Michelle Greenberg-Kobrin is the Dean of Students at Columbia Law School. Prior to joining CLS, Dean Greenberg-Kobrin worked at Arnold and Porter LLP, where her practice focused on international corporate and securities matters, mergers and acquisitions, sovereign debt issuances and financial institutions.
Arthur Kaufman is a corporate partner at the law firm of Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson and head of the firm's financing group which he formed upon joining the firm as a partner in 1985. Mr. Kaufman has represented financial institutions and corporations, including Merrill Lynch, Bank of America, CIGNA Corporation, CIT Corporation, GE Capital Corporation, Goldman, Sachs & Co., John Hancock Financial Services, New York Life Insurance Company, Soros Private Fund Management, and TIAA-CREF, in connection with a wide variety of financing transactions. He has been instrumental in the development of financings for acquisitions and leveraged buyouts.
Igor Kirman is a partner at the law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, where he focuses primarily on mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, and general corporate and securities law matters. He has advised public and private companies in a variety of industries in connection with mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, cross-border deals, financing transactions, takeover defenses, and corporate governance matters.
James McHugh was a Vice President and Associate General Counsel at Goldman, Sachs & Co. from 1981-2004, as well as General Counsel of the London office of Goldman, Sachs & Co. in 1986-1989 and 1991-1992. While at Goldman Sachs, Mr. McHugh advised nearly every area of this diversified financial services firm, including with respect to its IPO and various acquisitions. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Mr. McHugh was an associate in the New York and London offices of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton.
Ilan Nissan is a partner in O'Melveny & Myers' New York office and a member of the Mergers and Acquisitions/Private Equity practice group. His practice focuses on the representation of private equity and venture capital funds and their portfolio companies in a wide variety of transactions and matters, including senior counseling of boards of directors, CEOs, and executive management concerning strategic business/legal issues, mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buy-outs, recapitalizations, sales and divestitures, growth equity investments, strategic investments, PIPES, joint ventures, mezzanine capital, and venture capital.
Trevor Norwitz is a partner in the corporate department at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, where he focuses primarily on mergers and acquisitions and securities law matters. He has advised a broad range of public and private companies in a variety of industries in connection with mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, hostile takeover bids and defenses, proxy contests, joint ventures, financing transactions, and corporate governance matters.
Scott Semer is a partner in the tax group of the New York office of Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg, a leading international law firm based in Canada. Mr. Semer has advised corporate clients on a wide variety of transactions, including mergers, reorganizations, restructurings, and acquisitions. He also has experience with structured products, including asset securitization vehicles, receivables financings, and a variety of financial derivatives. Mr. Semer was an associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell and a Research Fellow in Transactional Studies at Columbia Law School.
Gary Mandel is a partner in the tax department at Simpson Thatcher & Bartlett, where he concentrates on federal income tax with an emphasis on corporate mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, restructurings and spin-offs. He has advised on a range of tax matters as well as multiple acquisitions and spin-off transactions for private equity funds, corporate clients and financial institutions. Mr. Mandel was recently recognized as a leading tax lawyer by Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business 2011. He has published work dealing with private equity investments, tax legislation and job creation legislation.
