Some companies may have thought that the July 22 --- striking down the SEC's main proxy access provision, Rule 14a-11 -- was a categorical defeat for liberalized proxy access. Aiming some tough language at the SEC, the court sided with business groups that had knocked the SEC for inadequately considering the impact of Rule 14a-11 on companies.

But that court ruling didn't affect the separate section --- Rule 14a-8 --- that allows investor proposals to be put in proxy statements more easily. Under its terms, any investor who has held at least $2,000 of stock for a year may submit a proxy proposal --- including one setting up the election to the board of shareholder nominees. Thus, on a case-by-case basis, rather than through a specified standard, a two-step process can be installed to reach essentially the same result that Rule 14a-11 allowed in one step.

The attempt to liberalize proxy access changes in general, of course, have been part of a much broader attempt by U.S. lawmakers to impose various corporate strictures. Their actions --- including number that were incorporated in the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act -- were in response to complaints that corporate risk-taking and abusive pay policies, for example, helped create the 2008 credit crisis.