2019 Global TEC Forum
The Global TEC Forum: Empowering Change in Technology, Education and Careers (G-TEC) addresses diversity in the tech industry, the latest disruptions and challenges facing the legal profession, and how emerging technologies are changing the practice of law. In addition to educational panels, participants attend career development sessions and workshops specifically tailored for their career track and level of experience. The ultimate goal for each attendee is to cultivate professional relationships, learn about the latest tech developments in the legal profession and strategically advance their professional brand and career.
Please add events@mcca.com to your Address Book or Contacts to receive any future communications regarding the Global TEC Forum.
APRIL 4-5, 2019
Hilton San Francisco Union Square
333 O’Farrell St
San Francisco, CA 94102
Course Materials
CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION
California Breaks New Privacy Ground (Again): The California Consumer Privacy Act and What It Means
1000 Cut Journey and Immersive Virtual Reality: Stroll A Mile in A Black Man’s Digital Shoes
Fast Data and Sports: How Sports Data Is Reshaping How We Look at The World
Not Just on The Fly: Drone Strategies for Businesses
Minority Report: The Ethics & Impacts of Algorithms
Contract Lifecycle Management: Right Process, Right Sourcing, Right Technology
Including The “Invisible” Minority: How Tech Can Assist Blind and Low-Vision Lawyers Lead the Way
Status Update: “It’s Complicated” – Examining the Relationship Between Privacy and AVs
EVENT SPONSORS
MCCA would like to thank all of our generous sponsors who supported MCCA’s 2019 Global TEC (Technology, Education, and Careers) Forum.
Title Sponsor
G-TEC Advisory Council
STUART ALDEROTY (HONORARY CHAIR)
General Counsel,
Ripple
REGINALD RASCH (CHAIR)
General Counsel –
Head of Legal,
Rakuten USA, Inc.
JONATHAN AVILA
Vice President,
Chief Privacy Officer,
Walmart, Inc.
IRIS CHEN
Vice President, Legal,
Google LLC
NKECHI CHUKWUEKE
Corporate Counsel,
VMware, Inc.
JENNIFER IVAN
Assistant General Counsel,
Microsoft Corporation
KEVIN LYN
Diversity Committee
Co-Chair & Partner,
Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP
DAVID PILSON
Senior Director,
eBay Inc.
JEEWON KIM SERRATO
Partner & Head of Data Protection, Privacy and Cybersecurity US,
Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP
ANGELA SHERRER
Director and Associate General Counsel, Global Law Enforcement and Safety,
Twitter, Inc.
2019 MCCA Rainmakers
ELENA BACA
Partner,
Paul Hastings LLP
NEEL CHATTERJEE
Partner,
Goodwin Procter LLP
MICHAEL CHU
Partner,
McDermott Will & Emery LLP
DAN CLIVNER
Managing Partner – Los Angeles,
Sidley Austin LLP
VINCENT H. COHEN, JR.
Partner,
Dechert LLP
STEPHEN KORNICZKY
Partner,
Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP
LORRAINE MCGOWEN
Partner, Firmwide Diversity & Inclusion Co-Chair,
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
RAJ NATARAJAN
Partner; Chair, Debt Finance Department,
McGuireWoods LLP
KIMBERLY PARKER
Partner,
WilmerHale
GRACE SPEIGHTS
Partner and Leader of Morgan Lewis’s Global Labor & Employment Practice,
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
ERIC WANG
Partner; Co-Chair, Northern California Corporate and Finance Practice,
DLA Piper
2019 Justification Toolkit
You recognize the value of attending Global TEC Forum, but how do you convey that message to your manager? With budgetary constraints and increased scrutiny on business travel, gaining approval to attend conferences can sometimes pose a challenge. It is important to demonstrate the benefits of attending in order to justify the expense. Use MCCA’s G-TEC Justification Toolkit to help you make the ask, prepare for G-TEC, and get the most from our conference and your membership.
EVENT AGENDA
Day 1 — THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 2019
*Please note the agenda times are in EDT.
7:00 AM – 7:00 PM
REGISTRATION AND INFORMATION DESK
7:00 AM – 8:30 AM
Breakfast
8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
PITCH SESSION NETWORK
To learn more about the Pitch Session Network, click here.
9:00 AM – 11:30 AM
MCCA’S BLUEPRINT FOR SELLING & BUYING – A PITCH WORKSHOP FOR OUTSIDE & IN-HOUSE COUNSEL
Through instruction and experiential learning, participants will work together to learn skills and behaviors for building successful business relationships. Outside counsel will have the opportunity to work in teams to develop a formal pitch from a mock RFP for legal services, which will be presented to senior in-house counsel.
This workshop is open to law firm members only and has max capacity of 20 participants. Preference will be given to law firm partners; associates are welcome to apply if their firm is a two tier partner system. In-house members who would like to serve as workshop coaches, assisting law firm participants with their pitches and sharing best practices, are invited to email Sophia Piliouras at spiliouras@mcca.com.
Non-members will be placed on a waiting list as will any other participants once we reach max capacity. Additional information and workshop materials will be provided to participants prior to the conference. If you would like to be added to the workshop waitlist, please email Lauren Hossfeld at lhossfeld@mcca.com.
Workshop Coaches:
- Michelle Cooke – Partner, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP
- Jacqueline Davis – Vice President & Deputy General Counsel, VMware, Inc.
- Jennifer Ivan – Assistant General Counsel, Microsoft Corporation
- Sophia Piliouras – President, MCCA Advisory Practice, Minority Corporate Counsel Association
12:00 PM – 2:00 PM
LUNCHEON PLENARY – CALIFORNIA BREAKS NEW PRIVACY GROUND (AGAIN): THE CALIFORNIA CONSUMER PRIVACY ACT AND WHAT IT MEANS
Presented by: Walmart, Inc.
Customer trust, corporate responsibility and regulatory obligations are issues engulfing not only the tech industry but all corporations that have direct-to-consumer relationships. While tech executives are testifying before Congressional committees regarding potential federal privacy legislation, California already has passed the most stringent consumer privacy legislation yet seen in the United States. Taking its lead from the recent European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) grants individuals rights of access to their personal data, rights to block disclosure of that data and rights to demand erasure of the data, as well as unprecedented private rights of action for data breaches. Our distinguished panelists will explore the implications of these developments for American business and offer a guide to helping organizations cope with these unprecedented changes.
