Davis Polk partner Veronica Wissel was quoted in Law360 discussing the executive compensation topics she is keeping an eye on in 2025. 

Discussing the legal fight over Elon Musk’s pay package, Veronica said the compensation arrangement is “probably the most extreme example” of a recent trend in executive pay packages taking the form of large multiyear grants.

She added that the dispute serves as a “good reminder to make sure that the processes being used in setting executive compensation and a compensation committee [are] really clean, to protect against potential litigation.”

Weighing in on the FDIC and the OCC’s proposal restricting incentive-based pay, Veronica said the multi-agency rule would have amounted to “probably the most prescriptive” federal rules on executive compensation, but its fate had been “up in the air” before the election.

“[The rule] would have required companies to actually change the structure of their compensation programs,” she said, but hasn’t seen the necessary coordination across all the agencies that must be involved with the proposal for it to advance. “I would not be surprised if it’s delayed further,” she added.

Veronica noted that she has been watching in particular for restatements from public companies’ clawback disclosures. “This will be the first year when, if there is a financial restatement, companies will be required to implement the clawback, and there will be disclosure on that for any restatements that happen,” she said.

“5 Things Executive Pay Attys Should Keep An Eye On In 2025,” Law360 (January 9, 2025) (subscription required)

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