Paul, Weiss Alumni News 2008

2008 Alfred D. Youngwood: A Decade of Leadership | Theodore C. Sorensen | The Future of the Courts

2 Letter from the Chair 3 Over a Decade of Alumni News 13 Firm Highlights

Office SPOTLIGHT 14 London Calling

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHTs 16 Stefanie C. Fleischmann: All in the Family 18 Todd S. Greenbarg: Hedge Fund Polymath 20 Mark Hollinger: A Journey of Discovery 22 Joel Z. Hyatt: Out of the Cube and Into the Box 24 Palisa R. Kelley: It All Comes Back to the Artist 26 Stephanie Leclaire: She’ll Always Have Paris 28 Sunny S. Park: A Little Bit of Everything 30 Peter W. Schneider: Good Humor Man

partner profiles 38 Walter G. Ricciardi 40 Tracey A. Zaccone 42 New Partners 2008

42 In Memoriam 43 Events of the Year 50 Alumni Notes

4 8 32 36A Tradition of Service

Ten years ago, AlfredYoungwood became chair of Paul, Weiss. As he nears retirement, we reflect on Alfred’s tenure as chair, the values he helped nourish and protect, and take a look forward with chair-elect Brad Karp.

Leading by Example

Of Counsel Ted Sorensen talks about his latest book, Counselor: A Life at the Edge of History, his three decades of practice at Paul, Weiss, and Sorensen family values.

Roundtable

Service in the judiciary is a long tradition for Paul, Weiss lawyers. Five alumni who serve the public from the bench talk to Alumni News about the important changes they see on the horizon for the judiciary system.

Pro Bono

Paul, Weiss has worked tirelessly to ensure that every eligible voter can participate in the electoral process. Alumni News takes a look at some recent developments in this ongoing historical struggle.

FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

COvER PHOTO: MICHAEL J N BOWLES © 2008 Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP

2 Alumni News 2008 | Paul, Weiss , Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP Paul, Weiss , Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP | Alumni News 2008 3

Dear Alumni,

As my tenure as chair of the firm draws to a close at the end of this year, I regard our alumni outreach program with particular pride. The extraordinary success of Paul, Weiss over the last decade is directly related to our strong alumni network: a vibrant group of talented individuals doing remarkable work in a variety of professions and vocations.

We’ve taken great care to cultivate this network and to expand and enrich it. We hope you enjoy this latest issue of Alumni News, which features interviews with alumni from diverse industries and backgrounds; profiles of our newest partners and our eldest statesmen; a historical perspective on the firm and its practice; and updates on events and activities at Paul, Weiss.

We are always eager to hear your personal and professional news. Please send us items of interest by emailing us at [email protected] or by visiting www.paulweissalumni.com, so that we can include your news in our “Alumni Notes” section of the magazine.

As the firm moves forward under Brad Karp, our new chair, our alumni outreach initiatives will continue to play a crucial role in our future. We thank you for your interest, commitment and participation in ensuring that these vital bonds endure.

Stay in touch!

Best wishes,

Alfred D. Youngwood [email protected]

Letter from the chair


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For more information about our alumni relations program,please contact Dorothy Blumenthal at 212-373-2686.

Alumni RelAtionsPaul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison llP1285 Avenue of the Americasnew York, nY 10019-6064

[email protected]

www.paulweissalumni.com

Over a Decade of Alumni NewsSince its inception in 1997, Alumni News has kept the Paul, Weiss community connected. We celebrate on this page the publication’s first decade with a retrospective of Alumni News front covers.


A TRAdiTioN of SeRvice

Collegiality, creativity, diversity and public service; a commitment to excellence and a dedication to client service: the values that made Paul, Weiss one of the pre-eminent law firms in the nation are the values that keep the firm strong and successful today.

Alfred D. Youngwood has spent his career ensuring that these values remain at the heart of Paul, Weiss. And as he prepares to leave his post as chair of the firm at the end of this year and pass the torch to a new leader, we take a look back at Alfred’s tenure and his contribu-tions to the firm.

The firm’s partners elected Alfred as their chair at the end of a transformative decade for the legal industry. In the late ’90s, several

Alfred d. Youngwood retiring after a decade of leadership

significant trends were converging. Competition among large New York City firms had reached a new pitch. Clients that had provided the bread and butter for these firms were beginning to change firms to ensure the best service. The demand for multidisciplinary services and “full-service” shops led some firms to merge and otherwise to expand significantly domestically. Many firms were also expanding rapidly overseas in an attempt to stake claim to a share of the expanding global market. Finally, the move-ment of lateral partners among firms became more and more commonplace.

It was at this juncture that Alfred took the helm at Paul, Weiss. His mission: to focus the firm’s energies on providing consistently

tradition is about values — their preservation and perpetuation.

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4 Alumni News 2008 | Paul, Weiss , Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP Paul, Weiss , Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP | Alumni News 2008 5 Paul, Weiss , Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP | Alumni News 2008 5alfred d. Youngwood


outstanding service to clients while preserving the culture that made the firm unique.

Prior to becoming chair, Alfred was very active in firm leadership for many years. He served as chair of the Committee on Committees (the predecessor of the current management committee) for three separate two-year terms from 1981 to 1999.

“Alfred was the obvious choice to lead Paul, Weiss 10 years ago because he was a practice leader, a person of unimpeachable integrity, someone who loves this institution above all else, and a fervent believer in consensus,” says Brad S. Karp, the firm’s chair-elect. “He appreciated that this firm is a true partnership, with unique core values — and he helped retain its culture and character.”

Alfred inspired trust and confi-dence in his partners by making the chair the embodiment of the will of the firm. “We are very different from other firms,” maintains Alfred. “Paul, Weiss has always been very democratic and open culturally. My goal was to lead the firm, while always being in tune to the direction that the partnership chose.”

The task that the firm entrusted to Alfred was characteristically idiosyncratic. Resisting the radical expansion embraced by so many of its peers, Paul, Weiss chose to pursue a slow and steady approach to growth with an unwavering dedication to outstanding service.

Rather than attempting to be all things to all clients, the firm would focus on its core strengths: world-class litigation work and

entrepreneurial and innovative transactional and bankruptcy practices. At the same time, under Alfred’s leadership the firm began to draw its many individual depart-ments together into a more cohesive practice — enabling lawyers to tackle clients’ most complex legal issues with focused expertise. The firm’s clientele became the respon-sibility of the entire firm. This commitment to seamless service helped clients navigate the extraor-dinary changes that transformed the economic landscape over the last decade, particularly in the financial services sector.

Paul, Weiss also chose to remain primarily a New York and Washington firm, with small vibrant and expert offices in the major foreign financial centers of the world — London, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Beijing. Instead of battling for market share with rapidly expanding international firms, Paul, Weiss built collaborative partnerships with local lawyers. This approach helped the firm become the trusted resource for cross-border transactions of every stripe. The overseas offices engineered a high-end, value-added practice that extended the excellence of Paul, Weiss’s client service into new and uncharted territory, and the firm’s international efforts have become an enormous success story.

Finally, Alfred guided the firm in strategic lateral hiring. Sparingly welcoming new partners into the fold, the firm carefully attracted senior lawyers who enhanced its existing capabilities. Under Alfred’s leadership, Paul, Weiss grew in an

organic and incremental way, main-taining a culture of collegiality and increasing the effective, efficient and creative delivery of services to its clients.

Alfred’s legacy also includes many initiatives and programs that have enriched the firm. Client teams and client focus groups, initiatives spearheaded by Alfred, helped deepen relationships with institutional clients and react quickly to new business opportuni-ties. He initiated new programs that helped partners and associ-ates achieve balance between their work and their life outside the firm, including alternative work schedules and expanded child care options. And Alfred helped strengthen Paul, Weiss’s long-time commit-ment to diversity by promoting minority and women’s mentoring programs and minority student recruitment. He also instituted the firm’s Green Initiative, strength-ening the firm’s commitment to environmental responsibility.

As he reflects on his tenure as chair of Paul, Weiss, Alfred is especially enthusiastic about the firm’s choice for his successor, Brad S. Karp, and the role he will play in extending the firm’s successes. “Brad is a dynamic, brilliant lawyer, and an exceptional colleague.” he says. “He brings a wonderful sense of trust and good humor to his work. He understands our firm and its culture, and the challenges of his new role. Brad is an outstanding person. He will build on our achievements as he leads us to new heights in an ever-changing environment.”

“He appreciated tHat tHis firm is a true partnersHip, witH unique core values – and He Helped retain its culture and cHaracter.”

— CHAIR-eLeCT, BRAD S. KARP


For his part, Brad sees the chair’s mission as extending the gains the firm made under Alfred’s stewardship. “Our mission is to provide the highest quality service to our clients. We must nurture, maintain and expand the wonderful relationships we’ve built with our clients.”

Simultaneously, Brad stresses that Paul, Weiss’s storied legal excellence is inseparable from the firm’s values. “Our unique firm culture — which values collaboration, collegiality, public service, diversity and commitment to excellence — has helped create generations of great, well-rounded lawyers. Attracting great lawyers, and developing their abilities and skills in a manner consistent with our core values, are critical to our success.”

“The values Paul, Weiss holds dear are becoming increasingly rare in today’s bottom-line-oriented legal community,” he continues. “But these are the qualities that drew us to the firm in the first place, and they are precious and worth protecting. I believe our commitment to these values and to unparalleled client service will make us a stronger and more successful firm in the end.”

An institution can only thrive if its members continually rededicate themselves to the values that make the institution great. These are the values that Alfred helped preserve, and that Brad will pass on to the next generation of Paul, Weiss lawyers. ph

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brad s. Karp

8 Alumni News 2008 | Paul, Weiss , Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP Paul, Weiss , Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP | Alumni News 2008 9 8 Alumni News 2008 | Paul, Weiss , Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLPtheodore C. SorenSen


Ted Sorensen, with the help of Attorney General Robert Kennedy, was charged by President John F. Kennedy to draft a backchannel communication to Soviet Council of Ministers Chairman Nikita Khrushchev at the height of the Cuban missile crisis. In less than an hour, they crafted words that helped pull the world back from the most serious nuclear crisis it has ever faced.