Moderator:
Mark Brennan – Partner, Hogan Lovells US LLP
Panelists:
- Joanne Charles – Attorney, Microsoft Corporation
- Ravi Inthiran – Privacy Officer and Senior Director, Compliance, Ripple Labs Inc.
- Stuart Lee – Senior Director & Chief Privacy Officer, VMware, Inc.
- Heather Vigil – Shareholder, Littler Mendelson P.C.
2:30 PM – 3:30 PM
1000 CUT JOURNEY AND IMMERSIVE VIRTUAL REALITY: WALK A MILE IN A BLACK MAN’S DIGITAL SHOES
Presented by: MCCA
What if you could literally walk in another person’s shoes? Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab and Columbia University Research Lab have created an experience that examines racism via virtual reality. They have created 1000 Cut Journey, an immersive virtual reality experience that allows you to walk in the shoes of Michael Sterling, a Black male, and encounter racism first-hand, as a young child, an adolescent, and a young adult. Understanding the social realities of racism is critical to promoting effective and collective social action. This project builds on Dr. Cogburn’s research and examines how virtual reality can induce empathy for people different from oneself and be used powerfully in training situations for inclusion.
Dr. Cogburn will discuss the effects of this immersive virtual experience on changes in psychological processes, including empathy/social perspective taking, racial bias, and decision making. The panel will also feature leaders in the legal profession that have experienced this unique virtual reality environment. They will share their personal experience and discuss how these types of VR experiences will impact the future of D&I training and create more inclusive working environments.
Moderators:
- Dr. Courtney D. Cogburn – Assistant Professor, Columbia University School of Social Work
- Sophia Piliouras – President, MCCA Advisory Practice, Minority Corporate Counsel Association
Panelists:
- Stuart Alderoty – General Counsel, Ripple
- Samantha Grant – Partner, Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP
- Jean Lee – President & CEO, Minority Corporate Counsel Association
- Reginald Rasch – General Counsel – Head of Legal, Rakuten USA, Inc.
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
FAST DATA AND SPORTS: HOW SPORTS DATA IS RESHAPING HOW WE LOOK AT THE WORLD
Presented by: Stinson Leonard Street LLP
Look at the back of any baseball card, and it’s easy to see that numbers matter. Indeed, as memorialized in Michael Lewis’s book, Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, later popularized in the movie adaptation starring Brad Pitt, statistics have already had a huge impact on sports. And, in an industry that hinges on split-second decisions, it’s not just Big Data, but “Fast Data,” or how quickly you can access and use that Big Data, that can determine whether you win or lose.
The reach of Fast Data isn’t limited to on-field performance or even sports. With the proliferation of the Internet of Things, more data is being created today than ever before, and early adopters are using Fast Data to perfect operations, engage customers, and stay on top of market trends in ways unimaginable just a few years ago. By focusing on the “now” of data, companies are able to create meaningful business outcomes that translate directly into dollars and cents in real time.
And this push for Fast Data will undoubtedly increase our need for reliable data—there is a lot of data out there and using the wrong data could compromise or even derail any efforts to keep up in this über-competitive Information Age. Moreover, any actionable data is likely propagated from a number of key players in the data supply chain that could stake some claim on that data. Even if there were a central, trusted data resource, who would be responsible for managing and protecting that data, particularly when there is new data being generated? And how much is too much?
This session will use sports data as a lens to explore these issues related to data ownership, data privacy, data integrity, data monetization, and more.
Moderator:
David Kim – Partner, Stinson Leonard Street LLP
Panelists:
- Maggy Carlyle – Counsel, Business & Legal Affairs, Pac-12 Enterprises
- D’Lonra Ellis – Assistant General Counsel, Oakland Athletics Baseball Company
- Njeri Mutura – Corporate Attorney, Microsoft Corporation
- Aalok Sharma – Attorney, Stinson Leonard Street LLP
5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
Welcome RECEPTION
6:30 PM – 9:30 PM
PITCH SESSION NETWORK COCKTAIL RECEPTION AND DINNER (INVITE ONLY)
Time:
6:30 pm – 7:30 pm Cocktail Reception
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Dinner
7:00 PM – 10:00 PM
MCCA DINE-A-ROUND
Looking to connect with colleagues during G-TEC? Join your fellow attendees for an informal* Dine-A-Round dinner. Personally connecting in a smaller setting will allow you to benefit from diverse experiences and foster new relationships.
*This is a Dutch treat meal, meaning attendees will pay for their own meal. All restaurants will be able to provide separate checks.
The Dine-A-Round event will take place on Thursday, April 4 at top-rated restaurants within walking distance of the Hilton San Francisco Union Square. Reservations will be arranged by MCCA and will range in size between 5-12 people.
The Dine-A-Round event is open to registered 2019 G-TEC Forum attendees only. Please note that the meal and drink costs are not included in your conference registration.
Restaurant information and official sign up will be available at the G-TEC registration booth starting at 7:00 AM on Thursday, April 4. By selecting Dine-A-Round on your registration now, you are confirming your interest and intent to participate.
Day 2 — Friday, APRIL 5, 2019
*Please note the agenda times are in EDT.
7:00 AM – 7:00 PM
REGISTRATION AND INFORMATION DESK
7:00 AM – 8:30 AM
Breakfast
8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
PITCH SESSION NETWORK
To learn more about the Pitch Session Network, click here.
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
NOT JUST ON THE FLY: DRONE STRATEGIES FOR BUSINESSES
Presented by: Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Thousands of businesses already use UAS in their operations, and many more are considering their strategy for integrating UAS in the future. The growing number of businesses that want to utilize UAS include, but are by no means limited to, newsgathering; companies that want to make drone deliveries; and 16 sectors of critical infrastructure: Chemicals, Commercial Facilities, Communications, Critical Manufacturing, Dams, Defense Industrial Base, Emergency Services, Energy, Financial Services, Food and Agriculture, Government Facilities, Healthcare and Public Health, Information Technology, Nuclear Reactors, Materials, and Waste, Transportation Systems, and Water and Wastewater Systems.
