Yoel Kranz

NEW YORK, NY—Corporate governance is not a “one-size-fits-all” proposition, says the Goodwin Law Firm in its recently released report “2019 Update: Corporate Governance Trends in the Public REIT Sector.” The report explores how corporate governance for public REITs continue to be a hot topic.

'We do not recommend any particular set or subset of governance positions as a blunt instrument approach for all public REITs,” says Yoel Kranz, partner, Goodwin's REIT Capital Markets and M&A/Corporate Governance practices. “Rather we recommend that the board of each public REIT regularly evaluate the company's corporate governance profile in light of all relevant facts and circumstances to determine whether it provides the board, in its business judgment, with the tools and flexibility to fulfill its overarching duty to maximize shareholder value over the long term.”

In April 2017, Goodwin released their initial report “Corporate Governance Trends in the Public REIT Sector: An Evolving Landscape,” which reported on various corporate governance metrics that were in use or under consideration in the public REIT market. In its follow-up report, Goodwin believes that REITs, on a whole, have engaged boards who regularly take action with the aim of maximizing shareholder value over the long term and who may have somewhat over-reacted to the growing focus on corporate governance issues.