CBLA Presents: Fundamentals of Corporate Law
(Tuesday, March 29, 2011, 12:10-1:10pm, JG 103)

Please join CBLA for a lunch panel discussion about the fundamentals of corporate law practice.  This event will give students an insight into the work that law firms do with hedge funds, banks, private equity funds, and financial institutions.  

The discussion will be moderated by Stephen Buchman, Assistant Director of Career Advising, and will feature:

• Michael Hong, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
• Julie Allen, Proskauer Rose LLP
• Karessa Cain, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
  
• Bob Treuhold, Shearman & Sterling LLP

The event will be moderated by Stephen Buchman, Assistant Director of Career Advising, Columbia Law School

This event is generously sponsored by:

CBLA Presents: Regulatory Reform: Dodd-Frank and the New Legal Landscape / Implementation Challenges
(Monday, March 21, 2011, 12:10-1:10pm, JG 103)

Please join CBLA for a very special lunch panel concerning the timely topic of Regulatory Reform: Dodd-Frank and the New Legal Landscape - Implementation challenges. We've compiled a panel of experts who will present a diverse set of viewpoints regarding the ever-evolving implementation issues of Dodd-Frank. CBLA brings you the key insights and perspectives of those advising clients on the new rules (Sullivan and Cromwell), complying with them (Goldman & Sachs) and writing them (Federal Reserve Bank of New York). 

Panelists:

Richard Charlton
Counsel and Vice President in the Bank Supervision and Markets Group at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. 

For information about the Bank Supervision group at the FRBNY, click here. For information about the Markets group at the FRBNY, click here.

Richard joined the FRBNY in September 1996, and in his tenure has worked on a variety of domestic and international issues concerning bank supervision, from many different perspectives:  financial institution applications, enforcement, and legislation and policy-making.  Richard also works on markets-related issues.  Richard is currently a team leader, but, additionally, focuses on issues relating to anti-money laundering and OFAC compliance, as well as bank holding company, foreign bank, and foreign exchange-related issues.  He has advised on matters raised by working groups of the Basel Committee for Banking Supervision as well as other international initiatives.  Richard received a joint law and master of public policy degree from the University of Michigan, where he also earned his bachelor’s degree in political science.

Steven Bunkin
Co-Head of Commodities and Derivatives Legal Practice and Managing Director and Associate General Counsel at Goldman Sachs & Co. 

Steven is a member of the Credit Policy Committee and the Physical Commodity Review Committee. Steven joined Goldman Sachs in 1998 and was named managing director in 2005. Prior to joining the firm, Steven was associate general counsel at J.P. Morgan and an associate in the General Practice Group at Sullivan & Cromwell. Steven chairs the Energy and New Products Committee of the International Swaps and Derivatives Association in North America and is active with other industry groups. Steven earned a JD from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a BA from Emory University. 

David Gilberg 
Partner at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP

David joined Sullivan & Cromwell in 1992 and has been a partner since 1996, after serving as special counsel from 1994 to 1995. His practice involves a broad range of securities and derivatives-related regulatory and transactional matters. He has worked extensively on the electronic trading of securities, derivatives and other financial instruments, and has established a number of electronic exchanges and trading facilities. He regularly advises broker-dealers, commercial banks, investment banks, trading companies, trading advisers, corporations and other types of clients on a variety of trading and regulatory issues and on the structuring and development of financial instruments and managed trading vehicles. He has authored several articles on derivatives and has spoken at numerous derivatives industry conferences. He received an M.A. and B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1978 and a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1981. 

David recently spoke during the Columbia Law School Program on Derivatives Laws Under Dodd-Frank. 