Companies in these 16 sectors face a complex and evolving regulatory environment and need knowledgeable legal counsel to guide them on the unique offensive and defensive issues that are emerging as drones become an integral part of their traditional business model. This panel will discuss best practices and review the legal issues and compliance requirements under federal, state and local laws when using drones; strategies for protecting critical assets from careless, clueless and criminal drones (including counter-UAS technologies); obtaining the right insurance; and addressing privacy, data protection and cybersecurity concerns.
Moderator:
Alice Hsu – Partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Panelists:
- Parimal Kopardekar – (Acting) Director of NASA Aeronautics Research Institute & Sr. Technologist for Air Transportation Systems, NASA
- Suzanne Lemieux – Manager, Midstream & Industry Operations, American Petroleum Institute
- Judy Liu – Associate General Counsel, CenterPoint Energy, Inc.
- Jennifer Richter – Partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
10:30 AM – 11:30 AM
MINORITY REPORT: THE ETHICS & IMPACTS OF ALGORITHMS
Presented by: Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
The information age has provided us with unparalleled insight into human conduct. Seemingly every digital move we make is captured, mined, commoditized, and leveraged for a myriad of commercial purposes. As a society, we encourage and applaud innovation, experimentation, and development, and we are delegating more and more decision-making to artificial intelligence, automation, and computer programming. Reactive by nature, the law is struggling to keep up with the pace of technological advancement, but we should also be considering the potential biases, hidden agendas, and discriminatory implications inherent in our aggressive pursuit of technology. This session will address the questions that the legal profession should be asking and how organizations can move forward in a responsible, legal, and ethical way.
Moderator:
Yodi Hailemariam – Associate, Information Privacy, Security & Governance Group, Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
Panelists:
- Bennett Borden – Chief Data Scientist and Chair, IG Group, Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
- Jessica Lee – Partner, Co-Chair of Privacy, Security & Data Innovations, Loeb & Loeb LLP
- Alexandra Ross – Director, Global Privacy and Data Security Counsel, Autodesk, Inc.
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM
LUNCHEON PLENARY – CONTRACT LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT: RIGHT PROCESS, RIGHT SOURCING, RIGHT TECHNOLOGY / PRESENTATION OF 2019 MCCA RAINMAKERS AWARD
Luncheon and Presentation of 2019 MCCA Rainmaker Awards: 12:00 – 12:30 PM
Contract Lifecycle Management: Right Process, Right Sourcing, Right Technology
Presented by: VMware, Inc.
Speed is a quality all its own. Removing contracting friction from core business operations is therefore a defining objective of corporate law departments. The panel will present innovative approaches to re-engineering the entire contract lifecycle while also focusing on the human side—i.e., change management.
Specifically, the experts will explain how they have streamlined contract generation, including the incorporation of low-risk, self-service contracts made available directly to business users. They will explore how an all-digital workflow, from generation to execution, has facilitated their state-of-the-art repository. The repository is built for scale, as opposed to making the system incrementally more cumbersome, each additional contract adds a bundle of data points that makes the repository more valuable as a business intelligence tool. The attendant analytics have enhanced the reporting and compliance. Now, businesses can track KPIs like volume and velocity, and also perform much deeper analysis, such as the prevalence and characteristics of non-standard terms.
Furthermore, the panel will preview their efforts to increase throughput by extending this new approach to customer paper, some of which is now reviewed in seconds by an artificial intelligence tool that compares the customer’s proposed term to their playbooks.
Finally, the panel will focus on change management, and how they got stakeholders to embrace not only new processes and new tools, but also new team members in the form of offshore personnel.
Moderator:
Jacqueline Davis – Vice President & Deputy General Counsel, VMware, Inc.
Panelists:
- Chase D’Agostino – Assistant Vice President of Corporate Solutions, QuisLex
- Delma Locke – Associate General Counsel, Global Head of New Mobility, Uber Technologies Inc.
- Suchitra Narayen – Vice President, North America Commercial Legal, Informatica
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
INCLUDING THE “INVISIBLE” MINORITY: HOW TECH CAN ASSIST BLIND AND LOW-VISION LAWYERS LEAD THE WAY
Presented by: Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck, LLP
The American Bar Association (ABA) reports that 7% of its members have a disability. In 2011 41% of ABA firms had a lawyer with a disability in a “leadership position,” but not one was the chair or chair-elect. Despite the Americans with Disabilities Act’s 20-plus years of improvements in building access for people with disabilities, invisible barriers persist that block people with visual disabilities from the top management of law firms and general counsel offices. A simple example: a management spreadsheet distributed as a PDF document with tightly-crammed rows and columns that cannot be enlarged or read aloud by digital readers.
The answer in part may be digital accessibility–providing corporate communications and management reports in accessible formats and building tools to aid the visually impaired in reading and navigating websites. But technology can only go so far. Attitudes need to be adjusted just as much as physical curbs need to be cut. In a word-driven profession like the law, we need to recall that for most of human history language was spoken, not read.
Through the true stories of visually-impaired pioneers in the law, told by themselves in person and in media clips, we will explore the technology and sociology of blindness in the law and in technology industries, and, by extension, how other sensory and physical disabilities can be overcome through innovation and leadership.
Moderator:
Louie Castoria – Partner, Co-Chair of Professional Liability Practice Group, Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck, LLP
Panelists:
- Timothy Elder – Principal Attorney, TRE Legal Practice
- Karae Lisle – Chief Executive Officer, Vista Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired
- Neil Wilcox – Senior Vice President & General Counsel, Enterprise Shared Services, USAA
3:30 PM – 4:30 PM
STATUS UPDATE: “IT’S COMPLICATED” – EXAMINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PRIVACY AND AVs
Presented by: Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP
Autonomous Vehicles (“AVs”) are no longer science fiction…they are a reality and once AVs become mainstream, they will revolutionize the methods in which we travel, work, and live. As legal counsels, we will also need to adopt and act as thought leaders in not only interpreting and applying new and emerging laws but also in shaping the laws.
AVs, to operate correctly and safely, require a vast amount of data. As a result, privacy and cybersecurity implications are at the forefront of this technology and this is a fast-evolving legal and regulatory landscape. For example, this past summer, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) released its voluntary guidance, Automated Vehicles 3.0. Additionally, the US Congress is considering federal legislation, including the SELF-DRIVE Act in the House of Representatives, and Washington, DC and over 20 states have enacted their own legislation, including California, Florida, Illinois, New York, and South Carolina.
