exempts Rule 144A Debt Issuances From Rule 15c2-11 Information Requirements

November 2, 2023 | Posted by Hillary H. Holmes; Thomas J. Kim; Andrew L. Fabens Topic(s): Capital Markets; Financial Statements; Private Placements; Securities Regulation

On October 30, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission") issued an Order exempting brokers and dealers from the requirements of Rule 15c2-11(g) (the “Rule") under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, with respect to fixed-income securities that are sold in compliance with the safe harbor in Rule 144A (the “Rule 144A") under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, for resales to Qualified Institutional Buyers (“QIBs"). As a result, issuers of Rule 144A fixed-income securities will not have to publish public information in order for brokers to quote their securities and facilitate trading.

Another Batch of SEC Staff Guidance on Rule 10b5-1 Amendments

August 29, 2023 | Posted by Michael A. Titera; Thomas J. Kim; Julia Lapitskaya; Lori Zyskowski; Ronald O. Mueller Topic(s): Disclosure; Executive Compensation; Securities Regulation

On August 25, 2023, the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance (the “Staff") of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC") issued five new Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations (“C&DIs") regarding the SEC’s recent Exchange Act Rule 10b5-1 amendments. The new C&DIs address how to calculate the required cooling-off period; how 401(k) plans interact with the Rule 10b5-1 affirmative defense in certain circumstances; when the Rule 10b5-1 check box on Form 4 applies; and when disclosure of plan adoption and termination is required.

Form 10-Q Updates and Reminders

July 17, 2023 | Posted by Michael A. Titera; Ronald O. Mueller; Thomas J. Kim; Lori Zyskowski; Elizabeth A. Ising; James J. Moloney; Julia Lapitskaya; Aaron K. Briggs Topic(s): Corporate Governance; Disclosure; Securities Regulation

As many companies prepare their quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2023, we offer the following observations and reminders regarding new disclosure requirements taking effect for this reporting period, as well as risk factor considerations that may be relevant to upcoming Form 10-Q reporting. For convenience, this publication also includes a summary of certain upcoming compliance dates for public companies.

SEC Enforcement Action Highlights Importance of Non-GAAP Policies and Disclosure Controls and Procedures

April 17, 2023 | Posted by Michael A. Titera; Andrew L. Fabens; Michael Scanlon; Thomas J. Kim; Ronald O. Mueller; Brian J. Lane Topic(s): Disclosure; Financial Statements; Securities Regulation

On March 14, 2023, the SEC charged DXC Technology Co. (“DXC") with making material misstatements with respect to its non-GAAP financial performance measures, stating that, DXC “negligently misclassif[ied] tens of millions of dollars of expenses as [transaction, separation and integration-related (“TSI")] costs and improperly exclude[ed] them in its reporting of non-GAAP measures." The SEC’s order also found that DXC, and specifically its controllership function and disclosure committee, failed to maintain “adequate" disclosure controls and procedures relating to DXC’s non-GAAP disclosures, citing the following shortcomings:

Update on Changes in SEC Commissioners

July 21, 2022 | Posted by Hillary H. Holmes; Thomas J. Kim; Ronald O. Mueller; James J. Moloney Topic(s): Audit Committee; Capital Markets; Securities Regulation

On July 18, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that Jaime Lizárraga was sworn in as the SEC’s newest Commissioner following the departure of Allison Herren Lee on July 15. The current SEC Commissioners are as follows, in order of reverse seniority:

Long-Awaited SEC Rule Proposal on Climate Change Disclosure

March 22, 2022 | Posted by Aaron K. Briggs; Thomas J. Kim; Ronald O. Mueller Topic(s): Corporate Governance; Disclosure; Environmental/Climate Change; ESG; Securities Regulation

Overview

On March 21, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved a rule proposal for new climate change disclosure requirements for both U.S. public companies and foreign private issuers.

SEC Proposes Rules on Cybersecurity Disclosure

March 11, 2022 | Posted by Lori Zyskowski; Thomas J. Kim; Julia Lapitskaya Topic(s): Corporate Governance; Disclosure; Securities Regulation

On March 9, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) held a virtual open meeting where it considered a rule proposal for new cybersecurity disclosure requirements for public companies, primarily consisting of: (i) current reporting of material cybersecurity incidents and (ii) periodic reporting of material updates to cybersecurity incidents, the company’s cybersecurity risk management, strategy, and governance practices, and the board of directors’ cybersecurity expertise, if any.

