The Eighth Annual Berkeley Fall Forum on Corporate Governance
Conference Schedule
The conference agenda is below (all in Pacific Time):
Day 1
(All times Pacific)
Registration Opens
Welcome Remarks
Jamie Leigh, Partner Cooley
Angeli Patel, Executive Director Berkeley Center for Law and Business
Steve Tonsfeldt, Partner Cooley
SEC Enforcement Update
Stavros Gadinis, Professor University of California, Berkeley
Gurbir Grewal, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
FinReg: The Road Ahead
Moderator
Stavros Gadinis, Professor University of California, Berkeley
Speakers
Commissioner Cloey Hewlett California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation
Commissioner Hester Peirce U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Break
Dream Big and Win: Translating Passion into Purpose and Creating a Billion-Dollar Business
Liz Elting, Founder and CEO Elizabeth Elting Foundation
Frank Partnoy, Professor University of California, Berkeley
The C-Suite: Interview with Marcie Frost
Marcie Frost, Chief Executive Officer CalPERS
Denise O’Leary, Venture Capitalist
Lunch
The “State” of Delaware
Moderator
Shannon Eagan, Partner Cooley
Speakers
Randall J. Baron, Partner Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd
Paul Fioravanti, Vice Chancellor Delaware Court of Chancery
Honorable Kathaleen St. J. McCormick, Chancellor Delaware Court of Chancery
Elena Norman, Partner Young Conaway
Beyond ESG: Past, Present and Future
Moderator
Amelia Miazad, Professor University of California, Davis
Speakers
David Bell, Partner Fenwick
Steven Lipin, Chairman and CEO Gladstone Place Partners
Susan Mac Cormac, Board Member Berkeley Center for Law and Business
Break
The Great Debate: Remote vs. In-Person Work
Moderator
Adam Sterling, Assistant Dean University of California, Berkeley
Speakers
Flo Crivello, Founder and CEO Lindy
Sahil Lavingia, Founder and CEO Gumroad
Capital Markets Crystal Ball
Moderator
Alan Denenberg, Partner Davis Polk
Speakers
Joshua Bleharski, Managing Director JPMorgan Healthcare
Kate Claassen, Managing Director Morgan Stanley
Global Trends and Impact on Business Growth and Investment
Moderator
Eric Jensen, Partner Cooley
Speakers
Ed Batts, Partner Gibson Dunn
Joe Binder, Partner Debevoise & Plimpton
Paul Kranhold, Partner & Co-Chair, North America FGS Global
Flavia Naves, Commissioner Wyoming Stable Token Commission; former General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Circle
The Big Fail: What the Pandemic Revealed About Who America Protects and Who It Leaves Behind
Jamie Leigh, Partner Cooley
Joe Nocera, Author and Journalist The Free Press
Closing Remarks & Cocktail Reception
Day 2
(All times Pacific)
Registration Opens
Welcome Remarks
Jamie Leigh, Partner Cooley
Angeli Patel, Executive Director Berkeley Center for Law and Business
Steve Tonsfeldt, Partner Cooley
Conversation with OpenAI
Che Chang, General Counsel OpenAI
David Peinsipp, Partner Cooley
How Generative AI Will Change Corporate Transactions
Moderator
Adam Badawi, Professor University of California, Berkeley
Speakers
Che Chang, General Counsel OpenAI
Nadia Dugal, Co-founder Tome
Peter Werner, Partner Cooley
Break
2024 Deal Trends
Moderator
Jon Avina, Partner Cooley
Speakers
William Connolly, Partner Goldman Sachs
Bradley Libuit, Vice President, Legal Instacart
Emily Roberts, Partner Davis Polk
Audience Choice: Ask the Deal Experts
Moderator
Angeli Patel, Executive Director Berkeley Center for Law and Business
Speakers
Ben Beerle, Partner Cooley
Ivan Brockman, Partner PJT Partners
Ambassador Michael George DeSombre, Partner Sullivan & Cromwell
Navigating Critical Issues and Board Dynamics
Moderator
Seth Gottlieb, Partner Cooley
Speakers
Laura Berner, Chief Operating Officer TRexBio
Irene Liu, Executive in Residence Berkeley Law Executive Education
Dominic Perella, General Counsel Character.AI
Jed Repko, Partner Joele Frank
Live Podcast: Drinks with the Deal: David Marcus + Trâm Phi
David Marcus, Senior Writer & Host The Deal
Trâm Phi, SVP and General Counsel Databricks
Closing Remarks
Angeli Patel, Executive Director Berkeley Center for Law and Business
Speakers
Jon Avina
Partner
Cooley
Jon Avina
Partner
Cooley
Adam Badawi
Professor
University of California, Berkeley
Adam Badawi is a Professor of Law at UC Berkeley. He writes widely on issues of law and finance with an emphasis on corporate governance, corporate transactions, and shareholder litigation. Much of his recent work uses text analysis and machine learning to analyze debt agreements, merger documents, and shareholder class action complaints. At Berkeley Law, he teaches Contracts, Corporations, Mergers and Acquisitions, and seminars related to these topics.