Jeffrey Gordon
Alfred W. Bressler Professor of Law at Columbia Law School

Professor Gordon's areas of expertise include Corporations, Mergers and Acquisitions, Foundations of the Regulatory State and Contemporary Corporate Law. He received a B.A. from Yale in 1971 and a J.D. from Harvard in 1975.  He was the Senior articles editor of Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review, Law clerk to the Hon. William E. Doyle, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, 1975-76, practiced law at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton, New York, specializing in corporate law and securities litigation and transactions, 1976-79, was an Attorney at U.S. Department of the Treasury, 1979-81, advising on such issues as loan guarantees for Chrysler, the Synfuels Corporation, and New York City; deregulation of financial institutions; and regulation of financial futures trading.  Professor Gordon taught at New York University School of Law from 1982 to 1988. He joined the Columbia faculty in 1988.

CBLA Presents: Roger Lowenstein, Acclaimed Financial Journalist for The Wall Street Journal and Author of "When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long Term Capital Management" and "The End of Wall Street"
(Thursday, March 10, 2011, 12:10-1:10pm, JG 101)

Please join CBLA for a very special event featuring Roger Lowenstein. Mr. Lowenstein is well known for many accomplishments: As a financial journalist, he reported for The Wall Street Journal for more than a decade, including two years writing its "Heard on the Street" column (1989 to 1991). Mr. Lowenstein has published five books and co-authored one. Well known for "When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long Term Capital Management" he has been consistently reviewed as a "must-read thriller for anyone who works, or invests in markets." His new book, "The End of Wall Street," offers his theory of the domino effect of Wall Street's collapse.

In addition, he has written for many publications, including Smart Money and The New York Times. Mr. Lowenstein is a regular book reviewer for The New York Times and has written a number of major articles and cover stories for The New York Times Magazine. He is also a director of Sequoia Fund. His father, Louis Lowenstein, was a founding partner of Kramer, Lowenstein, Nessen & Kamin (now Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel) and a former professor at Columbia Law School.

Given Mr. Lowenstein’s current success as a best-selling writer as well as his ability to speak poignantly on both finance and global development, this event should be spectacular and appealing to a wide range of law students. Mr. Lowenstein will speak about the development of his career and his new book, and is most interested in fielding questions from CBLA members and their guests. 

As a pre-Spring break treat, Mr. Lowenstein will also be signing two free copies of his book, which will be given away by a raffle limited to those who attend. 

Additional copies of his book will also be available for purchase and signing.

This will be an exciting event, and the perfect way to kick off your Spring Break. We look forward to seeing you there!

CBLA Presents: Alternative Post Law School Careers, Part 1: Private Equity
(Monday, March 7, 5:00-6:30pm, JG 102)

CBLA and the Office of Career Services (OCS) are proud to host the first in an ongoing series of panel discussions presenting alternative private sector career options for law school graduates.  Our inaugural event will focus on the Private Equityspace. 

Speakers:

• Vikrant Sawhney (Senior Managing Director in the Private Equity group, Blackstone - link)
• Michael Kaplan (Managing Director, Littlejohn & Company - link)
• Andy Siegel (Partner and General Counsel, Perella Weinberg - link)
• Wermuth (Senior Principal and General Counsel, Stone Point Capital - link)
  
• Moderator - Franci Blassberg (Partner in the Private Equity and M&A practices at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP; lecturer at Columbia Law School - link)

Our speakers each hold a JD and work in private equity for a company other than a law firm.  During the event, each panelist will explain what their job consists of and advise current law students on how to position themselves for a career in the field.  The panelists will then engage in a moderated debate about the industry.  Students will learn about how private equity works, why it's a fascinating career option, and what steps they can take now to improve their chances of breaking into the sector.

CBLA Presents: The Changing Landscape of Shareholder Activism Pre and Post Dodd-Frank 
(Thursday, March 3, 2011, 12:10-1:10pm, JG 105) 

Please join CBLA in a very special lunch panel concerning the timely topic of Shareholder Activism Post Dodd-Frank. We've compiled a panel of experts, representing the institutional investor and activist hedge fund on one side and the corporation and corporate defense on the other. This will surely ensure a diversity of viewpoints such as in our popular AIG panel held in November 2010. CBLA thought it'd be a great benefit to hear from practioners both on the investor and company side to shed light on the ever evolving issues of corporate governance and bring perspective to the ever changing dynamic between management/shareholders learned in our Corporations classes. 

Panelists:
Stephen Brown (CLS alum), Director and Associate General Counsel for Corporate Governance for TIAA-CREF
Scott Ostfeld (CLS alum), Partner at JANA Partners 
Daniel Neff (CLS alum), Partner at Wachtell Lipton
Ken Bertsch, President and CEO of the Society of Corporate Secretaries
The panel will be moderated by corporate governance expert, Professor Robert Jackson

Before delving into the issues, panelists are also invited to discuss their professional experiences and development of their careers. 

• Stephen Brown serves as Director, Corporate Governance for Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America–College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF), a New York City based financial services company with over $430 billion assets under management. On behalf of the boards of the TIAA-CREF group of companies, Mr. Brown and his colleagues in the Corporate Governance Group work to enhance the governance/social responsibility practices of companies held within TIAA-CREF’s investment portfolios with the objective of increasing shareholder value and improving long term performance of targeted companies. Additionally, Mr. Brown advises management and the boards of the TIAA-CREF group of companies on internal corporate governance operations. Prior to joining TIAA-CREF, Mr. Brown practiced corporate and securities law with Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale and Dorr, LLP and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom, LLP in New York City. At both firms, Mr. Brown advised investment advisers, private funds, mutual funds and industrial companies on capital formation, general corporate law, and securities regulatory matters. Additionally, he represented Fortune 500 corporations, boards of directors and executives in a variety of securities enforcement matters and corporate internal investigations. Prior to practicing law, Mr. Brown was a financial analyst with Goldman Sachs. Mr. Brown’s pro bono practice has included advising several New York City charter schools and economic development organizations. He is currently a member and immediate past president of the Englewood Public School Board in Englewood, New Jersey, a member of the boards of Harlem Renaissance Economic Development Corporation, Queens Economic Development Corporation and the Public Interest Law Foundation at Columbia University Law School. Mr. Brown received his B.A. with honors from Yale University and his J.D. from Columbia University Law School where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar.

• Scott Ostfeld is a partner of JANA Partners and is responsible for special situations investments, including active shareholder engagement. JANA Partners was established in 2001 and has an event driven investment style. The firm frequently engages with companies and boards to pursue value-creating change.Prior to joining JANA Partners in 2006, Scott was with GSC Partners in its distressed debt private equity group focused on acquiring middle-market companies through the bankruptcy restructuring process and enhancing value as an active equity owner. Prior to GSC Partners he was an investment banking associate at Credit Suisse First Boston.  Scott received a J.D. from Columbia Law School (with honors) where he was a senior editor of the Columbia Law Review, an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School (with honors) and a B.A. from Columbia University (magna cum laude / Phi Beta Kappa).

• Daniel Neff is co-chairman of the Executive Committee and partner at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, which he joined in 1977. He is a corporate and securities lawyer, and has focused principally on mergers and acquisitions.Mr. Neff has been extensively involved in negotiated as well as hostile acquisitions, including a number of the most significant transactions of the past 15 years. He has represented companies in divestitures, cross-border transactions and proxy contests and has counseled managements and boards of directors concerning conflict transactions, corporate governance and similar issues. He lectures frequently on topics relating to his professional interests and was featured in American Lawyer's "Dealmaker of the Year" article in 2001.  Mr. Neff graduated magna cum laude from Brown University and from the Columbia University School of Law, where he was Notes and Comments Editor of the Columbia Law Review.