Now Available: Considerations for Preparing Your 2021 Form 10-K

January 21, 2022 | Posted by Andrew L. Fabens; Brian J. Lane; Elizabeth A. Ising; Hillary H. Holmes; James J. Moloney; Michael A. Titera; Thomas J. Kim; Ronald O. Mueller Topic(s): Capital Markets; Corporate Governance; Disclosure; Environmental/Climate Change; ESG; Financial Statements; Human Capital Management; Proxy Statements and Annual Meetings; Securities Regulation

As we do each year, we offer our observations on new developments and recommended practices for calendar-year filers to consider in preparing their Form 10-K. This alert reviews the recent amendments to Regulation S-K adopted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and discusses how public companies are reacting to these new requirements.

SEC Proposes Rules on Insider Trading, Rule 10b5-1 and Share Repurchases

December 23, 2021 | Posted by Ronald O. Mueller; Andrew L. Fabens; James J. Moloney; Lori Zyskowski; Thomas J. Kim; Brian J. Lane; Elizabeth A. Ising Topic(s): Capital Markets; Corporate Governance; Disclosure; Proxy Statements and Annual Meetings; Securities Regulation

On December 15, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) held a virtual open meeting where it considered four rule proposals, including two that are particularly pertinent to all public companies: (i) amendments regarding Rule 10b5-1 insider trading plans and related disclosures and (ii) new share repurchase disclosures rules.

SEC Staff Scrutiny of Climate Change Disclosures Has Arrived: What to Expect And How to Respond

September 19, 2021 | Posted by Andrew L. Fabens; Brian J. Lane; Elizabeth A. Ising; James J. Moloney; Lori Zyskowski; Michael A. Titera; Thomas J. Kim; Ronald O. Mueller Topic(s): Disclosure; Environmental/Climate Change; ESG; Securities Regulation

Recently, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance has issued a number of comment letters relating exclusively to climate-change disclosure issues. The letters we have seen to date comment on companies’ most recent Form 10-K filings, including those of calendar year companies who filed their Form 10-K more than 6 months ago, and have been issued by a variety of the Division’s industry review groups, including to companies that are not in particularly carbon-intensive industries. Many of the climate change comments appear to be drawn from the topics and considerations raised in the SEC’s 2010 guidance on climate change disclosure, as reflected in the sample comments that we have attached in the annex to this alert. We expect this is part of a larger Division initiative because the letters are similar (although not identical), contain relatively generic comments, and have been issued in close proximity to one another. Accordingly, it is reasonable to expect that additional comment letters will be issued in the coming weeks and months.

SEC Chair Lays Out a Climate- and ESG-Oriented Agenda and Calls for Comments on Mandatory Climate-Related Disclosure Rules

March 16, 2021 | Posted by Elizabeth A. Ising; Hillary H. Holmes; James J. Moloney; Ronald O. Mueller; Thomas J. Kim; Lori Zyskowski; Michael Scanlon Topic(s): Corporate Governance; Disclosure; Securities Regulation

On March 15, 2021, the Acting Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Allison Herren Lee, gave a speech entitled “A Climate for Change: Meeting Investor Demand for Climate and ESG Information at the SEC,”[1] in which she sets forth a near-term regulatory agenda for the SEC that centers on climate and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) topics. On the same day, she also jump-started the regulatory process toward adopting potentially extensive new disclosure requirements for public companies on climate-change matters by issuing a request for comments on 15 broad issues.[2]

Now Available: Considerations for Preparing Your 2020 Form 10-K

February 4, 2021 | Posted by Hillary H. Holmes; Elizabeth A. Ising; Thomas J. Kim; Brian J. Lane; James J. Moloney; Ronald O. Mueller; Michael Scanlon; Michael A. Titera Topic(s): Audit Committee; Capital Markets; Disclosure; Financial Statements; Proxy Statements and Annual Meetings; Registration Statements; Securities Regulation

As we do each year, we offer our observations on new developments and recommended practices for calendar-year filers to consider in preparing their annaul report on Form 10-K. In addition to the many challenges of the past year, the SEC adopted and provided guidance on a number of changes to public company reporting obligations impacting disclosures in the 10-K for 2020. In particular, we discuss the recent amendments to Regulation S-K, disclosure considerations in light of COVID-19, a number of technical considerations that may impact your Form 10-K, and other considerations in light of recent and pending changes in the executive branch and at the SEC. The full memo is available at the following link: