Kevin Douglas, attorney at Bass, Berry & Sims, was interviewed regarding online shareholder proxy voting for Investor’s Business Daily. The article by Sheila Riley, titled “Web Sites Help Encourage Shareholder Proxy Voting,” appears in the March 5, 2010 edition.
From the article:
Companies, too, see benefits in online proxy voting and online shareholder education.
“There’s nothing wrong with making it easier for shareholders to vote online. That’s a good thing,” said Kevin Douglas, a Nashville attorney with Bass Berry & Sims, which represents many corporations.
But Douglas points out that sites that promote online voting and make recommendations to shareholders typically aren’t neutral. Advocates tend to be shareholder activists who are more likely to oppose management viewpoints. That doesn’t give the whole story, he says.
“Nothing’s wrong with that, but from the corporate perspective they don’t represent the full spectrum of shareholder views,” Douglas says.