Programs and Events
The Heyman Center organizes a broad range of public and private programs throughout the year. In addition to small group discussions and seminars, The Heyman Center is particularly proud of its public events. The Heyman Center and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association Compliance and Legal Division (SIFMACL) have a cooperative relationship to hold a series of programs each year at The Heyman Center on issues related to the securities industry. This relationship has already produced six popular public programs – Attorneys as Gatekeepers, Future of the Securities Markets, Fraud and Federalism, Corporate Trouble, and Regulating Financial Markets by Rules or Principles – and will continue to ensure that The Heyman Center is one of the country’s top forums for the discussion of securities law, finance and the securities industry. SIFMACL is a division of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) - born of the merger between the Securities Industry Association and the Bond Market Association. SIFMA is committed to strengthening markets and supporting investors worldwide. Prof. Eric Pan, Director of The Heyman Center, is leading The Royal Institute of International Affairs' 2007 Chatham House City Series, a series of four conferences in London addressing various aspects of US-EU cross-border regulation. For more information about the Chatham House City Series, see the International Programs page. The following list is a sample of recent programs organized by The Heyman Center. 2007-2008 Debating the Merits of Prudential Supervision The credit market downturn that began in the summer of 2007 has posed new challenges and provided new opportunities for the corporate restructurings market. The weakening credit market has made it more difficult for companies to seek the financing necessary to exit bankruptcy and complete their restructurings. At the same time, the credit crisis has revealed fundamental weaknesses in the US economy and trouble for many US companies. These difficulties are likely to increase demand for restructuring expertise and create new investment possibilities. To explore and provide original analysis of the effect of current market conditions on the corporate restructurings market, The Samuel and Ronnie Heyman Center on Corporate Governance at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law organized our third annual conference on corporate restructurings, featuring once again the leading experts in the corporate restructurings field.
The conference also had a panel of leading practitioners discuss how the credit crisis is impacting corporate restructurings. Bringing their insights into, and knowledge of, recent market events, the panelists discussed the implications of these events on monoline insurers and other market actors and the role of rating agencies, regulators, credit default swap counterparties and investors.
Panel 1: Download PPT on Solutia Case Crispin Waymouth
Ruben Lee
New Developments in Download Presentation Regulating Financial Markets by Rules or Principles FSA Policy Paper: Recent reports on the competitiveness of the US capital markets have suggested that US regulation can be made less costly and burdensome if US regulators adopt principles-based regulation. Other commentators suggest that principles-based regulation may ease the path toward greater regulatory convergence. The oft-cited model for US regulators is the UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA) which has relied more heavily on principles-based regulation and will be publishing a policy paper about the advantages of principles-based regulation in mid-April 2007. This event will be the first time a senior official of the FSA will present the paper to a US audience, providing an opportunity for our roundtable participants to debate the merits of rules and principles-based regulation. Speakers included Roel Campos, Commissioner, US Securities and Exchange Commission; Walter Lukken, Commissioner, US Commodity and Futures Trading Commission; David Brown, former Chairman, Ontario Securities Commission; Daniel Waters, Director of Retail Policy and former Director of Enforcement, UK Financial Services Authority; Richard Ketchum, CEO, NYSE Regulation, Inc.; Giovanni Prezioso, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and former General Counsel, US Securities and Exchange Commission; and Eric J. Pan, Director, The Samuel and Ronnie Heyman Center on Corporate Governance. New Issues with the Limited Liability Company Click on the Windows Media Video links below to view the entire presentation.
Speakers included Michael Bamberger, Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP; Prof. Daniel S. Kleinberger, William Mitchell College of Law; Prof. Carter G. Bishop, Suffolk University School of Law; D. Farrington Yates, Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP; Robert R. Keatinge, Holland & Hart; Pamela Baker, Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP; Susan P. Serota, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP; Prof. Elizabeth S. Miller, Baylor Law School; Lauris G.L. Rall, Thacher Proffitt & Wood LLP; James J. Wheaton, Troutman Sanders LLP; Steven G. Frost, Chapman & Cutler; Prof. Howard E. Abrams, Emory University School of Law; and Prof. Edward A. Zelinsky, Cardozo School of Law. Shareholder Activism and the Thriving Public Company: A Response to Critics Presented by T. Boone Pickens and Charlie Rose