Under a considerably more relaxed deadline, Ted Sorensen — presidential advisor, prolific author, lecturer, teacher and Paul, Weiss partner — has written Counselor: A Life at the Edge of History. It offers extended reflections on a remarkable life of service, including his youth in Nebraska, his tenure as President Kennedy’s brain trust and his 36-year practice at Paul, Weiss.

We chatted with Ted about Counselor, some highlights of his prac-tice at Paul, Weiss, the qualities of great leadership and how his background influenced his career and his life.

We also heard a few good stories that didn’t make it into his book.

LeAdiNG by exAmPLe

Theodore C. SorenSen, of CounSel to paul, weiSS, on leSSonS in leaderShip

In Counselor, you talk about moving on after you left the White House, and making the choice to practice law. You were looking for a firm that would offer you a worthwhile challenge.

Yes. That’s one of the reasons I chose Paul, Weiss, but when I started out with the firm they didn’t know what to do with me. I had never prac-ticed law.

I started out working on what I knew best — relations with, or problems with government. I did not want to be a lobbyist nor did I want to violate any conflict of interest laws so I only represented clients before government agencies. Almost by acci-dent that practice evolved into dealing with foreign governments as well as the U.S. government, and it became a fascinating and challenging practice.

By accident?

I had a domestic client, Northville Industries, which ulti-mately bloomed into my largest client.

forty-six years ago, theodore C. Sorensen helped save the world.

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I brought them to the firm when they hired me to help on an assign-ment in Washington. That turned into work on many cross-border matters, including the development of a deep water port in Panama that still carries most of Alaska’s oil to the East Coast. And that was the beginning of a flood of international work.

And so my practice became more and more international. That’s the part I enjoyed the most. The part where I built a reputation. And I often involved Paul, Weiss partners from the more traditional parts of the firm.

It sounds like you were forging new ground for the firm too — inventing a practice as you went along.

The firm did not have an inter-national practice, and the partners encouraged me to pursue one. In fact, a lot of my matters came from clients of the firm and the other part-ners who had international problems. So that worked out very well.

Some of my work was simply addressing practical questions regarding negotiation or relations between the client and a given govern-ment. Some of it was public relations, with their shareholders, workers and consumers, with the press — some of them operated in controversial areas. And it evolved from negotiating with foreign governments to advising the foreign governments them-selves. I took pains not to lobby for foreign governments.

In the book, you describe many interesting representations that centered on issues of

governance and statecraft. In the course of your practice you played a part in the history of several countries. Do any representations stand out?

One of my most interesting representations was in Namibia. I got to know the leaders very well — in this case the prime minister who reported to the president. The presi-dent, Sam Nujoma, was the George Washington of the country — an indispensable man whose presence unified the various factions and eased the tensions that lay beneath the surface. And a crisis was brewing because he was finishing his second term, and the new constitution imposed term limits on the office — he was not eligible for a third term.

Who was going to be the presi-dent? Which faction or what tribe would the new leader be from? The debate threatened the stability of the country, and the prime minister gave me a challenge. What can we do to extend Nujoma’s time in office?

So I presented the prime minister with several options. One was to declare a state of emergency and suspend the constitution. Another was to ask the high court of Namibia for a ruling that the provision didn’t really intend to apply to the first president. It was only for future presidents, after Nujoma. And I’ve forgotten many of the other options, I must confess, but in the end I recommended that the constitution be amended in a way that would never create a precedent for future presidents to violate term limits. They still would have the two-term limitation moving forward — however, it wouldn’t

apply to the first president. And it would be a legitimate amendment to the constitution.

It passed easily. There was no political chaos —Nujoma had a third term, and the country held together. He stepped down at the end of his term and regular elections were established; his successor was legitimately elected.

It’s mentioned only briefly in Counselor, but you actually drafted a constitution for a foreign government.

Yes, that was fun. And again, it happened almost by accident. I was advising the government of Tajikistan on a number of economic and legislative reforms — the country had a rigidly controlled communist economy for decades, and the prime minister felt that they really needed a change after the Soviet Union broke up.

I was preparing to fly to Tajikistan when I got a call from a radio station back in Lincoln, Nebraska, my home town. “We just wanted to catch up with you, Mr. Sorensen, and see what you’re doing these days,” the reporter said. “I know that you’re supposedly an international lawyer. What does that mean?”

“Well,” I said, trying to sound smart, “tomorrow I’m going to Tajikistan to help them with some legislation. You’ve probably never heard of Tajikistan.”

And the reporter said, “It so happens that Lincoln, Nebraska, your home town, Mr. Sorensen, is a sister city with Khujand, the second largest city in Tajikistan, and the

“And so my prACtiCe beCAme more And more internAtionAl. thAt’s the pArt i enjoyed the most.”


mayor of Khujand was here visiting last Thanksgiving.”

Duly humbled, I went to Tajikistan, and on the very first night there, I had dinner with the prime minister. It turns out he’s from Khujand and his brother is now the mayor there. So I said, “Oh, yes, of course, I’m from Lincoln.” And he was very impressed. He and I had become fast friends.

And so I presented my report on the economic reforms I proposed, and the time comes to say goodbye, and as I’m leaving his office the prime minister said, “Ted, in addition, we need a new constitution.”

I said, “You don’t want a constitu-tion drawn up by somebody sitting in an ivory tower in New York City. But I’ll tell you what I’ll do. My colleagues and I will draw up a checklist of questions. What should this new constitution look like? Is it a federal system or a confederated system? Islamic or secular? Bicameral or unicameral? You answer those ques-tions and we’ll draft a constitution based on your answers.”

And I brought that assignment back and then got together with some of the associates, very young guys who liked working with me and they were wowed by that assignment. And we did it. And it came very close to being adopted but then there was a power shift and new leadership took over. So it was never adopted.

Was there a foreign government that you were particularly proud of choosing not to represent?

There were at least two. One was [Anastasio] Somoza, the dictator of Nicaragua. I never met him, but he had a public relations man in the United States who was a good friend of mine. So my friend asked me if I would take on Somoza as a client to help restore diplomatic rela-tions between the United States and Nicaragua, which had been suspended on human rights grounds. And I said,

“No, I won’t do that. What I will do is, I’ll represent you. You pay me and I will give a report to you outlining the human rights changes that Somoza will have to institute in order to get the Congress and the administration to even consider diplomatic relations.”

And he said, “Somoza will never agree to that.” And I said, “How unfortunate.”

The other involved South Africa. One of my western clients who did work in Africa asked me to take as a client the government of Bophuthatswana. This was the black homeland contrived by the apartheid government in South Africa as a way of enforcing segregation. Change in South Africa had still not arrived — Mandela was still in prison — and this “homeland” was a vehicle for getting cheap labor from blacks, but keeping them separate from the rest of the country. And I refused.

But encounters like this were the exceptions. There were so many interesting, positive representations. And I’m happy to say that a good portion of my practice was based on the relationships I’d developed with remarkable individuals.

Of all the world leaders you met or represented in your practice, which one gave you the greatest pleasure to serve?

Nelson Mandela. Clearly. Head and shoulders above the rest.

It was one of my most satisfying representations, too; Paul, Weiss was involved in the crucial moment in South Africa’s history. In 1994, I was invited to represent the African National Congress in its dealings with a fundraiser in advance of the first free elections. I gladly agreed, and volunteered the firm’s services pro bono.

Since businesses weren’t allowed to contribute to parties in foreign elections, we — Judge Higginbotham worked on it with me — created a voter education program called SAFE, the South African Free Elections Fund.

“what i had learned from jfK

was invaluable to me as an

international lawyer — to listen

and learn from leaders of other

countries; to be cautious on

matters of war and peace until

i knew the case for each

side and all the facts and

alternatives; to recognize that

cultural differences can lie at

the heart of political, policy,

even legal disagreements; to

be flexible, curious, friendly

with all; and to keep my hopes

high but my expectations low

regarding the results that can

be achieved and the amount of

time they will require.”

— Counselor: A Life at the Edge of History


Anyone could donate to this cause without fear of conflict of interest, but at the same time, voter education in the new South Africa really benefited Mandela’s cause. So we were definitely proud of our work in South Africa.

A story that will tell you some-thing about Mandela’s character: when he came to the first meeting for SAFE, held in a Paul, Weiss confer-ence room, it was one of his first trips to the United States and there was a press conference afterwards. Later in the trip, he and [South African State President Frederik Willem] de Klerk were receiving a joint award from the city of Philadelphia called the Liberty Medal. And at that press conference a reporter asked Mandela, “How do you feel about Mr. de Klerk — who was part of the regime that kept you in prison 27 years — sharing the Liberty Medal with you?”

And he said, “We are bound together, and we’ll go through this present transition and then we’ll go our separate ways.” That is a statesman. He is not simply intelli-gent, he is wise. He spent almost three decades in prison, the best years of his life, and yet afterwards he came out and was willing to work for a biracial government.

What makes someone a great leader?

There are all kinds of qualities. One is listening to others, not just dictating to them. Another is knowing all of your options, not just settling for one course of action without knowing what all the others are. A third: selecting a good team to support you, talented people who will stick with you. Not just hangers-on who have a big name or a reputation.

You need self-confidence. Maybe you could call that ego … but, for instance, President Kennedy was a modest man, and some of the stories I tell in the book make that very clear. He was not an egomaniac. It was not “all about him” as it is with so many politicians. But he had confidence:

confidence in his ideas, his ideals, and his ability to get things done.

One of the reasons I wrote Counselor was to remind people that great leadership is possible in our political system — I was there when it happened.

How did working in the Kennedy administration contribute to your practice?

Well, obviously, it made people more willing to see me. They had heard of me. There was one client of the firm who wanted me to accom-pany him on a visit to Israel to meet the prime minister. Honestly, I think he wanted to show me off, and maybe gain access to the prime minister through knowing me.

