Message from the Co-Directors our programs this year explored some of the most critical issues of the day. Our Fall Corporate Roundtable explored reasons for and against shareholder empowerment. We also examined the various reform agendas for the financial system and how they would affect this area of corporate governance. In the spring, we looked at the regulation of mutual funds as well as funds’ internal corporate governance. At the fall Insights from Practice program, we showcased dealmakers and asked how their practice had been affected by the financial crisis. And in our spring Chancery Court programs, we looked back on two key decisions of the Delaware courts, Paramount Communications v. Time and NCS v. Omnicare, to revisit the arguments and to appraise their impact. Over the course of the year, we presented two fascinating Law and Entrepreneurship lectures. In the fall, J.P. Suarez, Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Wal-Mart Stores International Division, spoke to an overflowing audience about maintaining an entrepreneurial spirit in one of the largest corporations in the world. In the spring, Joseph D. Gatto, Chairman of Investment Banking for the Americas for Barclays Capital, spoke about managing through the recent financial crisis. For our Distinguished Jurist lecture, Hon. Lewis A. Kaplan of the Southern District of New York spoke on “Private Securities Litigation—Time for a Fresh Start?” Our joint programs with Wharton’s Finance Department flourished. The Law and Finance series, a regular part of the Finance workshop schedule, continued with presentations by Howell Jackson (James S. Reid, Jr. Professor of Law, Harvard Law School) and Anil Kashyap (Edward Eagle Brown Professor of Economics and Finance, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business). In February, we hosted the sixth annual Penn/NYU Law and Finance Conference, a joint venture of the Institute for Law and Economics, the Wharton Financial Institutions Center, and the Pollack Center for Law and Business at New York University. The Institute’s greatest strength lies in the quality of our supporters and their active, enthusiastic participation in our programs. Our board members and sponsors make our programs possible, both as key participants and with their financial support. We would particularly like to acknowledge our board chairs, Casey Cogut of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Joe Frumkin of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, for their dedicated and enthusiastic work over the past year. We are delighted to have added seven new members to the board, and we welcome them: Louis J. Bevilacqua (Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP); Stephen Fraidin (Kirkland & Ellis LLP); Dennis J. Friedman (Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP); Mark I. Greene (Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP); Brendan R. Kalb (AQR Capital Management, LLC); Jeffrey D. Marell (Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP); and Allan N. Rauch (Bed Bath & Beyond). We also welcome back one returning member, Joel E. Friedlander (Bouchard Margules & Friedlander). There are changes in the ILE leadership team as well. After twelve years as co-director, Ed Rock is stepping down, although he will remain an active participant. The Institute welcomes William W. Bratton as co-director beginning in the fall of 2010. Bill comes to us from Georgetown University Law Center, where he was the Peter P. Weidenbruch, Jr. Professor of Business Law. He has been an active participant in ILE programs over the years, and we are privileged to have him as a partner moving forward. We extend our heartfelt thanks to all of our supporters for bringing your perspective, your ideas, your experience, and your expertise to all that we do. Your participation is necessary to realize the Institute’s purpose and objectives, and it makes our job as Institute directors immensely satisfying and worthwhile.
Jill E. Fisch, Co-Director, Institute for Law and Economics Perry Golkin Professor of Law Edward B. Rock, Co-Director, Institute for Law and Economics Saul A. Fox Distinguished Professor of Business Law Michael L. Wachter, Co-Director, Institute for Law and Economics William B. Johnson Professor of Law and Economics September 2010
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message from the co-directors