Laws like the California Consumer Privacy Act, which gives GDPR-like data rights to California consumers are also changing the way organizations must look at how data is collected, used, and shared with third parties. But how can we apply these privacy laws to AVs? How will manufacturers embed privacy and cybersecurity controls into the design process? What kinds of commercial applications will the new data sets collected by AVs create and what kinds of interest would we expect to see from advertisers and other commercial players in that data?
This practical, hands-on workshop will use AVs as a case study to take the participants through the privacy and cybersecurity framework as it is applied to this new and emerging technology. After a review of the latest industry and government take on AVs and a discussion of the new types of data that will be collected from IoT devices and smartphones generally and AVs specifically, participants will be divided into small groups to explore key privacy and cybersecurity issues related to AVs, including: (1) How does consent work?; (2) Should an opt-in or opt-out approach for data collection be used?; (3) What type of data is necessary for the vehicle to operate – i.e., what type of data sharing are users prohibited from opting-out of?; (4) Who will “own” the vehicle’s data?; and (5) What about data portability and retention?
Moderator:
Jeewon Kim Serrato – Partner & Head of Data Protection, Privacy and Cybersecurity US, Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP
Panelists:
- Brett Cook – Associate General Counsel, Data Privacy, Cyber Security and Investigations, US Navy
- Lior Nuchi – Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP
- Darah Okeke – Senior Employment Counsel, Uber Technologies Inc.
4:30 PM – 6:00 PM
CLOSING RECEPTION
EVENT SPEAKERS
STUART ALDEROTY
General Counsel,
Ripple
MARK BRENNAN
Partner,
Hogan Lovells US LLP
MAGGY CARLYLE
Counsel, Business & Legal Affairs,
Pac-12 Enterprises
LOUIE CASTORIA
Partner, Co-Chair of Professional Liability Practice Group,
Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck, LLP
JOANNE CHARLES
Attorney,
Microsoft Corporation
DR. COURTNEY D. COGBURN
Assistant Professor,
Columbia University School of Social Work
MICHELLE COOKE
Partner,
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP
BRETT COOK
Associate General Counsel, Data Privacy, Cyber Security and Investigations,
US Navy
CHASE D’AGOSTINO
Assistant Vice President of Corporate Solutions,
QuisLex
JACQUELINE DAVIS
Vice President & Deputy General Counsel,
VMware, Inc.
TIMOTHY ELDER
Principal Attorney,
TRE Legal Practice
D’LONRA ELLIS
Assistant General Counsel,
Oakland Athletics Baseball Company
SAMANTHA GRANT
Partner,
Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP
YODI HAILEMARIAM
Associate,
Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
ALICE HSU
Partner,
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
RAVI INTHIRAN
Privacy Officer and Senior Director, Compliance,
Ripple Labs Inc.
JENNIFER IVAN
Assistant General Counsel,
Microsoft Corporation
DAVID KIM
Partner,
Stinson Leonard Street LLP
PARIMAL KOPARDEKAR
(Acting) Director of NASA Aeronautics Research Institute & Sr. Technologist for Air Transportation Systems,
NASA
JEAN LEE
President & CEO,
Minority Corporate Counsel Association
JESSICA LEE
Partner, Co-Chair of Privacy, Security & Data Innovations,
Loeb & Loeb LLP
STUART LEE
Senior Director & Chief Privacy Officer,
VMware, Inc.
SUZANNE LEMIEUX
Manager, Midstream & Industry Operations,
American Petroleum Institute
KARAE LISLE
Chief Executive Officer,
Vista Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired
JUDY LIU
Associate General Counsel,
CenterPoint Energy, Inc.
DELMA LOCKE
Associate General Counsel, Global Head of New Mobility,
Uber Technologies Inc.
NJERI MUTURA
Corporate Attorney,
Microsoft Corporation
SUCHITRA NARAYEN
Vice President, North America Commercial Legal,
Informatica
LIOR NUCHI
Partner,
Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP
DARAH OKEKE
Senior Employment Counsel,
Uber Technologies Inc.
SOPHIA PILIOURAS
President, MCCA Advisory Practice,
Minority Corporate Counsel Association
REGINALD RASCH
General Counsel – Head of Legal,
Rakuten USA, Inc.
JENNIFER RICHTER
Partner,
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
ALEXANDRA ROSS
Director, Global Privacy and Data Security Counsel,
Autodesk, Inc.
JEEWON KIM SERRATO
Partner & Head of Data Protection, Privacy and Cybersecurity US,
Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP
AALOK SHARMA
Attorney,
Stinson Leonard Street LLP
HEATHER VIGIL
Shareholder,
Littler Mendelson P.C.
NEIL WILCOX
Senior Vice President & General Counsel, Enterprise Shared Services,
USAA
Registration & Fees
All Major Credit Cards are accepted.
MCCA Law Firm Members and Corporate Members: Please note as part of your company’s/firm’s membership benefits you may be entitled to a complimentary registration or a member discount rate for the conference registration.
For complimentary member registrations, members must obtain their complimentary codes from their “Company/Firm” and use them during registration. The complementary codes should be entered in the discount code field at the Payment Page and members must click “Apply Now” to zero their balance.
For member discount rates to apply, members must select their “Company/Firm” from a drop-down in Custom Information during the registration process. The member discount rate will automatically be applied at the Payment page.
For any questions or inquiries, please contact events@mcca.com.
SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:
Any special needs for facilities, visual aids or dietary requirements must be sent to events@mcca.com.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Click here to review the MCCA Conference Registration General Terms and Conditions.
CANCELLATIONS & SUBSTITUTIONS:
All cancellations MUST be received in writing.
Cancellations received before the “Early-Bird” deadline will be fully refunded minus a $100.00 administrative fee.
Cancellations received after the “Early-Bird” deadline but no later than 72 hours prior to the first date of an MCCA conference may, at MCCA’s discretion made on a case-by-case basis, apply a credit in the amount paid for the 2019 Global TEC Forum towards attendance to MCCA’s 2020 Global TEC Forum.
There will be NO refunds or credits for cancellations received less than 72 hours prior to the first date of the MCCA Conference.
Any approved credits will be processed after the MCCA conference.
An organization may substitute one paid participant for another participant from the same organization.
Cancellations and requests for substitutions must be submitted to events@mcca.com.