I’m not sure his plan worked. I had just finished writing my memoir about my years with the president, called Kennedy. When I met the prime minister, I said, “Mr. Eshkol, I brought a copy of my book for you.” “Oh, yes,” he said, “A Thousand Days!”, which was Arthur Schlesinger’s book, released around the same time.

But beyond the recognition, there were skills I developed. When you work on a presidential campaign, you have to negotiate with all kinds of people, some nice and some not so nice; you have to woo and charm and win over all kinds of people, some intelligent, some not so intelligent. And that isn’t so different from what I was doing in my international law practice.

I certainly arrived at Paul, Weiss with considerable and interesting experiences. It wasn’t a one-to-one match with my practice, but I had some judgment and a personality that evolved through a lifetime, much of it with Kennedy. But the better part of it is from my family. I loved my Kennedy years but I don’t want to give them credit for everything that I did and thought afterwards. A lot of it just came from my background — my upbringing and the values that were instilled in me by the words and examples of my parents.

And in Counselor, you talk extensively about your family life for the first time.

Yes. For example, the chapter about my mother’s mental illness is the first time I’ve ever really discussed that topic — it’s a very painful subject and I’m still uncom-fortable talking about it.

I gained new perspectives on my family through working on the book. In fact, some of my research gave me new information about my father — for example, the experi-ence he had when it looked like he was going to be appointed federal judge. The position was snatched away from him because he had made enemies of some powerful people when he served as Nebraska attorney general.

I was too young to understand it at the time — I was only vaguely aware of what he was going through. But through my research, I found out about the people who did him wrong, and how they did it ... And this story had echoes in my later life, both in some of the challenges I helped President Kennedy face and when I went through my own nomination process for the head of the CIA.

What sort of values did your parents instill in you?

My mother and father were very special. They taught my siblings and I to work to improve the world for everyone, and they led by example. My mother was an antiwar activist, a suffragist, and a wonder-fully expressive writer; my father shared these interests and was a dedicated progressive public servant, first as a lawyer, then as attorney general. They were the children of adventurous immigrants who risked everything to come to this country.

I’m a lucky man to have their genes. And I’ve been blessed to meet people with whom I could share this inheritance.


Firm Highlights

2008 paul, weiSS

awards and rankings• ListedasoneofAmerica’sbestcorporatelawfirmsby

Corporate Board Member.

• RankedasanA-ListlawfirmbyThe American Lawyer (sixth consecutive year).

• Awardedtop10rankingasoneofthemostdiverseU.S.lawfirmsbyMinority Law Journal (sixth consecutive year).

• Recognizedasoneofthebestlawfirmsforwomenlawyersin america by Working Mother (second consecutive year).

• ReceivedProBonoVisionaryAwardfromtheNewYorklegal assistance Group.

• RecognizedbyAsian-CounselforfourTopAsia-PacificDeals.

• Presentedwiththree“DealoftheYear”awardsbytheInternational Financial Law Review.

our Green initiativein the spirit of our commitment to public service, we are proactively workingtoreducethefirm’senvironmental impact. our Green Initiativeisafirm-widecampaigntoimplement environmentally friendly solutions and alternatives to common business practices.

the Green initiative formally augments our energy-saving efforts by setting specificgoalstoreducethefirm’s

overall impact on the environment and to reduce our annual carbon footprint from energy.

Some steps in the initiative include upgradinglightingfixtureswithenergy-efficienttechnology,replacingpersonalcomputerswithenergy-efficientlaptops,using more effective printing methods to reduce paper consumption, purchasing papercertifiedwithahighlevelcontentof post-consumer recycled paper and

transitioning to the use of hybrid cars for our shuttle car service.

We’realsopleasedtobeaparticipatingmember and partner of the aba-epa LawOfficeClimateChallenge,ajoint program of the american bar association and the environmental protection agency that encourages law officestotakesimple,practicalstepssuch as those outlined above to become better stewards of our environment.

ThePaul,WeissD.C.OfficeisMoving!

UPDATeYOURADDReSSBOOkS>>

NewaddressasofJanuary1st: 2001kStreet,NW washington, d.C. 20006

Our new office in Washington, D.C.


From the day it opened in 2001, the London office has engaged in a number of high-profile deals. Its first large representation set the standard: Carnival Corporation in its news-breaking $7.8 billion takeover of the U.K.-based P&O Princess Cruises. The dual listed (“DLC”) company resulting from the takeover was the first instance of a DLC which listed on both the NYSE and the London Stock Exchange. Another major focus of the London office since its opening is Swiss Re, the largest reinsurance company in the world, which looks to Paul, Weiss for secu-rities counsel on highly complex cross-border financing deals, many of which do not involve U.S. law.

“Our London office has devel-oped a truly global approach — a platform that can execute complex deals anywhere,” says London-based partner Mark S. Bergman, who at any one time may be working across multiple time zones.

“In fact, in London almost none of our work has a purely U.K. dimen-sion. Instead, most of our business

london Calling

involves clients all over the world, engaging in transactions all over the world.”

A specialized practice focusing on one small slice of transactional work in one or two jurisdictions was not an option for Paul, Weiss’s multidisciplined and entrepreneurial

“LONDON IS ONE OF THE PREMIER FINANCIAL CAPITALS OF

the world,” says Paul, Weiss partner David K. Lakhdhir, “You simply cannot

afford not to be here.” Together with the other Paul, Weiss offices in global

financial centers like Beijing, Hong Kong, and Tokyo, the firm’s London

office has garnered great success for both U.S. and international clients.

| office sPotLiGht

the paul, weiSS london offiCe demonStrateS how Collaboration iS the key To SuCCeSS

corporate practice. “For better or worse, and I say better, that’s just not who we are,” notes Lakhdhir. On the other hand, competing against large firms in a generalist practice would require a merger. “We didn’t think our clients would be interested in just English legal advice,” continues Lakhdhir. “They were going to be looking for the absolute best quality advice on a wide variety of interna-tional matters, and we concluded that in the short run we would not be able to develop a full-service, top-quality English law practice without incorpo-rating large numbers of new lawyers — a significant risk.”

To create a flexible and robust practice capable of executing these headline deals, Paul, Weiss instead developed a strategy of intense collaboration with local law firms.

“We certainly build up local knowledge from doing multiple deals in different jurisdictions. But that doesn’t mean that we start practicing English, French, German or Dutch


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law,” says Lakhdhir. “What it does mean is that we can sit down with leading lawyers from any number of jurisdictions and say, ‘Here’s what the client’s objectives are; what’s the best way to approach this?’ The value for us — and for our clients — is in the collaboration.”

Paul, Weiss recently repre-sented Doosan Infracore on its acquisition of Bobcat and other construction equipment businesses from Ingersoll-Rand, a $4.9 billion cash transaction that is the largest overseas acquisition ever made by a Korean company. This ground-breaking acquisition required the coordination of efforts in 26 separate jurisdictions.

Because of this global approach to client service, the London office’s current staff of 15 lawyers is a veritable United Nations. The associates working in the London office include lawyers from Canada, Italy, Kenya, Portugal, Russia and India. The managing partners also have cosmopolitan backgrounds. As the son of a U.S. diplomat, partner Mark S. Bergman spent much of his childhood in France, the Congo, Ethiopia and Austria. Lakhdhir, whose father is Indian, has lived and worked in New Delhi and Tokyo. Combined, lawyers in the Paul, Weiss London office speak 14 different languages.

“A key to our strategy is ensuring that we have the cultural knowledge and the language skills that can support an extraordinarily broad geographic practice,” says Lakhdhir. “It makes us extremely flexible. Even though we happen to be based in London, we want our clients to have lawyers on call who are going to be comfortable working anywhere in the world. And they are.”

ABOVE: London partners David K. Lakhdhir and Mark S. Bergman LEFT: Paul, Weiss’s London office, Alder Castle, 10 Noble Street.

16 Alumni News 2008 | Paul, Weiss , Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP

| ALumNi sPotLiGht

Paul, Weiss , Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP | Alumni News 2008 17

The General Counsel of Beowulf enerGy refleCTs on her reCenT move To the pioneering energy company, and The Power of The Paul, weiss neTwork

Stefanie moved in-house at Beowulf in late 2007, and the new position provides her with a grati-fying immersion in the business logic of the company’s deals and a new appreciation for the inter-play between law and business. “I’ve learned to look at things from 20,000 feet up,” she says. “As general counsel, I have to balance and weigh big picture issues from the inside.”

The big picture is complex. Formed by energy industry executive Paul Prager, Beowulf and its allied companies purchase and operate power-generating plants in the western U.S. power market, including facilities in California, Colorado and Montana. Unlike traditional private equity companies, Beowulf takes a long-term strategic approach, building a portfolio of plants sold off by big utilities that can no longer manage the intricacy of owning and operating facilities and delivering power to customers.

all in the family

Regulatory issues compound the already challenging demands of main-taining power plants across hundreds of miles of territory in different state and municipal jurisdictions.

“I’m thinking about credit agree-ments in the morning, the transaction documents in the afternoon, and how to coordinate filings with regulatory counsel,” she says. “Each of these things, and many more pieces, have to come together in exactly the right way to keep the whole deal from falling apart.”

Working at Beowulf carries its own unique legal challenges. “Since Beowulf Energy actively operates its power assets, I am pretty close to the day-to-day business,” she notes. “We have hundreds of employees at our construction and power management company. And they tend to send me anything that even remotely smells legal.” The strangest item that landed in her inbox was a “delinquency notice” from a California municipality,

claiming that Beowulf had neglected to cut the grass around one of their power plants to the officially mandated height. “Apparently, munic-ipal employees roam the California countryside with a tape measure,” she laughs, “assuring that the grass is properly groomed.”

As a young student in her native Germany, Stefanie took time off between high school and law school to work at a Deutsche Bank trainee program that gave her a little taste of commercial banking. When she decided to attend law school in Heidelberg, corporate law was a natural fit. “Personally, I’ve always liked to facilitate deals,” she says. “Ever since working at Deutsche Bank, I knew that this was the sort of law I wanted to practice.” In 2000, she began work as an associate at the premier German firm Bruckhaus that merged with Freshfields to become Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

When it came time for her to pursue further legal qualification, Stefanie opted out of the traditional Ph.D. path pursued by the majority of European lawyers and obtained a LL.M. in American Law from Boston University. She chose to stay in the U.S. after accepting an offer from Willkie Farr & Gallagher. A year later, Willkie tapped her unique cross-border back-ground by assigning her to develop its recently opened office in Frankfurt.