Are shareholders who challenge the decisions of company directors a threat to public companies? According to some critics, shareholder activists force boards to sacrifice long-term growth for short-term profits, undermine boardroom collegiality, and discourage the best-qualified directors from serving on public company boards. In a public discussion moderated by Emmy award-winning journalist Charlie Rose, T. Boone Pickens spoke about why shareholder activism enhances the value and health of public companies. Capital Markets and Securities Law Reform in China A panel of academics and practitioners discussed opportunities and challenges in China’s transforming stock market at LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae LLP. Public Address by European Union Commissioner Charlie McCreevy: Building the Transatlantic Marketplace Commissioner McCreevy delivered a major speech about the need to develop global standards and greater regulatory cooperation for the financial markets. He also discussed the consolidation of US and European stock exchanges and the regulatory impact of such mergers. For the first time in over a year, Commissioner McCreevy gave the European perspective of these issues in front of an American audience. Perspectives on Corporate Restructurings: The Role of Private Equity & Hedge Funds
Drawing leaders from the fields of law, business and finance, speakers included Timothy Coleman, The Blackstone Group; Chaim J. Fortgang, Silver Point Capital Advisors, LLC; Jonathan S. Henes, Kirkland & Ellis LLP; Gary T. Holtzer, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP; David S. Kurtz, Lazard Freres & Co. LLC; Howard M. Levkowitz, Tennenbaum Capital Partners, LLC; James A. Mesterharm, Jay Alix & Associates; J. Gregory Milmoe, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP; and David Pauker, Goldin Associates, LLC. In addition, Harvey R. Miller, Managing Director and Vice Chairman, Greenhill & Co., LLC, delivered the keynote address on the impact of hedge funds and private equity funds on corporate restructurings. "Counsel in the Crosshairs" - Talk by Mark A. Belnick, Former General Counsel of Tyco International, Ltd. Corporate Trouble: A Conversation About the Future of the Thompson Memo and Lessons of the HP Board Scandal
Two of the biggest corporate law stories of 2006 were Judge Lewis Kaplan's excoriation of the US Department of Justice's application of the Thompson Memorandum in prosecuting accounting firm KPMG and the disclosure of Hewlett-Packard's internal investigation of its board members. This event featured a thought-provoking discussion of the long-term ramifications of these stories. 2005-2006 Future of the Securities Markets: New Trading Systems and New Regulatory Challenges
Speakers included leading marketplace figures: Robert R. Glauber, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, NASD; Brandon Becker, Partner, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr LLP and former Director, Division of Market Regulation, SEC; Kevin J.P. O’Hara, Executive Vice President and Co-General Counsel, NYSE Group, Inc.; Richard Ketchum, Chief Executive Officer, NYSE Regulation; Marc Menchel, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Regulatory Policy and Oversight, NASD; Tom Gira, Executive Vice President, Market Regulation, NASD; and David Shillman, Associate Director, Division of Market Regulation, SEC. Fraud and Federalism: Overlapping Jurisdictions, Overlapping Crimes Program Information (MS Word document) The Heyman Center co-sponsored a one-day conference with the Cardozo Law Review and the SIA exploring how federal, state and local authorities prosecute corporate fraud crimes, how the possibility of multi-jurisdictional prosecution of such crimes strengthens prosecutorial power and affects prosecutorial strategies, how multi-jurisdictional prosecution of fraud crimes affects corporate and corporate executive behavior, and whether there should be overlapping prosecutions of corporate fraud crimes.Speakers included leading white collar defense lawyers, federal, state and local prosecutors and academics, including: Mary Jo White, Debevoise & Plimpton and former US Attorney for the Southern District of New York; Stephen Hammerman, Clifford Chance and former Vice Chairman and General Counsel of Merrill Lynch; Robert Morvillo, Morvillo, Abramowitz, Grand, Iason, & Silberberg; and Debra Torres, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson. The proceedings of this program will be published in the Cardozo Law Review. Blogging and The Wall Street Journal Ashby Jones, Legal Editor of The Wall Street Journal, and Peter Lattman, Blog Editor of The Wall Street Journal spoke at The Heyman Center about covering the law and business space and starting a new blog on law and business issues. Start-Up Companies and Venture Capital: A Lawyer’s Perspective Paul Rogers, a leading private equity lawyer from Covington & Burling, lectured on the legal issues faced by entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. Mr. Rogers walked the audience through the steps of founding a new company, seeking financing and growing the business. Perspectives on Corporate Restructuring In light of recent bankruptcy filings by, among others, United Airlines, Calpine, Refco, Delphi, Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines, this one-day conference addressed negotiation and deal-making in corporate restructurings, the role and impact of hedge funds on corporate restructurings, the effect of recent amendments to the US Bankruptcy Code on future transactions, and a forecast of corporate restructuring trends for 2006. Speakers included many of the leading figures in the corporate restructurings world: Stephen F. Cooper, Kroll Zolfo Cooper; Henry Miller, Miller Buckfire & Co.; Richard A. Cieri, Kirkland & Ellis; Myron Trepper, Willkie Farr & Gallagher; Dierdre A. Martini, United States Trustee (Region 2); Daniel H. Golden, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld; Matthew A. Cantor, Kirkland & Ellis; John Rapisardi, Weil, Gotshal & Manges; and others. Corporate restructuring attorney James Sprayregen of Kirkland & Ellis delivered the keynote address on the purpose, role, and importance of restructurings in corporate America. Attorneys as Gatekeepers Speakers included: Hon. Lewis A. Kaplan, United States District Judge (Southern District of New York); Helene Glotzer, Associate Regional Director, Northeast Regional Office, SEC; and Carmen Lawrence, Co-Head of the Securities Regulation and Enforcement Practice, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson. |
