The Ninth Annual Berkeley Spring Forum on M&A and the Boardroom
Conference Schedule
The conference agenda is below (all in Pacific Time):
Day 1
(All times Pacific)
In-Person Registration Opens
Welcome Remarks
Adam Badawi, Professor University of California, Berkeley
Ethan Klingsberg, Partner & Co-Head of US Corporate/M&A Freshfields
Angeli Patel, Executive Director Berkeley Center for Law and Business
Antitrust Policy: Protecting America’s Consumers
David Singh Grewal, Professor University of California, Berkeley
Lina M. Khan, Chair Federal Trade Commission
Break
How Boards and Their Advisors Are to Make Sense of the Expectations of Institutional Investors
Adam Badawi, Professor University of California, Berkeley
Giuseppe Bivona, Partner and CIO Bluebell Capital Partners
Matt Cole, CIO, Global Head of Fixed Income Strive
Tariq Fancy, Author, Secret Diary of a Sustainable Investor
Ethan Klingsberg, Partner & Co-Head of US Corporate/M&A Freshfields
Anne Simpson, Global Head of Sustainability Franklin Templeton
Break
Fireside Chat with the Delaware Court of Chancery
The Honorable Nathan Cook, Vice Chancellor Delaware Court of Chancery
Stavros Gadinis, Professor University of California, Berkeley
Meredith Kotler, Partner Freshfields
Break
The Evolution of CFIUS and Regulation of Outbound Investment from the U.S.
Andrew Fair, CFIUS Staff Chair and Director, Office of Investment Review & Investigation U.S. Department of the Treasury
Irene Liu, Executive in Residence Berkeley Law Executive Education
Aimen Mir, Partner Freshfields
Break
Antitrust Policy: What Comes Next for Europe
Lucia Bonova, Head of Unit – Digital Platforms at DG Competition European Commission
Prasad Krishnamurthy , Professor University of California, Berkeley
Jenn Mellott, Partner Freshfields
Break
Fireside Chat with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Frank Partnoy, Professor University of California, Berkeley
Ted Yu, Associate Director (Specialized Policy and Disclosure), Division of Corporation Finance U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Closing Remarks and Cocktail Reception
Speakers
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.
Giuseppe Bivona
Partner and CIO
Bluebell Capital Partners
Giuseppe Bivona
Partner and CIO
Bluebell Capital Partners
Lucia Bonova
Head of Unit – Digital Platforms at DG Competition
European Commission
Lucia Bonova
Head of Unit – Digital Platforms at DG Competition
European Commission
Matt Cole
CIO, Global Head of Fixed Income
Strive
Matt Cole
CIO, Global Head of Fixed Income
Strive
The Honorable Nathan Cook
Vice Chancellor
Delaware Court of Chancery
The Honorable Nathan Cook
Vice Chancellor
Delaware Court of Chancery
Andrew Fair
CFIUS Staff Chair and Director, Office of Investment Review & Investigation
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Andrew Fair
CFIUS Staff Chair and Director, Office of Investment Review & Investigation
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Tariq Fancy
Author, Secret Diary of a Sustainable Investor
Tariq Fancy
Author, Secret Diary of a Sustainable Investor
Stavros Gadinis
Professor
University of California, Berkeley
Stavros Gadinis
Professor
University of California, Berkeley
David Singh Grewal
Professor
University of California, Berkeley
David Singh Grewal
Professor
University of California, Berkeley
Lina M. Khan
Chair
Federal Trade Commission
Lina M. Khan
Chair
Federal Trade Commission
Ethan Klingsberg
Partner & Co-Head of US Corporate/M&A
Freshfields
Ethan Klingsberg co-heads Freshfields’ US Corporate/M&A practice. He’s one of the most prolific corporate lawyers in the country, heading up market-leading projects from coast to coast in all sectors and for companies of all sizes. Every guide regularly recognizes him as a leading corporate lawyer, and he’s received numerous MVP, All-Star, Legend, and Dealmaker accolades. He often appears on BloombergTV and CNBC to discuss M&A, governance, shareholder activism, the SEC, and board processes, and publishes essays on corporate law topics in The Financial Times, Reuters Breaking Views, MarketWatch, The New York Law Journal, and Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance. Ethan has been elected by his colleagues at other firms as a Fellow of the American College of Governance Counsel and received the Burton Award for Legal Achievement for his writing on fiduciary duties. He co-founded the Berkeley Law Spring Forum on M&A and the Boardroom ten years ago and has co-hosted the event every year since then. He is very grateful to the amazing teams at Berkeley and Freshfields that make this event a stand-out.
Meredith Kotler
Partner
Freshfields
Meredith Kotler
Partner
Freshfields
Prasad Krishnamurthy
Professor
University of California, Berkeley
Prasad Krishnamurthy
Professor
University of California, Berkeley
Irene Liu
Executive in Residence
Berkeley Law Executive Education
Irene Liu
Executive in Residence
Berkeley Law Executive Education
Jenn Mellott
Partner
Freshfields
Jenn Mellott
Partner
Freshfields
Aimen Mir
Partner
Freshfields
Aimen Mir
Partner
Freshfields
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.
Anne Simpson
Global Head of Sustainability
Franklin Templeton
Anne Simpson
Global Head of Sustainability
Franklin Templeton
Ted Yu
Associate Director (Specialized Policy and Disclosure), Division of Corporation Finance
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Ted Yu
Associate Director (Specialized Policy and Disclosure), Division of Corporation Finance
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission