2026 Ira M. Millstein Memorial Conference Focuses on Private Equity and Innovation in Corporate Governance

Legal scholars, business experts, and corporate law practitioners gathered at the third annual Ira M. Millstein Memorial Conference, sponsored by the Ira M. Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership, to hear from experts in leadership and corporate governance and to discuss recent scholarship by Columbia Law School’s business law faculty. 

Daniel Abebe, Dean and Lucy G. Moses Professor of Law, welcomed participants to the event, held April 17 in Columbia Law School’s Jerome L. Greene Hall. The conference honors corporate governance luminary Ira M. Millstein ’49 (1926–2024), a senior partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges who also held numerous civic leadership roles. 

“I’m proud to say that the legacy of Ira Millstein, a 1949 graduate of the Law School and founding chair of the center that bears his name, remains ever present at Columbia Law,” Dean Abebe said. “The impressive slate of leaders involved in today’s program—legal scholars and practitioners at the vanguard of their fields—are a fitting tribute to that legacy.”

Keynote speaker Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, senior associate dean for leadership studies and Lester Crown Professor in the Practice of Management at Yale School of Management, spoke about strategic leadership. The conference’s panels included presentations from Columbia Law faculty on their recent scholarly work with discussion and commentary by guests from academia and law firms. 

Watch videos from the conference: 

“Private Equity and Its Discontents: Industry Trends and Policy Recommendations”

Dorothy S. Lund, Columbia 1982 Alumna Professor of Law and faculty co-director of the Millstein Center, led a discussion of a scholarly article in progress, co-authored with Jeffrey N. Gordon, Richard Paul Richman Professor of Law and faculty co-director of the Millstein Center, that suggests that the Securities and Exchange Commission should require significant private equity portfolio companies to disclose financial information, as publicly traded firms already do. 

Panelists: William A. Birdthistle, professor from practice, University of Chicago Law School; Norm Champ, partner, Kirkland & Ellis; William W. Clayton, professor of law and associate dean for faculty and curriculum, The J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University; Josh Lerner, Jacob H. Schiff Professor of Investment Banking and co-director of the Private Capital Project, Harvard Business School; and Daniel Serota ’01, partner, global co-leader of financial services M&A, Mayer Brown. 

“Private Ordering in Corporate Law”

Eric Talley, Marc and Eva Stern Professor of Law and Business and faculty co-director of the Millstein Center, moderated a discussion on his recent paper, co-authored with Lund, that proposes an arbitration panel for Delaware corporate law disputes. The subscription-based private tribunal would be staffed by expert arbitrators, and its use would be authorized by shareholder agreements. The paper and commentary from the panelists are forthcoming in the Journal of Corporation Law. 

Panelists: Cathy Hwang, Edward F. Howrey Professor of Law, University of Virginia School of Law; J. Travis Laster, vice chancellor, Delaware Court of Chancery, and adjunct professor of law, Columbia Law School and New York University School of Law; Edward Rock, Martin Lipton Professor of Law and co-director of the Institute for Corporate Governance and Finance, New York University School of Law; Sarath Sanga, professor of law and co-director of the Center for the Study of Corporate Law, Yale Law School; and Kate Yoon, academic fellow and lecturer in law, Columbia Law School.

“The Shareholder Franchise Under Pressure”

Talley led a discussion on shareholder voting, including by retail investors, and its importance in corporate governance. 

Panelists: Lucian A. Bebchuk, James Barr Ames Professor of Law, Economics, and Finance and director of the program on corporate governance, Harvard Law School; Jill E. Fisch, Saul A. Fox Distinguished Professor of Business Law, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School; Erik Gerding, partner, Freshfields; Scott Grinsell, global co-head of engagement, Elliott Investment Management; and Jeff Mahoney, general counsel, Council of Institutional Investors.