San Diego shareholders’ rights attorneys are noticing that corporate America is beginning to take notice of shareholders’ rights as shareholders are winning more victories in the boardroom.

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently decided on the proxy access rule, which governs shareholders’ ability to nominate their own candidates to replace ineffective boards at poorly managed companies.

The final rule says that nvestors must hold 3% of shares before they’re allowed proxy access.

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There is some noise from some quarters of the business community who are upset about the proxy access rule. The fear is that lunatic fringe shareholders will cause boardroom distractions. However, the 3% ownership threshold and a three-year holding period won’t make such activism easy – at all.

Corporate governance experts were hoping for something better than the three-year holding period before shareholders can nominate directors. The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) had previously pointed out that a holding period of more than two years represents an impediment to activist shareholders’ efforts to push for important changes at companies.

But one thing that is important to remember when considering the potential harm fringe shareholders can do: Shareholders are still free to vote for whichever director candidates they wish. If an off-balance activist tried to nominate an unqualified candidate for the board, nobody would force shareholders to vote “yes.” Shareholders are still free to figure out what’s in their best interests.

Source: Motley Fool “A Shift Toward Shareholder Rights” 8/27/2010