FINANCIAL HARDSHIP POLICY:
This financial hardship policy applies to attorneys from MCCA member organizations, non-member organizations, or attorneys in public service. Attorneys who are unable to afford event registration fees due to financial hardship may petition for registration fee waivers or discounted registration fees. Full scholarships and discounts to attend MCCA’s conference are given priority to pro bono attorneys, judges, law professors, lawyers who work for nonprofit organizations, legal services organizations or government agencies, and unemployed attorneys with financial hardships. MCCA may waive or reduce the registration fee for MCCA conference at their discretion.
Additional Information:
MCCA will review applications on a rolling basis.
Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.
Full scholarship or reduced registration fees will not be granted retroactively.
Full scholarship or reduced registration fees are non-transferable from event to event or person to person.
MCCA will not review applications that are not submitted via the official application form.
Stuart Alderoty
General Counsel,
Ripple
—
Stuart Alderoty is General Counsel at Ripple. Stuart brings more than 30 years of legal experience to the role with expertise in financial services and regulatory affairs. He’s been General Counsel and part of the executive leadership teams at CIT Group and HSBC North America Holdings. Stuart also was Managing Counsel at American Express where he served on the leadership team of the President and CEO of American Express’ Consumer Card Business. Stuart began his career in private practice and was a partner with the international law firm of LeBouef, Lamb, Greene and MacRae where he specialized in litigation.
Reginald Rasch
General Counsel – Head of Legal,
Rakuten USA, Inc.
—
Reginald M. Rasch is the Head of Legal of Rakuten USA, Inc., the US division of Rakuten, Inc., a global leader in ecommerce and internet services based in Tokyo, Japan. Rasch leads the day-to-day legal operations for the region and his practice includes M&A, strategic investments, commercial transactions, privacy, intellectual property, employment and litigation. Rasch is also part of the Rakuten USA management team and works closely with other executives to drive key strategic initiatives in the Americas region.
Prior to joining the Rakuten Group in 2000, Rasch worked as a corporate associate at New York law firms, Warshaw Burstein, LLP and Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLC and Connecticut law firm Cummings & Lockwood.
Rasch is a past President and Board Member of the Association of Corporate Counsel, New York City Chapter and currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association. He also serves on the Board of the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation.
Rasch received his Bachelors of Science degree in Business from the State University of New York at New Paltz and his Juris Doctorate degree from St. John’s University School of Law.
Jonathan Avila
Vice President, Chief Privacy Officer,
Walmart, Inc.
—
Mr. Avila joined Walmart Inc. as Vice President, Chief Privacy Officer in October 2012. Mr. Avila is responsible for the worldwide data privacy and records management program for Walmart’s operations involving 11,000 retail locations with more than two million employees in 27 countries, as well as Walmart’s e-commerce websites in ten countries. Mr. Avila previously served as Vice President — Counsel, Chief Privacy Officer of The Walt Disney Company. Mr. Avila initiated the data privacy program at Disney in 2001 and led the development of Disney’s enterprise privacy compliance program covering all of Disney’s online and offline business activities in the nearly 50 countries in which Disney operates.
Mr. Avila began his career as a law clerk to Judge W. Eugene Davis of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Mr. Avila later was an associate with Latham & Watkins, and Litigation Counsel with the CBS television network. Before joining Disney, Mr. Avila served as General Counsel, Chief Privacy Officer of MValue.com, Inc., a venture capital funded Internet company. Mr. Avila served for five years on the board of directors of the International Association of Privacy Professionals, including serving as President of the IAPP in 2009.
Mr. Avila graduated with a B.A. from Yale University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. Mr. Avila has taught on the subject of privacy law as an Adjunct Professor of the School of Law of the University of Arkansas.
Iris Chen
Deputy General Counsel,
Airbnb, Inc.
—
Iris Chen is a Deputy General Counsel in the Legal Department at Airbnb, Inc. where she leads a team of 40 attorneys and legal professionals that support Airbnb’s product, commercial and marketing functions as well as managing the company’s trademark and copyright matters. Prior to joining Airbnb, Iris spent 14 years with Google as a Vice President in the Legal Department where she led a team of 145+ legal team members responsible for supporting global product development and all commercial transactions in North America and EMEA for Google’s advertising, commerce, payments, search, research, health, geo and supporting infrastructure services. Iris is experienced in leading and developing legal teams and advising executives across product, engineering, sales, business development and other functions. Before joining Google, Iris was a corporate associate at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett (2001-2004) and then Ropes & Gray (2004-2006) as an associate in the firm’s investment management practice. Iris is a graduate of Yale College and Columbia Law School.
Outside of work, Iris currently serves on the boards of the Columbia Law School Association and the Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose.
Nkechi Chukwueke
Corporate Counsel,
VMware, Inc.
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Nkechi Chukwueke serves in the role of Corporate Counsel at VMware in Chicago, IL. Prior to joining VMware, Nkechi was an Attorney at IBM, working in the Washington, DC area. Nkechi has experience in commercial technology transactions, including channel pricing matters, and public sector contracts with the U.S. federal government, state and local entities, and international organizations. She has a reputation for being a diplomatic negotiator and trusted business advisor to her internal clients. In her spare time, she enjoys mentoring law students, playing and coaching soccer and visiting new countries. Nkechi earned her J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School, where she was a recipient of the Thurgood Marshall Award for Academic Achievement, and her B.A. from Stanford University where she majored in International Relations and minored in African Studies.
Jennifer Ivan
Associate General Counsel,
Microsoft Corporation
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Jennifer Ivan is an Associate General Counsel for Microsoft Corporation in Redmond, Washington, where she supports Microsoft’s Security, Compliance, and Management (SCM) group. In this role, she manages a team of legal professionals that provides general counseling and transactional legal support in areas of product development, product marketing, privacy, regulatory and compliance matters. The SCM group is responsible for IT management tools and services like Windows 365 and Microsoft Endpoint Manager, and security and compliance products like Microsoft Defender and Microsoft Information Protection.
She also previously led Diversity & Inclusion for Microsoft’s Corporate, External, and Legal Affairs (CELA) organization. In this role, she led CELA’s efforts to build and sustain a diverse department that reflects the diversity of our global company, the communities in which we work, and the customers that we serve and to take full advantage of that diversity by creating and nurturing a culture of inclusion that allows individuals and teams to do their best work.