• Ken Bertsch is the incoming CEO and President of the Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals. Mr. Bertsch was head of corporate governance for Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM). He joined MSIM in this role in December 2006. As Executive Director for Corporate Governance, he has provided support for equity portfolio managers in New York, Houston, London, Singapore, Tokyo, Mumbai and other locations. The position entails work in understanding the corporate governance practices of portfolio companies in more than 40 markets, and engaging with the companies as appropriate on those practices, including through proxy voting and interactions with officers and outside directors. Mr. Bertsch’s group also reviews Frontier market companies for investment, and has certain other investment management compliance and administrative responsibilities.  From 2002 to 2006, Mr. Bertsch headed the corporate governance analytical team for fundamental ratings groups at Moody’s Investors Service. At Moody’s, Mr. Bertsch built a team of specialists to develop an approach to governance analysis; trained Moody’s fundamental credit analysts globally on corporate governance; published commentary on corporate governance issues, including Corporate Governance Assessments of leading issuers of debt in North America based in part on interviews with outside directors, CEOs and other executives; and participated in rating committees.  From 1999 to 2002, Mr. Bertsch was Director, Corporate Governance, for Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association/College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF), a leading financial services organization serving the education and research communities. Before that, he worked in a variety of capacities for the Investor Responsibility Research Center for more than 14 years, including as Director of Corporate Governance and Director of Social Issues.  Mr. Bertsch received a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law in 2004 and a B.A. from Williams College in 1978.

• Robert Jackson previously served as an advisor on executive compensation and corporate governance to senior officials at the department of the Treasury and as Deputy Special Master for TARP Executive Compensation. Prior to joining the Treasury, Professor Jackson practiced in the Executive Compensation Department at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.  Professor Jackson's work has been the subject of rulemaking commentary before several federal agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission. His most recent project, which he developed during his tenure as Terence M. Considine Research Fellow in Law and Economics and a Fellow at the Harvard Law School Program on Corporate Governance, provides the first comprehensive study of executive compensation in firms owned by private equity investors.  Mr. Jackson has previously worked in investment banking and as a consultant to financial institutions. He also served as a Law Clerk to the Hon. Amalya L. Kearse on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and as Articles Co-Chair of the Harvard Law Review. He received his J.D. from Harvard Law School; an M.A. in Public Policy from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government; an M.B.A. from the Wharton School; and a Bachelor of Arts in politics, philosophy, and economics, and Bachelor of Science in economics, from the University of Pennsylvania, after studying at Pembroke College at Oxford University.

Due to the popularity of the subject matter and speakers, this event is open to all Columbia students and professors. We look forward to seeing you!

Jim Millstein, Chief Restructuring Officer of the U.S. Treasury

Jim Millstein joined the U.S. Treasury in 2009 in a newly designed position for Chief Restructuring Officer. He has worked as a close aide to Secretary Geithner. Before Treasury, Millstein was a bankruptcy attorney at Cleary, Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, where he was head of its restructuring practice. He then joined Lazard in 2000 as managing director in its restructuring group.

At Lazard, he worked on the restructuring of cable company Charter Communications Inc. and with the United Auto Workers in negotiations with General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co., Chrysler LLC and Delphi Corp. He also represented WorldCom Inc., Loews Cineplex and Budget Rent-a-Car in their restructurings.

Millstein has a bachelor's degree from Princeton University, a master's from the University of California, Berkeley, and a law degree from Columbia University.

Robert Jackson, Associate Professor of Law at Columbia Law School

Robert Jackson previously served as an advisor on executive compensation and corporate governance to senior officials at the department of the Treasury and as Deputy Special Master for TARP Executive Compensation.  Prior to joining the Treasury, Prof. Jackson practiced in the Executive Compensation Department at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.  Prof. Jackson's work has been the subject of rulemaking commentary before several federal agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission. His most recent project, which he developed during his tenure as Terence M. Considine Research Fellow in Law and Economics and a Fellow at the Harvard Law School Program on Corporate Governance, provides the first comprehensive study of executive compensation in firms owned by private equity investors.

Professor Jackson's paper "Corporate Political Speech: Who Decides?" coauthored with legendary Lucian A. Bebchuk, is set for publication in the Harvard Law Review. The paper discusses what rules should govern public corporations' decisions to spend corporate funds on politics.