While she enjoyed the managerial aspects of the position, the legal work just wasn’t measuring up. “I found myself telling Willkie’s American clients that they couldn’t approach deals in Europe the way they were accustomed to,” she explains. “It was frustrating. Corporate law in the U.S.

THE GEnERAL CoUnSEL PoST AT BEoWULF EnERGy IS A

challenging blend of the old and the new for Stefanie Fleischmann. As

Paul, Weiss’s senior associate on Beowulf’s M&A transactions, Stefanie

spent 2006 and 2007 immersed in the landmark energy company’s deals.

“I worked on asset sales and Beowulf’s big acquisition of the Centen-

nial power plant portfolio from MDU Resources: handling the diligence,

negotiating the purchase agreement, closing the deal and training the

junior associates to make sure nothing fell through the cracks.”

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‘typical’ Paul, Weiss attorney, except that they’re all smart and trying to do a great job for their clients. you couldn’t pick a Paul, Weiss lawyer out of a lineup. And that attracted me, because I have an unusual back-ground. Being different was never an uphill battle at Paul, Weiss.”

Her years as a Paul, Weiss associate were enriched by extensive mentoring. She tackled M&A work with Angelo Bonvino and Doug Cifu, securities work for Larry Wee, and finance work with Dale Sarro. “I felt very strongly connected to each of them,” she reports, “and especially to Carl Reisner.” Carl, who introduced Stefanie to Beowulf Energy and to its CEo Paul Prager, was a valued teacher: “He taught me to draft a great work product. He always made the time to go over my work with me, no matter how busy he was. Whenever I read a docu-ment, I have Carl’s voice in the back of my head!”

Her relationship with the firm continues as a client and as a part of the firm’s extended family. “It’s the network,” she says. “It’s a wonderful resource. you’re never really alone. I call Carl, or anybody there and say: this is the problem I have. What do you think? Do you see a different angle? And they always find the time to offer a perspective. It’s a family thing.”

Literally. This fall, Stefanie is marrying

Christopher Arana, a former Paul, Weiss securities associate who has since joined AIG as an assistant general counsel. Chris had lateralled in to Paul, Weiss eight months after Stefanie came on board, and, in good Paul, Weiss tradition, several of his new colleagues were taking him out to his welcome luncheon on his first day. “one of his hosts bailed out at the last minute, and the powers-that-be thought ‘Wait, maybe Stefanie can give him some insight into what it feels like to lateral in to Paul, Weiss.”

is much more flexible than in Europe, so it allows you to custom-fit deals to your client’s needs. you think: can I make this happen? And you go out there and do it.”

When she contemplated returning to the States in 2004, she contacted her client and Paul, Weiss alum Markus Diethelm, then-Group Chief Legal officer of Swiss Re, whom Stefanie had met during a cross-border M&A transaction she had managed for him. He arranged interviews for her at both of Swiss Re’s law firms: Paul, Weiss and Simpson Thatcher. She landed two offers and chose Paul, Weiss; she started as a corporate associate in the new york office in october 2004 and joined the M&A Group one year later.

Why Paul, Weiss? “It just clicked with me,” she says. “There’s no

Stefanie c. fleiSchmann

Job title: General Counsel

company: Beowulf energy

Base of operations: new york City

years at paul, Weiss: 3 (2004 – 2007)

years in current position: < 1

passions outside the law:

Playing piano and going to the opera


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The manaGinG direCTor of a leading aSSet management firm refleCTs on his wide-ranGinG resPonsiBiliTies

When he graduated from new york University School of Law, Todd was primarily interested in entertainment law, which was one of the main reasons that he chose to work at Paul, Weiss. Unable to move immediately into an entertainment position at the firm, Todd worked in the corporate department. His first assignment with the firm’s investment management group was supposed to last only two days. “And I was worried,” he laughs, “because you know whenever they say two days, it’s really two months.”

This first fund assignment turned Todd on to private equity and hedge fund work, which he quickly discovered he loved. And soon he was in the fast lane, repre-senting Paul, Weiss client and hedge fund pioneer George Soros.

Todd’s introduction to Avenue Capital came under the tutelage of Marco Masotti. He says that Masotti helped him take on increased responsibility. “He gave me the flexibility to work on the matters myself, and to choose when to ask questions,” Todd says. He also credits the mentoring that he received from Bob Hirsh as critical preparation

investment fund Polymath

for the frenetic world of investment funds. “Bob is amazing,” Greenbarg says. “He’ll sit with you for a good three hours. Reviewing your work, showing you new angles … he’s a great teacher and a great guy — a true mensch.”

After working at Paul, Weiss for a little under three years, Todd jumped to an in-house position at Avenue. “I was nervous when I made the initial move because I didn’t know whether it was too early for me,” he says. “But I didn’t think that many other lawyers had this sort of opportunity — for all I knew, it would never come up again. So I took the leap.” Todd was aided by longstanding ties between the firm and Avenue. “Marc Lasry [chairman and co-founder of Avenue Capital] is very close with Ken Schneider,” says Todd, adding that the gestation of the friendship dates back to a time when Schneider was working on a matter against Lasry. Lasry was so impressed by Schneider’s talents, says Todd, that he ultimately ended up hiring Paul, Weiss to represent his company.

Avenue was built by Lasry and Sonia Gardner, Moroccan

siblings who founded the company in 1995 with only $10 million in capital. ‘What I really like about this company,’ Todd says, ‘is that Marc and Sonia are truly self-made.’ “They started from almost nothing.” Avenue’s success can be credited to an idiosyncratic approach to investing: the firm prefers to stake out passive positions, rather than take active control of their invest-ments. The flexibility of this strategy allows them to typically exit posi-tions without being subject to lock-up agreements. Additionally, the company avoids making invest-ments on margin, which has enabled it to escape some of the problems that are currently afflicting many investment shops.

A key factor behind Avenue’s recent expansion is its success with distressed investments. Several years ago, at a time when many others in the hedge fund industry were gung-ho about the market’s pros-pects, Avenue executives anticipated the economic slowdown. With future turmoil expected, Todd says that Avenue is well-positioned to continue its phenomenal growth. “We believe that we will be able to put a lot of money to work for our investors and attempt to hit the cycle at the right time,” he asserts.

Todd’s generalist background at Paul, Weiss under Hirsh and Masotti helped him dive into his work when he arrived at Avenue and build himself a unique role at the company. “In the beginning I would do everything — at that time, there were a lot of tasks I handled because we didn’t have a chief compliance officer or global head of HR,” he

AS MAnAGInG DIRECToR oF AvEnUE CAPITAL GRoUP,

Todd Greenbarg oversees top-level decisions at a company that has

grown from $4 billion to $21 billion in the last five years.


market stability and are calling for greater regulation, Todd believes that the work his firm and other firms on the committee are doing in Washington is helping to clear up misconceptions about the industry. “Hedge funds are providing massive amounts of liquidity to the market,” he says. “At Avenue, we have been able to contribute to these types of efforts and we have been able to shape ways to better protect investors, assess systematic risk and demonstrate how hedge funds are important for the market overall.”

todd S. greenBarg

Job title: managing director

company: avenue Capital Group



years in current position: 5+ years at avenue, 1.5 years with

current title

passions outside the law: married to karen ecker Greenbarg;

expecting a child november 2008

review.” Todd is also responsible for keeping track of Avenue’s many different business lines in Asia, the United States and Europe. “I liter-ally am one of the only people who works with every single group,” he says, “So I really get to see and meet everyone, which is great.”

Avenue’s tremendous growth has resulted in a great deal of influ-ence in the hedge fund industry and in Washington, where last year his firm was invited to be part of the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets. While many public officials appear to view hedge funds as a threat to

remembers. “now, as we’ve grown, we’ve added key personnel, and my job has taken on a greater range.”

Todd was recently named a managing director of the firm, and he shoulders diverse responsibili-ties. “I’d consider myself a company management lawyer as opposed to a fund-level lawyer. Today, Todd oversees all legal matters for the multi-national firm (13 offices and 340 employees worldwide). His day-to-day responsibilities are varied and complex, including new product development, investor negotiations, employment matters, fund compli-ance matters and general contract Ph

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production company and orion Pictures, among others.

But working with smaller clients — particularly theatrical producers — was Mark’s passion. “The partners trained us to be as much business advisors as we were lawyers,” he recalls. “The entertainment industry is filled with people who have a creative vision, but maybe not the best business sense. I loved being able to step in and help creative people fill that gap.”

Mark was involved in every aspect of every representation. “The beauty of representing producers is that you really are involved in the full gamut of an entrepreneurial enter-prise — acquiring rights, developing intellectual property, hiring talent, financing the project, distribution — everything.”

A perfect preparation for his lead role at Discovery. “Paul, Weiss taught me to always find a way to make things work for my client. And that is a very, very important skill for being an inside counsel, because you are in essence your own client — you need to find solutions instead of just saying ‘no’. That’s what it’s all about.”

After several years of living in new york, Mark and his wife were planning to start a family and decided to begin their new life in a new city. In 1991, they moved to Washington, D.C. where Mark landed a job at Discovery. It was a propitious time to begin working at the cable franchise, which was just beginning its stellar growth, and his years there have called upon all the flexibility and business insight he developed as a Paul, Weiss associate.

For the first few years, Mark worked on one of the most important aspects of cable programming — distribution deals with cable operators. “one of the most important dynamics in the cable industry is distribution.

alumnus mark hollinGer sheds liGhT on The inTriCaCies of runninG one of the BeSt-knoWn BroadcaSt netWorkS in The world

Mark’s father was an advertising executive, and as a child Mark was captivated by the trade magazines he kept around the house. “We had Ad Age and Hollywood Reporter and Variety lying around,” he recalls. “I grew up reading the funny headlines in Variety. And while the law was always one of my top career choices, my background guaranteed that I would do something entertaining with it.”