Prior to joining Microsoft, Jennifer was Legal Director for Dell Computer Corporation in Austin, Texas, where she supported the Dell Services organization.
Prior to joining Dell, Jennifer was a Staff Attorney for IBM in Austin, Texas, where she provided comprehensive legal support for IBM’s Server Group.
Jennifer graduated Cum Laude with Honors in Liberal Arts with a B.A. in Political Science and English from the Ohio State University in 1990. Jennifer received her J.D. Cum Laude from the Ohio State University School of Law in 1994. She has served for more than 13 years on the board of Youth Eastside Services (currently Vice President), a non-profit that provides counseling and support programs for children and young adults who are dealing with drug and alcohol addiction, mental health issues, abuse and other difficult issues. She is also on the Next Generation Advisory Board for the Minority Corporate Counsel Association. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her 17-year-old daughter (Olivia), her 23-year-old son (Parker) and her husband, Donnie.
She can be reached at Jenivan@microsoft.com.
Kevin Lyn
Diversity Committee Co-Chair & Partner,
Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP
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Kevin Lyn helps global companies create and provide better, more-competitive products for their customers. As a result of his intellectual property counsel, major appliances are more userfriendly, airplanes are more efficient, building materials are more fire-resistant, video games provide an enhanced user experience, medical procedures are more precise and effective, and a whole lot more.
A registered patent attorney as well as a licensed professional engineer, Kevin has invested a career in helping clients, from start-ups to major multinationals, maximize and protect their investments in new products and product improvements, and achieve their business goals.
Prior to becoming a lawyer, he was a product safety testing engineer for Underwriters Laboratories and as a semiconductor processing engineer for Mitsubishi Semiconductor – experience that facilitates his practical, business-focused approach to counseling clients.
Kevin’s practice involves all aspects of intellectual property, with a focus on the development of domestic and international patent portfolios crafted to bring products to market faster, while maximizing the available scope of protection in the client’s markets.
Kevin is Womble Bond Dickinson’s (US) Diversity Committee chair, leading diversity and inclusion initiatives within the firm, and serving as primary liaison to prominent diversity organizations.
David Pilson
Senior Director,
eBay, Inc.
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David Pilson is the Senior Director of Global Compensation, Benefits, & Equity Compliance at eBay Inc. His team is responsible for all aspects of executive compensation, employee benefit, equity compliance, and stock administration in the 34 countries where eBay operates.
Diversity and inclusion is a passion for David. David serves on the Legal Diversity Committee where he co-chairs a workstream dedicated to managing eBay’s legal spend with firms and vendors that share eBay’s commitment to diversity. He also designed eBay’s Legal Internship Program – a unique opportunity for diverse first year law students to immerse themselves in the inner workings of eBay and to experience first-hand, complex legal, regulatory, and public policy issues.
Before eBay, David practiced at a multinational firm where he counseled Fortune 100 companies with respect to their employee benefit and compensation arrangements. He also worked as an FP&A analyst at ConocoPhillips prior to law school. David holds a degree in Economics from Stanford University and a law degree from the University of Georgia School of Law. He is a native of Houston, Texas and now resides in San Jose, CA.
Jeewon Kim Serrato
Partner & Head of Data Protection, Privacy and Cybersecurity US,
Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP
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Jeewon Kim Serrato is Norton Rose Fulbright’s US Head of Data Protection, Privacy and Cybersecurity. She advises technology, consumer, and retail companies, financial services institutions, and healthcare organizations on cutting edge issues at the intersection of technology and law, including the design and implementation of GDPR and CCPA programs. Jeewon began her career working as a Legislative Counsel in the US Congress, where she worked with lawmakers to draft and pass legislation relating to data privacy, consumer protection and global crisis management. She continued to provide advice relating to technology and data risks as the top-level executive in charge of privacy at RELX Group and as Chief Privacy Officer of Fannie Mae, where she led, implemented and tested enterprise privacy programs and data protection strategies. She currently serves on the US DHS Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee and the California Lawyers Association’s Antitrust, UCL & Privacy Executive Committee. Jeewon is a Certified Information Privacy Professional and holds a US Secret Clearance. Jeewon was named a 2017 Cybersecurity Trailblazer by the National Law Journal and recognized in Cybersecurity Docket’s “Incident Response 30”, a list of the 30 best and brightest data breach response lawyers. She received her BA from UC Berkeley and her JD from UC Berkeley School of Law. She also received a master-level political science certificate with honors from Sciences Po Paris.
Angela Sherrer
Director and Associate General Counsel, Global Law Enforcement and Safety,
Twitter, Inc.
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Angela Sherrer is the Director and Associate General Counsel of Global Law Enforcement and Safety at Twitter. She plays a key role in the identification and mitigation of the legal risks associated with requests for user data, requests for content removal, efforts to curb online abuse, enforcement of Twitter rules, and Twitter’s ability to comply with legal demands and legal requirements from around the world. Before joining Twitter, Angela was an attorney with the US Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, where she aided executive branch officials in ensuring the privacy and civil liberties of US citizens were protected in national security programs. Angela previously worked as Assistant Counsel to the Governor of New York State, as an attorney in the National Security Division of the US Department of Justice, as a federal prosecutor, as an Associate Counsel of the New York State Division of Human Rights, and as a local prosecutor with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. She has dedicated her career to public service and global work to protect the fundamental human rights of society’s most vulnerable people.
Elena Baca
Partner,
Paul Hastings LLP
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Elena Baca is chair of the Employment Law practice. Ms. Baca is recognized as a leading trial lawyer by many noted publications. She has been consistently ranked by Chambers USA and the Legal 500 as one of the top employment defense lawyers in California. Chambers USA has noted that her “litigation track record and outstanding trial victories stand out in the legal marketplace, due to both her sheer volume of wins and the ways in which these decisions are helping to shape future employment and labor law, particularly in California.” Clients have referred to her as “second to none.” Ms. Baca also has been selected continuously since 2006 as one of the Best Lawyers in America in employment law. She has repeatedly been named as one of California’s “Top Women Lawyers” and as one of California’s “Top Labor and Employment Attorneys” by the Los Angeles Daily Journal. The American Lawyer also recognized her in its “Top 45 Under 45” list. An experienced trial lawyer, Ms. Baca has established an impressive record of defense verdicts and arbitration wins representing a wide variety of corporate clients. Her litigation practice is primarily focused on employment related issues, such as employee mobility, wage and hour, and whistleblower issues. She is considered a “go-to” employment lawyer for many large employers with high-profile disputes involving high-level executives and contentious high-stakes litigation (including class action claims). Ms. Baca is frequently called upon to turn around cases that have been mishandled by other law firms and take them to trial. Her clients include talent agencies, entertainment companies, web-based services, financial institutions, medical technology and research companies, law firms, public utilities, major manufacturers, and leading consumer brands.