His research includes Does Voluntary Financial Disclosure Matter? The Case of Fairness Opinions in M&A (forthcoming, The Journal of Law and Economics) (co-authored with Matthew D. Cain and Steven Davidoff Solomon), How Informative is the Text of Securities Complaints? (forthcoming, Journal of Law, Economics & Organization), Social Good and Litigation Risk (forthcoming, Harvard Business Law Review) (co-authored with Frank Partnoy); and Is There a First-Drafter Advantage in M&A?, California Law Review (2019, California Law Review) (co-authored with Elisabeth de Fontenay) (selected as one of the top 10 corporate and securities articles of 2019 by Corporate Practice Commentator).
Prior to joining the faculty of Berkeley Law in 2017, Badawi was a Professor of Law at Washington University in St. Louis. He has been a Visiting Professor at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and he served as a Bigelow Fellow at the University of Chicago Law School. Before joining the academy he was a litigator in the San Francisco office of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP and was a law clerk to the Hon. Michael McConnell of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Randall J. Baron
Partner
Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd
Randall J. Baron
Partner
Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd
Ed Batts
Partner
Gibson Dunn
Ed Batts
Partner
Gibson Dunn
Ben Beerle
Partner
Cooley
Ben Beerle
Partner
Cooley
David Bell
Partner
Fenwick
David Bell
Partner
Fenwick
Laura Berner
Chief Operating Officer
TRexBio
Laura Berner
Chief Operating Officer
TRexBio
Joe Binder
Partner
Debevoise & Plimpton
Joe Binder
Partner
Debevoise & Plimpton
Joshua Bleharski
Managing Director
JPMorgan Healthcare
Joshua Bleharski
Managing Director
JPMorgan Healthcare
Ivan Brockman
Partner
PJT Partners
Ivan Brockman
Partner
PJT Partners
Che Chang
General Counsel
OpenAI
Che Chang
General Counsel
OpenAI
Kate Claassen
Managing Director
Morgan Stanley
Kate Claassen
Managing Director
Morgan Stanley
William Connolly
Partner
Goldman Sachs
William Connolly
Partner
Goldman Sachs
Flo Crivello
Founder and CEO
Lindy
Flo Crivello
Founder and CEO
Lindy
Alan Denenberg
Partner
Davis Polk
Alan Denenberg
Partner
Davis Polk
Ambassador Michael George DeSombre
Partner
Sullivan & Cromwell
Ambassador Michael George DeSombre
Partner
Sullivan & Cromwell
Nadia Dugal
Co-founder
Tome
Nadia Dugal
Co-founder
Tome
Shannon Eagan
Partner
Cooley
Shannon Eagan
Partner
Cooley
Liz Elting
Founder and CEO
Elizabeth Elting Foundation
Liz Elting
Founder and CEO
Elizabeth Elting Foundation
Paul Fioravanti
Vice Chancellor
Delaware Court of Chancery
Paul Fioravanti
Vice Chancellor
Delaware Court of Chancery
Marcie Frost
Chief Executive Officer
CalPERS
Marcie Frost
Chief Executive Officer
CalPERS
Stavros Gadinis
Professor
University of California, Berkeley
Stavros Gadinis
Professor
University of California, Berkeley
Seth Gottlieb
Partner
Cooley
Seth Gottlieb
Partner
Cooley
Gurbir Grewal
Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Commissioner Cloey Hewlett
California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation
Commissioner Cloey Hewlett
California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation
Eric Jensen
Partner
Cooley
Eric Jensen
Partner
Cooley
Paul Kranhold
Partner & Co-Chair, North America
FGS Global
Paul Kranhold
Partner & Co-Chair, North America
