Biography
Lyuba advises on a breadth of company governance and compliance issues, including fiduciary duties, director independence, board and committee structure, risk oversight, ESG and sustainability matters, securities law compliance, executive compensation and other employment matters, board leadership structures, shareholder proposals, shareholder engagement and the impact of evolving stakeholder concerns, and corporate governance “best practices.” She also frequently advises on highly sensitive matters that are often confidential in nature, including on internal investigations, leadership transitions, related party transactions and conflicts of interest, corporate culture, climate transition, cybersecurity, discrimination and harassment, and whistleblower protection.
Lyuba advises on ESG disclosures and related benchmarking on topics such as emissions and climate strategy, cybersecurity, diversity, equity and inclusion, human rights and product and workplace safety matters. She works with boards and senior management teams on strategic matters relating to ESG and voluntary framework developments, and evolving shareholder and rating agency viewpoints.
Lyuba also has deep expertise in counseling clients on a full range of corporate governance and compliance in M&A, capital markets and corporate restructuring transactions. She regularly advises on SEC regulations and governance issues faced by newly-listed public companies and companies preparing to go public.
Lyuba is an elected Fellow of the American College of Governance Counsel. She was named among the 2023 “Notable Women in Law” by Crain’s New York Business, and “Corporate Governance Lawyer of the Year” at Euromoney Legal Media Group’s Americas 2022 Women in Business Law Awards. Lyuba is recognized as a “Leading Lawyer” for M&A/Corporate and Commercial: Corporate Governance by Legal 500 US, where clients note she is “a brilliant and thoughtful lawyer with tremendous dedication to her clients and their projects. She has a wealth of knowledge in the area of public company governance.” She was also named “Best in Corporate Governance” at Euromoney Legal Media Group’s Americas 2020 Women in Business Law Awards and is recognized as an expert in Corporate Governance by Expert Guides’ “Women in Business Law.” She was ranked fifth in the 2021 “Top Female M&A Lawyers in North America” by MergerLinks. Lyuba was also named among Law360’s 2015 “Rising Star” for Capital Markets.
Lyuba frequently writes and speaks on legal developments affecting public companies and is a regular contributor to Weil’s Governance & Securities Watch (blog). In 2023, Lyuba was selected among the winners of Corporate Counsel’s Women, Influence & Power in Law Awards for “Law Firm Thought Leadership.” She is a member of the Society for Corporate Governance, where she speaks on issues affecting public companies and boards of directors. Lyuba recently spoke at the Conference Board’s panel “ESG Commitments in Practice: Guardrails for Managing Risks Around Development, Implementation, Disclosure & Withdrawal.” She co-authored “Fiduciary Duties in Uncertain Times” for Columbia Law School’s Millstein Center for which she received the 2018 Burton Award for Distinguished Legal Writing.
Lyuba is also an expert in Not-For-Profit governance. She is involved with the Firm’s representation of numerous pro bono clients. Lyuba was recognized by Legal Services NYC as one of the “Top 25 Pro Bono Advocates of 2015.” She is one of the leaders of the Firm’s representation of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and Global Citizen. Lyuba also serves on the Advisory Board of BCRF. She is co-head of the Firm’s New York Women@Weil affinity group and a member of the Firm’s Hiring Committee and Diversity Committee.
Awards and Recognition, Speaking Engagements, Latest Thinking, Firm News & Announcements
Awards and Recognition
- Lyuba Goltser Honored with 2023 “Women, Influence & Power in Law” Award Award Brief — Corporate Counsel
- Lyuba Goltser Named Among 2023 “Notable Women in Law” Award Brief — Crain’s New York Business
- Lyuba Goltser Named 2022 “Corporate Governance Lawyer of the Year” Award Brief — Euromoney Legal Media Group Americas Women in Business Law Awards
- Lyuba Goltser Named a “Leading Lawyer” for Corporate Governance Award Brief — Legal 500 US
- Lyuba Goltser Named 2020 “Best in Corporate Governance” Award Brief — Euromoney Legal Media Group Americas Women in Business Law Awards
Speaking Engagements
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Hitting the Reset Button on ESG: Setting Strategy with the Broader Picture in Mind
Speaker(s):
Lyuba Goltser and
Adam B. Banks
January 30, 2024 — Public Company Advisory Group Co-Head Lyuba Goltser and Appeals and Strategic Counseling Partner Adam Banks spoke on a program titled “Hitting the Reset Button on ESG: Setting Strategy with the Broader Picture in Mind - Democracy and Diversity” as part of The Conference Board’s ESG Center Working Group.
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The Society for Corporate Governance: 2023 Eastern Regional Fall Conference
Speaker(s):
Lyuba Goltser,
Robert Stern,
Annemargaret Connolly and
P.J. Himelfarb
October 5, 2023 — Several Weil Partners spoke at The Society for Corporate Governance’s 2023 Eastern Regional Fall Conference, including the following:
- Weil Public Company Advisory Group Co-Head Lyuba Goltser and Litigation Partner Robert Stern spoke on a panel titled “ESG Commitments in Practice: Guardrails for Managing Risks Around Development, Implementation, Disclosure & Withdrawal.”
- Weil’s Head of the Environmental Practice Annemargaret Connolly and Public Company Advisory Group partner P.J. Himelfarb spoke on a panel titled “Developments in U.S. & EU ESG Disclosure Rulemaking & What U.S. Companies Need to Know.”