Neel Chatterjee
Partner,
Goodwin Procter LLP
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Neel Chatterjee is a Partner in Goodwin’s Intellectual Property Litigation Practice. An internationally recognized technology litigator and trial lawyer, Neel has a proven track record of wins in high profile hard-to-win technology cases. His cases often break new ground in undefined areas of the law and are regularly on the cutting edge of the most important new technologies. His clients have included Microsoft, Oracle, eBay, Facebook, Synopsys, NVIDIA, LinkedIn and many others. Neel has been recognized as a top IP litigator and trailblazer by multiple publications and directories.
Neel is involved with many organizations promoting diversity and social justice. His involvement includes serving on the Board of Directors of the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley. He also founded the Bay Area Diversity Career Fair, one of the most successful diversity career fairs in the U.S.
Neel has a J.D. from Vanderbilt Law School and a B.S. from Dartmouth College.
Michael Chu
Partner,
McDermott Will & Emery LLP
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Michael Chu is a partner with McDermott Will & Emery in Chicago, where he is the local practice head of the Intellectual Property Group. Michael focuses his practice on all aspects of intellectual property law, including litigation, opinions and prosecution relating to a variety of technologies and brands.
In his litigation practice, Michael handles patent, trademark, trade secret and copyright matters, including trials in complex utility and design patent cases, appellate practice before the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and before the International Trade Commission (ITC). Michael also practices before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office handling patent and trademark applications, appeals, and post-grant proceedings, including inter-partes reviews (IPRs). Michael also has extensive experience working with clients on litigation, licensing, regulation, outsourcing and import/export issues in Asia and Europe.
Outside of the office, Michael has held various leadership positions in bar associations and other organizations focusing on diversity and the Asian Pacific American community. He is a former president of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), a former president of the NAPABA Law Foundation, and has been a board member of the Asian American Bar Association of Greater Chicago, the Filipino American Bar Association, the AABA Law Foundation, the Korean American Bar Association, and the Chinese American Bar Association. Michael is also the current board chair of the Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms. In the non-legal world, Michael serves as the current board chair of Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Chicago, a national affiliate organization that is dedicated to empowering the Asian American community.
Dan Clivner
Managing Partner – Los Angeles,
Sidley Austin LLP
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Dan Clivner is a member of Sidley’s Executive Committee and the managing partner of the greater Los Angeles offices. He is a global co-leader of the firm’s M&A and Private Equity practice. Dan handles high-profile transactional matters for clients in the media and entertainment, telecom, technology, financial services and retail industries.
Vincent H. Cohen, Jr.
Partner,
Dechert LLP
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When Vincent Cohen arrived at Dechert as a trial lawyer and investigator in January 2016, it seemed natural that the former U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia should lead the firm’s Black Lawyers Alliance and be appointed to the Diversity & Inclusion Committee. After all, Cohen’s commitment to diversity has been lifelong.
Born in Washington, D.C. to one of the city’s first African-American attorneys to make partner at a major law firm, Cohen graduated from Syracuse University College of Law, clerking for the Honorable Cheryl Long, Chief Judge of the tax and probate division at the District of Columbia Superior Court. He was hired by then-U.S. Attorney Eric Holder and served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia (Criminal and Civil Divisions) before turning to private practice. He subsequently returned to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, where he rose to become Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, a role that put him in charge of more than 350 prosecutors.
As Acting U.S. Attorney and a member of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee under Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Cohen oversaw some of the nation’s most significant prosecutions involving national security, financial fraud, public corruption and cyber-crime. On federal issues, his remit touched the entire country, yet his responsibilities also embraced local D.C. difficulties. The two arenas overlapped in efforts to reduce violent crime in the U.S. capital by tackling its root causes while also preserving resources for prosecuting serious offenders.
Cohen created other ways, too, to build stronger bonds with the people he served. His office embraced a comprehensive community prosecution program focusing on education, intervention and prevention that became a national model for U.S. Attorneys’ Offices. He also helped establish the first Clergy Ambassador Program which sought to nurture greater trust between the community and law enforcement.
The community-based approach Cohen championed in public office has remained a motivating force since his return to private practice. Cohen remains involved with 100 Black Men of America (which he once served as General Counsel). He is an elected Board Member of the Washington Bar Association, one of the country’s oldest African-American bar associations, and is active in other civic organizations such as the National Bar Association and the National Black Prosecutor’s Association. At Syracuse University, he sits on both the Chancellor’s Advisory Board and the Office of Multicultural Advancement Advisory Council. He was also recently invited to join the D.C. Attorney General’s Advisory Committee.
At Dechert, Cohen represents clients in sensitive government and internal investigations, government enforcement matters, and complex civil and criminal litigation on a domestic and international scale. Recognized by Chambers USA as a leading D.C. lawyer for white collar crime and government investigations, he was singled out by Lawdragon in 2018 as one of the 500 Leading Lawyers in America, named by Savoy Magazine as one of its Most Influential Black Lawyers, and honored with a Diversity Leader Award by Profiles in Diversity Journal.
Stephen Korniczky
Partner,
Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP
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Steve Korniczky is a trial lawyer who focuses his practice on litigating patent, trade secret and other intellectual property cases. Over the past 30 years, he has handled more than 200 patent and other IP lawsuits including suits relating to standard essential patents (SEPs) and worldwide FRAND license obligations in district courts throughout the US, before the International Trade Commission and on appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He has litigated patent cases on behalf of internationally based, publicly traded and emerging companies in many diverse technologies, including wireless communications, CDMA, WCDMA, WiMAX, HSPA, Wi-Fi, GPS, USB and wireless modems, LTE, Video and Audio compression, CDMA2000, Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), Android Operating System (OS), Internet systems, web-browsers for wireless devices, software, liquid crystal displays (LCD), televisions, IC devices and semiconductor processes, artificial intelligence and fuzzy logic systems, automotive technologies, and medical devices.
