There has been renewed interest in whether the SEC should allow a U.S. company to conduct a registered initial public offering if its bylaws require shareholders to arbitrate federal securities claims. In April 2018, SEC Chair Jay Clayton said that resolving this knotty issue is not a priority for the Commission, but the Supreme Court’s May 2018 pro-arbitration decision in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, 138 S. Ct. 1612 (2018), may embolden an IPO candidate to force the issue.