Mark was also interested in the nexus of law and the political world. “I majored in history and political science at Colgate, always with the thought of bringing that knowledge to law school,” he says. When the time came to pick a school, he chose yale. “I liked their approach. It seemed to be more about really learning the law, about learning the responsibilities of a lawyer and the intellectual debate around legal issues, as opposed to either the grades, the law review or a lucrative career.”

The scales tipped decisively toward entertainment law after a year spent working on Capitol Hill before he started his first year at

yale. “Frankly, my year on the Senate staff made me probably a little more cynical than I had been about politics,” he says. “not that the entertainment industry isn’t full of its own dissem-blers,” he laughs. “But I ended up taking the entertainment route.”

Like everyone who wants to work in American entertainment, Mark had another big decision ahead of him: Los Angeles or new york City? He spent one half of his second year summer interning at Paul, Weiss and the remainder interning at o’Melveny & Myers in Los Angeles.

“I decided I was just more of an East Coast person,” he says. “And I really enjoyed theater work. Which made Paul, Weiss a natural choice.”

Mark was offered a coveted asso-ciate position in the Entertainment Department at Paul, Weiss. It was a great introduction to the field. “Associates got the benefit of the relationships that people like Bob Montgomery and John Breglio had established with the production community before we arrived,” he says. Mark worked with marquee clients, including ex-Beatle George Harrison’s

a Journey of discovery THE SHEER SCALE oF THE DISCovERy CoMMUnICATIonS

empire makes it “in essence the biggest non-fiction television engine

in the world,” says Mark. And to help manage this mammoth network,

Discovery trusts a chief operating officer who brings a unique and

varied set of skills to the mission.


mark hollinger

Job title: Chief operating officer

company: discovery Communications

Base of operations: silver spring, md



passions outside the law: “my family: wife Cathy and three sons ian, Tyler and devin; travel; baseball and boating — all kinds including power, sail and kayak.”

you have a Siamese twin relationship with cable and satellite operators. They have to have programming so they need you. And you have to have distribution because you don’t have any other way to get your content to the audience. So that was a great learning experience,” he remembers.

Discovery was beginning to expand overseas, and when the opportunity arose to help establish its Asia operation, Mark volunteered. He spent six months in Hong Kong building the operation. Upon his return to the States, Mark took the lead in negotiating deals that opened Germany, India, Italy and other major markets to the network.

In 1996, Mark was appointed both general counsel and head of the corporate services group. These two positions placed him at the center of all the various divisions at Discovery including business affairs, produc-tion management and media services. Working in these dual roles made Mark responsible for the company’s legal work as well as its international business development operations.

When Discovery went public in December 2007, Mark was selected as the company’s chief operating

officer. In his new role he is focusing on extending the company’s already considerable reach. Which is no mean feat: Discovery’s 11 domestic networks, which include favorites like TLC, Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel, are already in virtually every pay-television household in the United States. Despite new domestic offerings like oWn: The oprah Winfrey network and Green Planet, an eco-lifestyle network, international markets are the new frontier for the company.

Discovery’s cross-border efforts are already considerable — currently,

the company does business in more than 170 countries and is making inroads into others. Multiple chan-nels in multiple international markets means that programs are customized in terms of content and language: some of its programs are broadcast in 35 different languages.

It’s a role that Mark embraces wholeheartedly, with the same zeal that he once brought to helping theater entrepreneurs and independent film-makers. “Have no doubt: Discovery is a for-profit enterprise,” he says. “But there is a real sense of purpose here — an educational mission.”

In many markets around the world, Discovery is introducing audi-ences to a type of programming they have never seen before. “In some countries, television documentaries are rare,” says Mark, “We’re bringing something compelling — something that isn’t a part of many cable and satellite platforms.”

Roughly 80 percent of the company’s productions are distrib-uted on a global basis. Discovery’s successful formula is based on programming that appeals to universal human curiosities about the world we share. “We speak to an incredible array of audiences,” he says. “And that universal appeal brings people together. When I tell people — no matter where I am in the world — that I work at Discovery, and I’m in some sense responsible for these programs that everyone knows and loves, I always get a wonderful, enthusiastic reaction.”

“It’s never been dull — not for a moment,” he says. “There are always new challenges, new territo-ries, new deals to negotiate — it’s been a smorgasbord of new personal opportunities for which I am very grateful.” P

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out of the Cube and into the Box WHEn THE PAUL, WEISS PARTnERS TRIED To DISSUADE

Joel Hyatt from leaving the firm, they sent the wrong man for the job.

“I worked very closely with Ted Sorensen throughout my time as an asso-

ciate,” he remembers. “And when the big idea came to me, I shared it with

him, explaining why I needed to leave.”

PoliTiCal maveriCk, leGal indusTry enTrePreneur and new media moGul Joel hyaTT disCusses his tranSformative career and The influenCes and vision ThaT helPed shaPe iT

The big idea in question was the seed of his future company, Hyatt Legal Services.

“So after talking to the other partners,” Joel recalls, “Ted came over to my cubicle, sat down and said, ‘Well, I’ve been delegated by the partnership to try to talk you out of leaving, but I’m actually not going to do that. Instead I’m going to tell you something.’”

“He said, ‘your idea is one of those rare ideas that comes along that’s both good for society as well as a good business idea. Instead of asking you to stay, I’m going to tell you this: if it doesn’t work out we want you to know that we’d be happy to have you back.’”

Joel was floored. “I remember what he said word for word, and it was a real lifeline to me. Every other lawyer I ever talked to from that moment on through the next couple of years thought it was the stupidest idea in the world.”

The “stupidest idea in the world” — the vision that won over the idealist

in Ted Sorensen — had its roots in Joel’s political idealism.

When Joel graduated from yale Law School in 1976, he stepped away from the traditional options offered to a new law school graduate. Instead, he became the campaign manager for U.S. Senate candidate and progres-sive democrat Howard Metzenbaum. Joel bucked traditional party elec-tioneering — rallies and local field organizations — and ran the first major Tv-based political campaign in ohio. It was an enormous success. Metzenbaum won both the primary and the election and went on to serve in the Senate for the next 18 years. The election demonstrated the ascen-dancy of television as a tool that could transform the status quo.

The campaign finished, Joel set out to establish his legal career, and chose Paul, Weiss to be his first home.

“I wanted to learn how to be a first-class lawyer, but at a firm that emphasized public service,” Joel says. “The fact that people like Ted

Sorensen chose Paul, Weiss — that was enough for me.” Joel spent most of 1977 working closely with Ted and Dick Borisoff, training as a corporate associate.

And then came the big idea. In the summer of 1977, the U.S.

Supreme Court declared prohibitions against lawyer advertising as unconsti-tutional under the First Amendment. With the Metzenbaum victory fresh in his mind, Joel saw the ruling as a chance to harness the power of televi-sion yet again. “I read the opinion and it hit me,” he says. “This was an opportunity to create an entirely new kind of law firm.”

Joel imagined a firm that would use television to communicate with working people who didn’t have easy access to lawyers or the legal system, and offer them convenient and low-cost legal services. “Using television to help fulfill this need struck me less as an entrepreneurial opportunity and more of a call to social service.”

After his farewell chat with Ted, Joel and his wife, Susan, moved back to their hometown of Cleveland, ohio, and together made the idea a reality.

Hyatt Legal Services became the largest law firm in the U.S. At its height in the ’80s, Hyatt Legal had 1,300 attorneys with affiliated lawyers in hundreds of offices from around the country bringing legal services to underserved communities and markets. Later on, Joel introduced Hyatt Legal Plans, offering legal advice through employer-sponsored or funded group legal plans. More than 10 years after Joel spun the company off to its local affiliates, the network survives: former Hyatt Legal Services lawyers around the country continue


to deliver legal advice to group plan participants of Hyatt Legal Plans, a company now owned by MetLife.

When the next big idea arrived, it grew out of Joel’s friendship with former vice President Al Gore. “We’ve known each other since the late ’70s,” Joel says, “I was, of course, involved in Democratic Party politics, and that’s how I met Al.” In the aftermath of the 2000 election, Gore approached Joel with an idea about building a new type of media network that would help address fundamental problems in the American political and cultural landscape, which suited Joel’s back-ground and experience perfectly.

“Al and I have a passionate belief in the power of ideas, as long as there is an open marketplace for them. But that marketplace did not exist,” Joel states. “Since the printed word was replaced by television, the opportunity to participate has been eliminated. Television is a one-way medium, and it flattens discussion and debate.”

So the partners set out to build a media company that would use tech-nology to re-establish a participatory marketplace of ideas. Their ambition was to take the most open network ever known — the Internet — and use it to transform television.

And so Current Tv was born. Current Tv is a cable and

satellite television network/website hybrid that allows users to create and choose the content that appears on the network. Users upload their

own clips to the website; the Current community then votes on which clips should be included on the television side. Current maintains an edito-rial team that screens and promotes clips, and a production arm that creates journalistic content. “We are empowering young adults to help create the content they consume,” Joel says. “This has never been done in television.”

The response has been tremen-dous. Current Tv has become the fastest-growing cable satellite network in history, with 58 million subscriber households in the U.S. and Europe. Current has also garnered signifi-cant industry recognition, including a Livingston Award, one of the most prestigious awards for journalists age 35 and younger, and a Headliner Award for best investigative journalism piece, beating out nBC news and Cnn. Current is also the youngest network ever to win an Emmy.

Current Tv seems to be the perfect enterprise for Joel as he enters the fourth decade of a multi-faceted career: a unique blend of technological innovation, media savvy and social service bent on reviving a healthy national discourse.

“When we started Current Tv, there was a lot of speculation that it would be ‘the liberal network’ — a partisan enterprise. Which is precisely the opposite of what it is,” says Joel. “A partisan network is easy. It isn’t a big idea. And we have much larger aspira-tions. We want to take the power of the platform and share it with anyone out there who wants to express their point of view. We want to facilitate the conversation of democracy. That’s Current’s mission.”

