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Securities Institute to Focus on Legal, Regulatory Environment

Securities practitioners to discuss activist shareholders, cybersecurity for lawyers and more
  • Institute is preeminent securities law conference in the Midwest
  • Timely analysis of critical securities and corporate law issues to be discussed
  • Current topics in SEC and Department of Justice enforcement to be explored

CHICAGO --- What do CEOs and general counsels expect from their lawyers? A conversation with members of the senior staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) division of corporation finance and a discussion about how activist shareholders target companies are among the highlights of the 36th Annual Ray Garrett Jr. Corporate and Securities Law Institute.

The conference will be held Thursday and Friday, April 28 and 29, at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, Thorne Auditorium, 375 E. Chicago Ave., in Chicago. 

Led by top corporate law practitioners, the institute is the preeminent securities law conference in the Midwest, bringing together senior officials from the SEC and leading securities practitioners.

This year’s institute, with perspectives from board members, in-house and firm attorneys and regulators, is designed to provide private practitioners and corporate counsel with a timely analysis of critical securities and corporate law issues and developments confronting publicly and privately held corporations.

April 28: “What Do the CEO and GC Expect From Their Lawyers?” -- a discussion with Debra A. Cafaro and T. Richard Riney of Ventas Inc. Chicago -- will kick off the first day of the institute, followed by “The Inner Workings of Activist Shareholders” with Matthew A. Drapkin of Northern Right Capital Management and Stephen Fraidin of Pershing Square Capital Management. A conversation with members of the senior staff of the SEC’s division of corporation finance, David R. Fredrickson, associate director (chief counsel), and Mark Kronforst, associate director (chief accountant), will be held later in the afternoon.

April 29: The institute’s second day will commence with the always popular “Mock Trial-Valuation Issues Under Delaware Law” -- presided over by Leo Strine Jr., chief justice, Delaware Supreme Court. The mock trial will be followed by a conversation with Chief Justice Shrine and hot topics in M&A. 

More than 10 sessions will be held during the two-day conference, including “The Institutional Investors’ Perspective,” “Ethics in the Corporate Setting, ” “Cybersecurity for Lawyers” and “Key Disclosure Issues for 2016,” which will address the effective use of non-GAAP financial measures and current trends in SEC comments and more. 

The Ray Garrett Jr. Corporate and Securities Law Institute is recognized for mandatory continuing legal education credit in most states. 

For more information, including a complete schedule, registration instructions and continuing legal education (CLE) information, visit www.law.northwestern.edu/garrett.