Steve is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and has significant experience prosecuting patent applications and handling reexamination and IPR procedures. He utilizes his combined prosecution and litigation background to provide strategic counseling to clients on business oriented IP licensing and portfolio development plans. Steve has successfully designed and implemented value-added strategies to raise venture capital, generate licensing revenue, cross-license competing IP and position companies for acquisition.
Lorraine McGowen
Partner, Firmwide Diversity & Inclusion Co-Chair,
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
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Lorraine McGowen is a lead restructuring partner with over 30 years of experience joining clients on the front lines of their recovery crisis and investment strategies with entrepreneurial enthusiasm and a true passion for innovation.
Lorraine advises financial institutions, syndicated lender groups, creditor committees and other parties from the U.S., Europe, Asia and Africa who seek to maximize recovery or reduce exposure. She also advises investors and acquirers of companies. She interfaces with auditors, government regulators, investment bankers and others, and develops and implements mediation and litigation strategies, and negotiates reorganization plans and complex corporate and finance documents.
Lorraine recently was the lead bankruptcy attorney representing Toyota in the highly complex global restructuring of Takata Corporation, one of the world’s largest manufacturers and distributors of automotive safety systems, including airbags. Takata’s restructuring, which included the sale of substantially all of its assets other than its inflator business, was implemented through in-court bankruptcy proceedings in the U.S. and Japan, and out-of-court in Europe, China, and other jurisdictions. Toyota was one of the largest creditors with claims against Takata in excess of $7 billion.
Lorraine is a leading advocate for diversity and inclusion (D&I) in the legal profession and creates programs for women, people of color and LGBTQ attorneys. She is a mentor, sponsor and chair of Orrick’s firm-wide, global D&I Initiatives. For Lorraine, and for Orrick, D&I is not just the right thing to do. Providing our clients with diverse teams is simply good business: diverse teams are more creative, collaborative and successful.
She was selected as one of Savoy Magazine’s Most Influential Black Lawyers for 2018 and 2015, and received Legal Outreach’s Pipeline to Diversity 2017 Champion Award and the New York City Bar Association Diversity and Inclusion 2012 Champion Award. IFLR 1000 Rankings named Lorraine a leading lawyer in the U.S. She was selected by Direct Women to be a 2016 Board Institute member. She is a frequent speaker and author on bankruptcy and insolvency and diversity and inclusion.
Raj Natarajan
Partner; Chair, Debt Finance Department,
McGuireWoods LLP
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Raj is chair of the firm’s Debt Finance Department – a department with over 80 attorneys in 12 offices across the globe, ranked in the top 10 in the nation by Thomson Reuters League Tables for the number of lender-side syndicated deals closed for the past 6 years in a row, and recipient of the 2015 and 2017 Law Firm of the Year for Banking and Finance by US News and World Report. He has served on the Firm’s finance committee and is a former co-chair of its life sciences industry team.
Raj has negotiated and documented hundreds of syndicated, club and single lender credit facilities, with specific emphasis in credit products for middle market healthcare, pharmaceutical and medical device companies. His experience includes senior secured, cash flow and asset based facilities, second lien and mezzanine debt, leveraged acquisition financings, working capital lines and dividend recapitalizations. In addition, he has closed a variety of real estate finance transactions, specifically in the healthcare industry, and has extensive experience in loan workouts and restructurings.
Kimberly Parker
Partner,
WilmerHale
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Kimberly A. Parker’s practice focuses on white-collar criminal matters, internal corporate investigations, and compliance counseling. Ms. Parker co-leads the firm’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and Anti-Corruption Practice. Ms. Parker is also co-chair of the firm’s Pro Bono and Community Service Committee.
Ms. Parker represents clients in a range of criminal and enforcement matters and also provides compliance and governance advice. She has conducted internal investigations in the United States, Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America. She has represented companies and individuals in a variety of FCPA enforcement matters. She also regularly counsels clients facing difficult FCPA issues in a variety of business contexts, and assists clients in developing and implementing FCPA compliance programs and conducting FCPA training. She is a regular speaker at FCPA events.
Ms. Parker is a co-author, with Roger Witten and Jay Holtmeier of the firm’s New York office, of the leading treatise in the field, Complying with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (Matthew Bender, 8th ed. 2013).
Grace Speights
Partner and Leader of Morgan Lewis’s Global Labor & Employment Practice,
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
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Grace E. Speights handles high profile and high stakes workplace matters for many clients and is often called upon by clients for crisis management assistance. She defends clients against employment discrimination claims — particularly class claims — and claims of discrimination in public accommodations. Grace represents clients in systemic investigations and litigation brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). She also counsels on best practices for corporate diversity initiatives. Grace is the leader of the firm’s labor and employment practice, managing more than 250 lawyers across the firm.
Grace leads the firm’s multidisciplinary workplace culture consulting team of more than 30 lawyers across offices and practices. Combining employment and workplace law experience with investigative expertise, this team helps employers effectively investigate, defend against, and develop advance plans to avoid or minimize workplace crises stemming from claims of sexual harassment.
Grace has worked with clients in the financial services, media and entertainment, sports, retail, nonprofit, and legal services industries to manage serious internal investigations, conduct workplace culture assessments, and advise on crisis management and remediation of potential workplace issues. Grace has also conducted independent investigations of allegations on behalf of special committees of boards of directors and is counseling boards of directors and high-level executives on their responsibilities in connection with providing a sexual harassment–free workplace.
Eric Wang
Partner; Co-Chair, Northern California Corporate and Finance Practice,
DLA Piper
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Eric Wang has broad experience in general corporate and securities representation and business counseling of publicly traded companies, emerging growth and other privately held companies and venture capital firms.
Eric also has significant mergers and acquisitions experience, having represented numerous public and private companies in various industries both within the United States and in cross-border transactions. Eric is a frequent speaker at PLI conferences and has been recognized for his work in mergers and acquisitions by The Legal 500 United States and Chambers USA.
Eric has been recognized for his work in mergers and acquisitions by The Legal 500 United States and Chambers USA. He has also been recognized as one of the Best Lawyers in the Bay Area in corporate and securities in Bay Area Lawyer Magazine.