It also embodies a lifetime mission for Joel, who has built his career around taking closed systems — the party machine, the legal system, television networks — and opening them up for democratic participation.

And despite Ted Sorensen’s very generous offer, he has yet to return to his cubicle at Paul, Weiss.

Joel Z. hyatt

Job title: Chief executive officer

company: Current Tv, llC

Base of operations: san francisco

years at paul, Weiss: 1 (1977)

years in current position: 6

passions outside the law: family and skiing


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sony/aTv musiC PuBlishinG eXeCuTive Palisa kelley eXPlores The leGal side of a creative indUStry

“My mother was a school teacher and my father was a director in the Mount olive school district in new Jersey. And my choice really went against their instincts,” she says. “I think they were just afraid that I’d lose my way and never return to grad-uate school and a career,” she recalls.

Looking back on her choice, her parents would have to agree that it was well worth the risk. “They weren’t too thrilled then,” she says, “but they’re okay with it now!”

Palisa spun her early experience at Profile Records into a burgeoning career in the publishing side of the music industry. years after her tenure at Profile, she’s been named vice pres-ident, business and legal affairs for Sony/ATv Music Publishing, where she handles the deals that secure the rights to musical compositions.

“Record companies control the rights to specific recordings

or performances,” she explains. “Companies like Sony/ATv, on the other hand, manage the rights to the underlying music, which can be recorded in many different contexts by many different performers. So we work with the people who create the compositions. often they’re not as famous as performers or recording artists. While many songwriters perform their own material, some of our most successful clients make their living solely as composers.”

one of the company’s clients, songwriter Diane Warren, is a case in point. Although her name is unfamiliar to most, Ms. Warren’s considerable talent has produced hits in the R&B, country, Latin, dance, adult contemporary, pop and Christian genres. Artists who have recorded Warren’s songs include Aerosmith, Tina Turner, Eric Clapton, LeAnne Rimes, Belinda Carlisle and Aretha

Franklin. Along the way, Warren has garnered six Academy Award® nomi-nations, four Golden Globe Award® nominations and seven Grammy Award® nominations.

Make no mistake – Sony/ATv’s writer roster includes famous names as well. The second-largest music publisher in the world, the company manages rights for music legends like The Beatles and Bob Dylan as well as contemporary artists like Lauryn Hill and Fallout Boy, all of whom write and perform most, if not all, of their own material. Palisa’s latest efforts helped to secure the Jonas Brothers to Sony/ATv in a coup for her company: the brothers have recently signed a record contract with Disney, and their latest album, released in August, debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Top 200 albums chart.

While Palisa handles legal issues related to the day-to-day operation of the company — “If anyone needs legal advice about anything, they come to my department,” she laughs — the songwriter is her main focus. “I help to structure deals,” she says. “I work with finance and A&R (the ones who discover new talent) to figure out what we’re going to pay a new writer, or renegotiate existing deals. I’m there from the time the first demos are played to closing. And it’s a point of pride to know I’ve helped great music and great artists and songwriters find an audience.”

Palisa’s years at Profile Records were a crash course in every aspect of the music business. “Profile was an independent label, featuring hip hop artists just as rap was gaining in popularity,” she remembers. “So it was an interesting time. Sampling issues

WHEn PALISA KELLEy AnnoUnCED HER PoST-GRADUATIon

plans to her parents, they were not happy. “They said, ‘What are you

doing? you have to go back to school!’” she remembers, laughing. Palisa

had just informed them that their Harvard-educated daughter was

going to work at a small independent record label instead of pursuing

graduate studies. For her parents – lifelong educators both – the choice

seemed like a big mistake.

it all Comes Back to the artist


paliSa r. kelley

Job title: vice President, Business and legal affairs

company: sony/aTv music Publishing llC




passions outside the law: “i’m getting into sailing — i recently

took my first sailing vacation in the

British virgin islands.”

were hugely important. nobody really knew how to handle sampling – almost nobody knew what sampling was. So there were a lot of interesting issues to address, and the industry was changing right before our eyes.”

The storied Paul, Weiss pro bono tradition helped lead her to the firm after she graduated University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1995. “I was definitely attracted to the fact that public service mattered to the firm. And that commitment told me something about the attitude and the culture there.” As a young liti-gator, Palisa worked on music- and entertainment-related representations that fit her experience and interest perfectly, including helping partner Jay Cohen on rate renegotiations for the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers and working

on a breach of contract trial for singer/actress vanessa Williams. “It was invaluable, because I saw every step of the case, from beginning to end. It was a small case, but I learned a tremendous amount.”

After two years at Paul, Weiss, Palisa became an associate at Franklin, Weinrib, Rudell & vassallo, P. C., a boutique entertainment firm where her work included disentangling the conflicting publishing and copyright issues surrounding the recordings of Tupac Shakur in the wake of the rapper’s untimely death. “It was incredibly interesting, just trying to figure out who had rights to each piece of music,” she says. “Everyone who had contributed anything had a copyright interest. Musicians. Producers. His mother controlled the masters. The labels had released the

records posthumously. There were serious disputes about who owned what share of this work, down to the samples he used in the songs, and that represented a lot of money.”

Drawing on a wealth of experi-ence, Palisa took the leap back to the business side of the music industry in 2000, securing a position at Sony’s recording division. Pursuing her ultimate goal of working in the publishing arena, however, she moved to a position as director, business and legal affairs at Sony/ATv. She was named vice president, business and legal affairs in March 2008.

“Ever since I learned about music publishing – going all the way back to working at Profile – I found it fascinating,” she says. “And because I came out of an era when sampling and all the issues it raised was the new challenge in music, I understood how important publishing was. now that physical sales of albums has taken a steep decline, and more and more people download their music, people are beginning to see that publishing is vital to the future of the industry.”

And the future promises more interesting work for Palisa and her office. “Martin Bandier, our new CEo, is taking Sony/ATv full speed ahead to capitalize on these changes. We’ve been signing an almost overwhelming number of deals. It’s a very, very exciting time.” P

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AbitibibowAter’s Vice President of LegAL AffAirs refLects on a Cross-Border Career

Stephanie worked as a corporate associate in Paul, Weiss’s Paris office from 1998 until 2000, shortly before the office closed. For Stephanie, being fluent in both English and French (she was born and raised in Montreal) provided moments of professional satisfaction and a few episodes of high humor.

“One of our clients was an American businessman who was trying to negotiate a licensing agree-ment with French business partners,” she recalls. “They spoke very little English. So to compensate, the client spoke very, very slowly and loudly, and was making grand gestures to highlight the meaning of his state-ments. It was such a show.

“Our client then joined his hands together to indicate how the parties should ‘come together as one,’ followed by pointing to the partners’ hearts to show that there was a ‘friendship that will develop,’ and even going as far as performing a snake-like gesture to show the two groups ‘going down a path together’. Meanwhile, the French clients were thinking, ‘What’s wrong with his hands? Is he making fun of us?’”

she’ll Always Have Paris

Client peccadilloes aside, Stephanie’s background was a distinct advantage in less comedic situations.

The Paris office focused on French clients who wanted to invest in or buy companies in the U.S., and U.S. clients who wanted to do the same in France. Stephanie learned to navigate difficult negotiations, growing more and more comfortable when dealing with the differences in culture and style in executing transactions. “You have to work at it more than you would in a normal negotiation,” she says. “There are two cultures that you have to bring together, and it takes time for trust to build.”

It was, by her admission, an amazing two years, and very hard to leave behind. “I have tremendous respect for the people I worked with in the Paris office. They really helped me to take a step back from looking at the details and the intricacies of the law and just apply a good dose of common sense to become an effective general practitioner.”

Her path towards the Paul, Weiss office in Paris was slow but steady. Graduating from the University of Montreal Faculty of Law in 1992 with

an LL.B. in civil law, Stephanie partici-pated in an exchange program which brought her to Osgoode Hall Law School of York University in Toronto, where she completed a second LL.B. in common law. New York University School of Law was her next stop, earning an LL.M. focusing on interna-tional, criminal and constitutional law. “I really felt like working, as you can tell,” she jokes.

“At first when I was in New York in 1994, I did not necessarily think I would end up doing securities work, but I loved the city so much that I just sent resumes out, not expecting much of a response, because at that time there were not a lot of Canadians being recruited at New York firms.” Despite her fears, Stephanie received an invitation for an interview at Davis Polk & Wardwell, where she was hired as an associate in the corporate department.

Hoping to work in a variety of jurisdictions, she longed for a move overseas, preferably to France. “My mother tongue is French, and I had a degree in civil law, and this felt like the perfect combination for work in Paris,” she recalls. But when a Davis Polk Paris posting didn’t materialize, Stephanie began looking for lateral opportunities. “I looked around a little bit and then I got interested in Paul, Weiss.”

When Stephanie came in for her initial interview, she says she just “clicked” with the firm. “I really liked the overall attitude at Paul, Weiss. I thought there was a real firm person-ality — a little in-your-face, we can do it all, a ‘Renaissance Person’ ideal,” she says. “That was very refreshing and stimulating. I loved the atmosphere.”

STEPHANIE LECLAIRE’S DEPARTURE FROM PAUL, WEISS

in 2000 was bittersweet. “The decision to start a family meant going

home, and being close to our parents. It was either we go back to

Montreal now, or we’ll never go back.”


stephanie LeCLaire

Job title: Vice President, Legal Affairs

Company: Abitibibowater inc.

Base of operations: Montreal, Quebec

Years at paul, Weiss: 3 (1998 – 2000)

Years in Current position: 8

passions outside the Law: “spending time with my three kids:

Matteo, 5, olivia, 3 and Luca, 3; spending

time away from them with their father,

nicola Angelini; and sleeping.”

After a few months in New York, the firm sent Stephanie off to Paris. And after her decision to leave Paul, Weiss and to raise her family in Montreal, she found herself at a crossroads, unsure of what her next career move would be.

A good friend who was working at Abitibi-Consolidated called her and encouraged her to join the company as legal counsel. One thing she knew: she didn’t want to join another law firm. “It just didn’t feel right. There was nothing wrong with the firm I had just left. So when opportunity called, I figured I might as well try something different and go in-house.”

Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. was a public forest product and paper company dedicated to producing newsprint and commercial printing paper throughout the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Asia. Despite the size of the company, the legal department was very small, with a substantial amount of transactions for the approximately 16,000-employee company.

During her first years at Abitibi, she worked on a number of chal-lenging IPOs and M&A deals, which she enjoyed. However, changes were sweeping the forest and paper industry. There were waves of consoli-dation; Abitibi itself had undertaken major acquisitions and/or mergers as well. In 2007, Stephanie was drawn in to the company’s latest transaction — a massive, well-publicized merger with Bowater Incorporated.

When Abitibi’s managing counsel left for maternity leave, Stephanie took over the position and found herself in charge of the entire legal department. “It was not a very cushy

start to a new job,” she explains. “We were talking about a combination of the number one and the number two players in the newsprint industry, which meant a very long and costly antitrust approval process in both Canada and in the U.S.”

Stephanie, aided in her efforts by her former Paul, Weiss colleagues, brought the deal to a close, and when the dust cleared, AbitibiBowater — a company worth $7 billion — was born.

As managing counsel, and, more recently, as vice president, legal affairs, Stephanie has moved into a super-visory position at Abitibi, overseeing the entire legal department, and reporting to their chief legal officer. And as the aftershocks of the merger wind down, her position relies on her unique background as a cross-cultural lawyer, forged in the Paul, Weiss Paris office almost a decade ago.

“It’s a story of compromise for both sides, trying their best to

make the transition as smooth as possible,” she says. “It’s a long process. Normally, in my experi-ence, it usually takes a good year to assimilate and digest a merger. To take two separate companies and have them become something else. Something new. A new company — a new family.” P

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saks inCorPoraTed assisTanT General Counsel sunny Park disCusses The JuGGlinG aCT ThaT Takes PlaCe aT The inTerseCTion of faShion and the laW

Case in point: Saks’s interna-tional presence. Sunny works with the company’s international business team in negotiating with potential overseas licensees. She’s charged with ensuring that the company’s prospec-tive partners are paying attention to everything from the proper use of the Saks logo to guaranteeing that the right mix of brands are available at the stores. “overall, it is critical to protect the brand and to ensure that each international store can deliver a luxury shopping experience that our customer base has grown to expect from Saks.”

Saks, a fashion retail giant with 53 locations across the United States and international locations in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Mexico City, guarantees Sunny a steady supply of diverse legal challenges.

“I’m a generalist, with a specialty in IP, so I really do everything that comes across the table,” says Sunny. on a given day, her work can focus on anything from litigation to trademark portfolio management. “I provide

a little Bit of everything

general business advice and contract review for marketing and advertising, credit services, merchants, stores and other groups. Fashion retail is an industry with a stunning breadth of legal issues. The challenge and excite-ment is embracing it all, and, especially, learning from outside counsel. There are so many areas that I don’t have a background in, and I’ve just been soaking them all up.”

It’s also an industry with its own unique rhythm. “The holiday season is a very important time for us,” she says, “so when we’re ramping up for the holidays, there’s a lot more going on in terms of marketing and advertising review.” And her work can vary from the abstract legal query to the all-too-specific. “The Saks holiday window displays are an event in their own right. And believe it or not, we’ve had to deal with law enforcement officials who were monitoring the decibel level of the noise that comes out of the holiday window displays.”

And, of course, Fashion Week.

“That’s when contract review and negotiations come to the fore,” she says. “Because we do a lot of cross-marketing and co-branding with featured designers or Fashion Week sponsors like Mercedes Benz, trying to figure out the best way to struc-ture the deals.”

Regulatory issues abound for Saks, providing a shifting, multijurisdictional puzzle for a company that sells tens of thousands of products across the country. “Consumer product safety, product labeling, PCI compliance … We have to keep abreast of so many different regulations and they are changing constantly,” Sunny maintains. “For example, a slight change in an obscure state regulation has a significant impact on our business. If every fur product must have a particular notification on its label, then we need to make sure that every fur product that’s being shipped is labeled to comply. Do we decide to make a company-wide change? or is it more effective to do it on a state-by-state basis? It’s a never-ending battle.”

one of Sunny’s most important duties is something of a paradox: protecting the trademark of a decades-old institution in an industry that is defined by whirlwinds of seasonal change. “our first store opened in 1924, and today we’ve developed into an iconic presence around the world,” she says. “And I help develop the strategy that ensures that our brand maintains its character. I oversee the management of our trademarks, both domesti-cally and internationally, and it’s a huge challenge and an honor to help

In THE RETAIL FASHIon BUSInESS, EvERy DETAIL MATTERS.

As assistant general counsel for Saks Incorporated, Sunny Park has to

keep a watch on everything. “When your work is about fashion, the

things you actually purchase and wear, it’s immediate and exciting,” she

says. “But Saks is one of the premiere brands in fashion retail,” she says.

“We need to protect that legacy, and that means getting everything right.”


protect such an amazing brand that has so much history behind it.”

Sunny is a Beverly Hills, California native who went east to pursue undergraduate studies at Columbia College. She was attracted by the college’s famed core curriculum, which focuses on the critical ideas of western thought and their interconnected historical development. “It’s one thing,” she says, “to take individual classes in literature, philosophy, music and art. But Columbia allowed me to experience them as a vast, ongoing conversation.” Sunny ended her undergraduate years as an art history major with a specialization in 17th century Italian art and architecture. She continued

SUnny S. park

Job title: assistant General Counsel

company: saks incorporated




passions outside the law: “my husband and i are both film geeks;

recently we watched a Japanese film

called The Human Condition. it’s three

parts and each part is 3½ hours, so

i should get some props for that!”

at Columbia Law School, graduating in 2002 and choosing Paul, Weiss as her first firm — a crucible for the intense juggling act that her present position demands.

Sunny was drawn to Paul, Weiss because of its strong litigation department. “once I had decided I wanted to litigate, there was really no other place to be,” she remembers, “but in the end I chose the firm for its diversity: in terms of the clients, the attorneys and the work.”

Sunny worked on a variety of complex litigations and investigations at Paul, Weiss, including market timing regulatory investigations for Morgan Stanley under the tutelage of Richard Rosen and Robbie Kaplan. Her interest in IP, however, was sparked by her work with Carey Ramos on several of the post-napster peer-to-peer file-sharing copyright infringement claims. She continued with IP work in a pro bono context: helping Aidan Synnott and Claudine Meredith-Goujon with a copyright and trademark litigation for feminist artist troupe Guerrilla Girls.

Sunny left Paul, Weiss in 2005 to join Loeb & Loeb LLP, where she worked as a copyright and trademark litigator, and in 2007, she made the leap to Saks, where her generalist approach and IP training made her a perfect addition to their team.

“Retail is an exciting and dynamic environment,” she states. “you’re called upon to develop judgment on the real-world application and nuances of multiple areas of the law. I definitely feel that beginning my career at Paul, Weiss helped me examine issues critically and taught me what questions to ask.” P

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The PrimeriCa General Counsel Talks aBouT The aTTiTude neCessary To manaGe The leGal affairs of a 100,000+ SaleS force, and The TheaTriCal TraininG he reCeived aT Paul, weiss

“I’m not sure I was known for my legal work at Paul, Weiss as much as I was known for my involvement with the summer outings,” says Peter. “I was part of the theatrical squad that would put on the skits. I don’t even know how I got involved.”

Schneider’s troupe offered a variety of “entertainment,” including song-and-dance routines by future District Court Judge Colleen McMahon, a full-length slideshow spoof of Woody Allen’s Zelig starring now-partner Alan Arffa as “Schmelig,” and Peter’s own Rodney Dangerfield and Andy Rooney impressions.

“none of us had talent. But all of us had fun,” he remembers.

Peter has since moved on from his career as Paul, Weiss associate and theatrical impresario to become general counsel of Primerica, a Citigroup subsidiary and an enterprise with six million clients in the United States, Canada, Ireland and Spain. Clearly this is a job where a substantial dose of good humor is essential. “I’m in charge of the legal issues generated by more than a hundred thousand affiliated Primerica sales agents,” says Peter. “That’s a lot of people. It’s a lot

of everything. you definitely need a sense of humor.”

Primerica, one of the first compa-nies purchased by Citigroup during the company’s expansion in the late ’80s, focuses on a forgotten market: “People with too much month at the end of their money,” Peter explains. The company offers life insurance policies, mutual fund investment programs and mortgage and debt-consolidation loans to middle and lower-income individuals who are often denied access to expert financial services.

“A lot of companies cannot economically service a middle market clientele because the transaction sizes are too small. A middle-income worker doesn’t buy large amounts of life insurance, or invest huge amounts in a mutual fund. Most financial services companies avoid that market.”

By bundling massive amounts of small transactions together, Primerica is able to serve this oft-neglected demographic. To keep the amount of transactions high, Primerica relies on its massive sales force of independent agents. This network presents an enor-mous variety of legal challenges.

“First of all, we recruit people into the network at enormous rates. We have to ensure that every one of our agents has the proper training and supervision,” he explains. “I’m also constantly working with compliance issues and government relations. We deal with every level of jurisdiction. When they pass laws, they’re often thinking about traditional approaches to selling our products, instead of innovative models like ours.”

And of course, litigation, both potential and actual. “Primerica’s legal department is quite extensive, with 120 employees including more than 40 lawyers. We have a group that deals just with internal issues relating to the sales force — thousands of matters each year.”

And if that wasn’t enough, there are massive regulatory chal-lenges spanning three major sets of regulators from the departments of insurance in all 50 states, to industry groups, to federal agencies.

While Peter juggles this already considerable workload, he also maintains a separate position within Citigroup as legal advisor to the company’s Innovation Group, a divison focused solely on keeping Citigroup on the cutting edge of financial services.

“We want to be at the forefront of financial and technological change. Citi has always been an innovator — the ATM machine is a great example of a real advance that we brought to market. And we always want to be out there doing new stuff.”