John A. Allison, Retired Chairman and CEO of BB&T Corporation

John A. Allison is the former Chairman and CEO of BB&T Corporation.  Mr. Allison joined BB&T in 1971 and managed a wide variety of responsibilities throughout the bank. He became president of BB&T in 1987 and was elected Chairman and CEO in July 1989. During Mr. Allison's tenure as CEO from 1989 to 2008, BB&T grew from $4.5 billion to $152 billion in assets. Mr. Allison earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MBA from Duke University. He also holds honorary doctorates from East Carolina University, Mount Olive College, Clemson University and Marymount University. He is a graduate of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University.

In March 2009, Mr. Allison joined the faculty of Wake Forest University School of Business as a Distinguished Professor.

Ed Greene, Partner at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton and Former General Counsel of the SEC

Ed Greene is Lecturer-in-Law at Columbia Law School. He is also a partner based in the New York office of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen, and Hamilton, LLP. Professor Greene's practice focuses on securities, corporate governance, regulatory and financial services reform and other corporate law matters.  Prof. Greene served as General Counsel of the Securities and Exchange Commission from 1981 to 1982 and Director of the Division of Corporation Finance from 1979 to 1981. From 2004 to 2008, he served as General Counsel of Citigroup's Institutional Clients Group.
Mr. Greene is the author of a number of leading books and law review articles, including US Regulation of the International Securities and Derivatives Markets and The Sarbanes-Oxley Act: Analysis and Practice, both of which were co-authored with several partners at Cleary Gottlieb and are widely used as essential sources of practical advice. Mr. Greene has been recognized as one of the best capital markets lawyers by Chambers Global.

Mr. Greene received an LL.B. degree from Harvard Law School in 1966 and an undergraduate degree from Amherst College in 1963.

Steven M. Davidoff, New York Times "Deal Professor"

Steven Davidoff writes a regular column for The New York Times "DealBook" site as The Deal Professor, which primarily focuses on mergers and acquisitions. He also writes in trade journals, such as The Deal, lectures, has testified before the United States Senate, and is frequently quoted in the national media on issues related to our capital markets and mergers and acquisitions. He has served as an expert witness in a number of major public-company deals such as Petco Animal Supplies Inc.'s leveraged buy-out by Leonard Green & Partners LP and Texas Pacific Group and the purchase of Intermix Media Inc., the owner of the Myspace website, by News Corp. 

Prof. Davidoff's research focus is on financial regulation, hedge funds and private equity, mergers & acquisitions, deals and deal theory, and the drafting of complex contracts. He has a particular interest in international issues and interdisciplinary research in law and finance.  His book Gods at War:  Shotgun Takeovers, Government by Deal and the Private Equity Implosion, an exploration of modern-day deals and deal-making, was released on October 5, 2009.

Prior to entering academia, Prof. Davidoff practiced as an attorney for about 10 years with Shearman & Sterling in its New York and London offices and with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in its London office. There he represented European and U.S. clients in acquisitions and sales of public and private companies, joint ventures, and private equity and venture capital investments. Many of these transactions included a substantial cross-border element.

Prof. Davidoff graduated from the Columbia University School of Law where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and received a bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania, cum laude with honors. He has a master's degree in finance from the London Business School.

Joanne T. Medero, Managing Director at BlackRock and Former General Counsel of Barclays Global Investors

Joanne Medero is a Managing Director at BlackRock with responsibilities for government relations and is a member of its Government Relations Steering Committee. 

Ms. Medero's service with the firm dates back to 1996, including her years with Barclays Global Investors (BGI), which merged with BlackRock in 2009. Ms. Medero joined BGI as its Global General Counsel in January 1996.  From October 2006 she was the global head of Government Relations and Public Policy for Barclays' Investment Banking and Investment Management businesses.  Prior to joining BGI, Ms. Medero was a partner with Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe, in their New York office, specializing in derivatives and market regulation issues. From 1989 to 1993 Ms. Medero served as general counsel of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Previously, she was as associate director for legal and financial affairs at the Office of Presidential Personnel, The White House, from 1986 to 1989.

Ms. Medero earned a BA degree, magna cum laude, phi beta kappa, from St. Lawrence University in 1975 and a JD degree, with honors, from the National Law Center of George Washington University in 1978.