FGS Global
Sahil Lavingia
Founder and CEO
Gumroad
Sahil Lavingia
Founder and CEO
Gumroad
Jamie Leigh
Partner
Cooley
Jamie Leigh
Partner
Cooley
Bradley Libuit
Vice President, Legal
Instacart
Bradley Libuit
Vice President, Legal
Instacart
Steven Lipin
Chairman and CEO
Gladstone Place Partners
Steven Lipin
Chairman and CEO
Gladstone Place Partners
Irene Liu
Executive in Residence
Berkeley Law Executive Education
Irene Liu
Executive in Residence
Berkeley Law Executive Education
Anita Lynch
Board Member
Nasdaq U.S. Exchanges
Anita Lynch
Board Member
Nasdaq U.S. Exchanges
Susan Mac Cormac
Board Member
Berkeley Center for Law and Business
Susan Mac Cormac
Board Member
Berkeley Center for Law and Business
David Marcus
Senior Writer & Host
The Deal
David Marcus
Senior Writer & Host
The Deal
Honorable Kathaleen St. J. McCormick
Chancellor
Delaware Court of Chancery
Honorable Kathaleen St. J. McCormick
Chancellor
Delaware Court of Chancery
Amelia Miazad
Professor
University of California, Davis
Amelia Miazad
Professor
University of California, Davis
Flavia Naves
Commissioner
Wyoming Stable Token Commission; former General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Circle
Flavia Naves
Commissioner
Wyoming Stable Token Commission; former General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Circle
Joe Nocera
Author and Journalist
The Free Press
Joe Nocera
Author and Journalist
The Free Press
Elena Norman
Partner
Young Conaway
Elena Norman
Partner
Young Conaway
Denise O’Leary
Venture Capitalist
Denise O’Leary
Venture Capitalist
Frank Partnoy
Professor
University of California, Berkeley
Angeli Patel
Executive Director
Berkeley Center for Law and Business
Angeli Patel is the Executive Director of the Berkeley Center for Law and Business. She is also a Lecturer at Berkeley Law for the Business in Society and the Sustainable Capitalism & ESG Executive Education course. Previously, Angeli was an attorney in the Sustainability & ESG Advisory Practice at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP in San Francisco, where she advised clients on the governance of climate and social risks. Angeli has also held an advisory role at the UN Global Compact Network Australia focused on corporate sustainability matters. Prior to her legal career, Angeli was at The White House’s Office of Management and Budget in the Obama Administration and served as a policy advisor at the Ministry of Finance in the Government of Chile. In addition to her career in law and government, Angeli is an adviser to Mandala, a mental health and DEI startup, and launched her own puzzle company for women of color in 2021.
Dave Peinsipp
Partner
Cooley
Dave Peinsipp
Partner
Cooley
Commissioner Hester Peirce
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Commissioner Hester Peirce
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Dominic Perella
General Counsel
Character.AI
Dominic Perella
General Counsel
Character.AI
Trâm Phi
SVP and General Counsel
Databricks
Trâm Phi
SVP and General Counsel
Databricks
Jed Repko
Partner
Joele Frank
Jed Repko
Partner
Joele Frank
Emily Roberts
Partner
Davis Polk
Emily Roberts
Partner
Davis Polk
Adam Sterling
Assistant Dean
University of California, Berkeley
Adam Sterling
Assistant Dean
University of California, Berkeley
Steve Tonsfeldt
Partner
Cooley
Steve Tonsfeldt
Partner
Cooley
Peter Werner
Partner
Cooley
Peter Werner
Partner
Cooley