Compliance Reporter: Royal Dutch/Shell Merger Plan Called 'Inadequate': ““It is a timid, inadequate step forward," said attorney William Lerach, who in June sued executives and board members of the firms, demanding that they be held accountable for the huge fines and excessive bonuses resulting from repeated fraudulent claims of the companies' proven reserves.”: “They are proposing to go from a very bad, very dysfunctional corporate governance structure to a conventionally bad single corporate governance arrangement,” said Lerach.” (ShellNews.net)

November 1, 2004

An attorney representing shareholders in their lawsuit against the executives and board members of Royal Dutch Shell Petroleum Co, and the Shell Transport and Trading Co., said the recently announced plan to combine the corporations into a single entity with a single board and chairman does not go far enough. “It is a timid, inadequate step forward," said attorney William Lerach, who in June sued executives and board members of the firms, demanding that they be held accountable for the huge fines and excessive bonuses resulting from repeated fraudulent claims of the companies' proven reserves.

“They are proposing to go from a very bad, very dysfunctional corporate governance structure to a conventionally bad single corporate governance arrangement,” said Lerach. He added that “on the surface there appears to be nothing to open up the nomination and election process for independent board seats and nothing that guarantees the rights of independent board members to call meetings, have appropriate independent legal and accounting advice and to take steps to remove directors.”

http://www.compliancereporter.com/default.asp?page=1&SID=445058&ISS=11255