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Hitting the Reset Button on ESG: Setting Strategy with the Broader Picture in Mind
Speaker(s):
Lyuba Goltser and
Rebecca Grapsas
August 1, 2023 — Public Company Advisory Group Co-Head Lyuba Goltser and Public Company Advisory Group partner Rebecca Grapsas spoke on a program titled “Hitting the Reset Button on ESG: Setting Strategy with the Broader Picture in Mind” as part of The Conference Board’s ESG Center Working Group.
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The SEC’s Renewed Scrutiny of Earnings Management Using Data Analytics
Speaker(s):
Lyuba Goltser and
Robert Stern
February 14, 2023 — Head of Weil’s Public Company Advisory Group Lyuba Goltser and Securities Litigation partner Robert Stern moderated a panel webinar entitled “The SEC’s Renewed Scrutiny of Earnings Management Using Data Analytics,” which featured former SEC Commissioner and current Stanford Law professor Joe Grundfest and Michigan business school professor Nadya Malenko. The group discussed the SEC’s use of analytics to identify earnings management, derived in part from the professors’ academic paper, Quadrophobia, and steps companies can take to mitigate risk of SEC enforcement investigations.
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The Society for Corporate Governance: 2022 Eastern Regional Fall Conference
Speaker(s):
Michael J. Aiello,
John P. Barry,
Celine Chan,
Sarah Coyne,
Howard B. Dicker and
Lyuba Goltser
October 27, 2022 —
Weil hosted Session 5 of The Society for Corporate Governance’s 2022 Eastern Regional Fall Conference, including the following:
- Weil Employment Litigation Practice Group Head John P. Barry and Counsel Celine Chan, and Weil White Collar Defense, Regulatory and Investigations Practice Group Co-Head Sarah Coyne spoke on a panel titled “Navigating the Minefield of Legal and Ethical Issues in Conducting Internal Investigations: A Tale of Lessons Learned and Best Practices.”
- Weil Public Company Advisory Group Co-Head Howard Dicker spoke on a panel titled “Ethics Lessons for In-house Lawyers from Behavioral Science.”
- Weil Public Company Advisory Group Co-Head Lyuba Goltser spoke on a panel titled “Corporate Purpose: Values and Value Creation.”
- Weil Corporate Department Chairman Michael J. Aiello hosted a discussion titled “Mindful Leadership in a Changing World: A Conversation with Nabanita Nag, Chief Legal Officer of Norfolk Southern.”
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How To Build and Keep A Network That Fosters You Through Your Career
Speaker(s):
Lyuba Goltser
October 17, 2022 — Weil Public Company Advisory Group Co-Head Lyuba Goltser spoke on a panel titled “How To Build and Keep A Network That Fosters You Through Your Career” as part of the Women in Power, Law & Influence Conference.
Latest Thinking
- 5 Essential ESG Questions for Boards Publication — Directors & Boards — By Lyuba Goltser and Rebecca Grapsas — February 14, 2024
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Heads Up for the 2024 Proxy Season: Key Corporate Governance, Disclosure and Engagement Topics
Blog Post — Weil Governance & Securities Watch
— By
Lyuba Goltser and
Kaitlin Descovich
— January 31, 2024
In this Alert we provide an overview of key corporate governance, disclosure and engagement issues that public companies should prepare to undertake as the 2024 proxy season approaches. The persistently challenging risk environment, whiplash of ESG and anti-ESG sentiments, numerous new disclosure requirements and global geopolitical instability have created significant burdens on public company boards of directors and management to oversee and implement effective enterprise risk management systems, internal controls over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures. At the same time, public companies are looking towards the future to implement technological advancements and address the demands of myriad constituencies. ...
- Heads Up for the 2024 Proxy Season: ISS and Glass Lewis Voting Policies and Director Vulnerability Update Alert — Governance & Securities — By Lyuba Goltser, Kaitlin Descovich and Amanda Zoda — PDF — December 22, 2023
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Looking Ahead to the 2024 Proxy Season: ISS Annual Policy Survey Results Demonstrate Continued Focus on ESG Topics – Climate Change, Risk Oversight and Board Governance
Blog Post — Weil Governance & Securities Watch
— By
Lyuba Goltser and
Kaitlin Descovich
— November 07, 2023
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) has released results of its Annual Global Benchmark Policy Survey, which is expected to inform policy changes for the upcoming 2024 proxy season. A significant portion of this year’s Global Benchmark Policy Survey, available here, focuses on global environmental topics, particularly climate change, as well as compensation, governance and stewardship topics […]
The post Looking Ahead to the 2024 Proxy Season: ISS Annual Policy Survey Results Demonstrate Continued Focus on ESG Topics – Climate Change, Risk Oversight and Board Governance appeared first on Governance & Securities Watch.
... - A New Benchmark for Corporate Transparency on Climate – California Governor Newsom Signs Bills Establishing Corporate Climate Disclosure Standards, While Questioning the Feasibility of the Current Implementation Deadlines and Highlighting Concerns over Costs to Affected Businesses Alert — By Annemargaret Connolly, Lyuba Goltser, P.J. Himelfarb, Matthew D. Morton and Rebecca Grapsas — PDF — October 12, 2023
Firm News & Announcements
- Weil Advises First Watch and Advent International on $165.53M Block Trade Deal Brief — March 12, 2024
- Chantale Fiebig and Lyuba Goltser Honored by Corporate Counsel’s 2023 Women, Influence & Power in Law Awards Firm Announcement — November 27, 2023