Citigroup’s innovation philosophy focuses on adapting new trends from other fields to the financial market-place. For instance, taking a cue

Good humor man PARTnERS AnD ALUMnI, BEWARE — PETER SCHnEIDER HAS

photos. you know the ones. From the firm’s summer outings in the early

’80s. A cavalcade of future partners and other firm luminaries embar-

rassing themselves in the springtime of their careers. All caught on film.


from online payment systems, the company is getting ready to intro-duce a system that allows customers to transfer funds over cell phones. “We look at a successful model that’s out there,” Peter says, “an innovative model that’s maybe in a different industry, and ask ourselves ‘How can we bring that innovation to financial services?’”

Looking back, Peter loved his time at Paul, Weiss. “I viewed going to a firm of Paul, Weiss’s caliber as a great learning experience,” Peter says. “Just meeting the greats, like Ed Costikyan, Arthur Liman, Judge Rifkind, and Marty London was a great opportunity.”

After three years at the firm, Peter and his wife decided to leave new york City. “My future wife and I ‘negotiated’ where we would live on a particularly cold and rainy new year’s Eve in Manhattan,” he remem-bers. Atlanta won out but Peter views new york as a special place. “I grew up in the South but was born

in Brooklyn. My grandparents both lived in Brighton Beach. our family was like a neil Simon comedy.”

When Peter left new york, he began a successful practice at Rogers & Hardin, an Atlanta litigation powerhouse, eventually becoming partner and managing committee member. He garnered securities litigation, arbitration and class action wins for several prominent finan-cial services companies, working occasionally with former Paul, Weiss colleagues like Jay Cohen and Phil McKinney. Both Primerica and Citigroup were major clients of his.

“We won Primerica as a client by representing another party against them,” Peter recalls. “And on the other side of that case was Chuck Prince, who was Primerica’s general counsel at the time.” Peter clearly impressed his adversary. “When the case was over, they invited Rogers & Hardin to represent Primerica. I spent several years representing them on behalf of the firm.”

peter W. Schneider

official Job title(s): executive vice

President and General Counsel

company: Primerica financial services

Base of operations: duluth, Ga



passions outside the law: family: married more than 20 years to

Barbara, also a lawyer; children rebecca,

18 and mark, 16

When Prince became the CEo of Citigroup, he contacted Peter about joining Primerica as general counsel, as the seat had recently opened up.

Peter took the time to consult with his old buddies at Paul, Weiss. “Just to ask — what do you think about this? And they were positive. And I said, ‘What the heck? I’ll try something different.’ And it’s been a lot of fun. A great experience for me.”

Besides trusted friends and good advice, Peter credits Paul, Weiss with helping him shape his professional attitude. “It’s okay to be a lawyer and try to be funny,” he says. “People at Paul, Weiss have wonderful senses of humor. And I think that’s really important. I think that’s probably been a big contributor to the firm’s success. Paul, Weiss is people — real, interesting people who enjoy life. not dour. not too serious. I think that attitude made the firm what it is today. And I have the pictures to prove it.” P

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| roundtable

Q&a

32 alumni news 2008 | Paul, Weiss , rifkind, Wharton & Garrison llP

Judicial Review: The FuTuRe oF The couRTs From abstract battles concerning constitutional

interpretation to brass-knuckle politicking over appointees and funding, the united states Judiciary has been the locus of countless contro-versies, conflicts, and deep — and sometimes unwelcome — changes. numerous Paul, Weiss alumni have taken up the gavel over the years, enriching the bench with hard-won private practice perspectives and a dedication to public service. We invited five of them to talk with us about the state of the courts today, and the significant changes that loom over the entire system.

The honorable MarTha a. GeerAppellate Judge

North Carolina Court of Appeals

There are two issues — the first is funding, and I know that’s an issue across the country, but in North Carolina it’s a particular problem. The Judicial Branch just does not get adequate funding, and I think that’s true everywhere. People complain about judi-cial salaries, but we worry about not having enough judges! And if you don’t have enough judges then you get delayed decisions, delayed court dates at trial. Criminal cases will move ahead, but civil cases will get set aside.

We had a situation where the Chief Justice of our Supreme Court threatened to shut down civil sessions to try to get proper funding. And there have been times where the Chief Justice said, “We don’t have the money to pay for judges to go across coun-ties” — in North Carolina judges still ride the circuit to some extent.

Situations like this have very severe consequences for rural counties that don’t have their own judges.

So we’ve got issues. Here are some more: North Carolina, like many states across the country, has had a dramatic increase in its Hispanic population. What about interpreters? If you don’t have the money for interpreters you can’t conduct the trial. Or lack of funding for court-appointed counsel. There are a myriad of financial problems.

Why is the judicial branch so underfunded?

I think it’s a consequence of the separa-tion of powers and checks and balances. The legislatures hold the purse strings and the executive branch possesses better means to force the legislature to cough up money. A governor or a president can jump up and down and make things happen. The judicial branch doesn’t have much clout in the legislature.

And the public lacks awareness of the issue. Most of the public thinks the judicial system is equivalent to the criminal system. Why should we set aside more money for criminals? If they happen to be drawn into a civil case, a family law case, or a car

What do you think is the single most significant issue that will affect the courts in the near future?Q:

Paul, Weiss , rifkind, Wharton & Garrison llP | alumni news 2008 33

accident or something like that — then they start to see how important it is. But as a general matter the population doesn’t see the consequences of underfunding.

The other aspect of the problem is that, increasingly, legislatures don’t have very many lawyers in them. And the result is you don’t have anybody who understands how the system works and what it needs to function properly.

And the second issue?

The second issue is judicial selection which gets us into politics. North Carolina elects all of its judges. I think most states do the same. And some of the recent changes we’ve undergone illustrate what a hard problem judicial selection really is.

Now, for a long time, our Supreme Court was predominately Republican — it still is — but our legislature tends to be overwhelm-ingly Democratic and the governor usually is as well. And for a very long time the results indicated that people just wanted Republican judges, because they would cross over to vote for them even if they voted Democrat in the General Assembly election.

So the Democratic legislature made the elections non-partisan in 2004, because they wanted to end Republican domination of the bench. The quid pro quo for the Republicans was the introduction of public financing, but you are expected to run a state-wide race on a little over $200,000. Now, the reason it was quid pro quo is because Republican candidates have a harder time fund raising. Because people who tend to contribute large amounts to judicial races are trial lawyers, who more likely contribute to the Democrats. So it’s all fairly unseemly.

So now, people are voting for judges on an individual basis, instead of along party

lines, which some might think is a good thing on the surface, but the problem is that people are voting on entirely arbitrary bases. They like the candidate’s name, it sounds familiar to them. Or, to my benefit, the voters appear to prefer women. But people aren’t voting on the merits. I had over one million people vote for me in 2002, many of whom knew very little about me.

A few states have adopted the federal government’s approach, where the governor appoints the judges. But then the judges can be seen as being too close to the campaign promises of the candidate. The answer may lie in what I think is probably the best system: some states create a non-partisan commission with all of the various “stakeholders” in the judicial system on the panel and they make recommendations to the governor, or approve nominees. That’s the best way to my mind, but no method is free from outside influence.

The honorable lewis a. KaplanU.S. District Court Judge

Southern District of New York

The politicization of the judicial appoint-ment process is the issue.

This is a problem that is more or less disturbing depending on the level of the court. While district court appointments have been largely untouched by the political climate in Washington, Supreme Court appointments have been dramatically affected by it, which is very undesirable.

The problem is essentially political. There are groups in both parties to whom the ideological bent of a particular candidate is of paramount importance. Supreme Court appointments are therefore the subject of

intense political focus, no matter which presi-dent makes them.

And this has not, on the whole, been constructive. The country now views Court decisions through a political prism, regardless of how the individual justices reach them. I think that this has damaged our respect for the Court; and that respect is, to me, an essential component of our political system.

What sort of change is necessary to reverse this politicization?

I wish I was smart enough to tell you. I think if presidents were to stop using appointments as a campaign feature — if they exercised more leadership with respect to selecting justices from the center — then we’d make progress.

It all comes down to the voter. I hope that we select people for public office who have a broader, long-term view that extends beyond the campaign trail. We need candidates who will act in what they believe to be the long-term interests of the country rather than on the basis of the latest focus group and opinion poll.

We also need senior members of the Senate Judiciary Committee in both parties who are concerned about the situation, and who agree to work together in an effort to tone down the invective, regardless of what the more extreme members of their respective parties say.

What are the consequences if we don’t?

We will undermine the respect for the legal process in this country.

Our country is divided between Democrats and Republicans, not exactly down the middle, but it’s close. Within each of these

Martha A. Geer Lewis A. Kaplan Colleen McMahon Andrew J. Peck Sidney H. Stein


| roundtable


parties there is a spectrum of opinion and temperament, from the people who resemble the centrists in the other party, to the extreme fringes of each: people who can’t — or won’t — listen to the other side’s point of view.

If we get to the point where the extremes become too powerful, people will cease to see the Supreme Court as a legitimate entity, because its decisions will be viewed in a political rather than a legal light.

I don’t think we’re there yet, but it could happen if we continue on the current course.

The honorable Colleen MCMahonU.S. District Court Judge


The tremendous increase in pro se litigation. In addition to all the people who would ordinarily sue pro se because they lack access to lawyers, an ever-increasing number of individuals are bringing lawsuits on their own or defending themselves in lawsuits. It can be anything from a small business dispute to citizens who believe that they are being unfairly treated by their local governments.

We are being inundated with such cases. The number of pro se lawsuits has gone up dramatically in the 10 years I have been on the federal bench. At present, they constitute well over 20 percent of the court’s civil docket.

Why is pro se litigation such a problem?

A pro se case presents special prob-lems that we don’t see in cases handled by lawyers. Pro se cases are hard to handle efficiently. Many pro se litigants start a lawsuit and then don’t know what to do. Judges have to walk a fine line between coaching them (which we are not allowed to do) and bending over backward to make sure they have a fair opportunity to be heard (which we are required by law to do). It can be incredibly difficult to get pro se litigants to understand concepts like relevance and materiality, or what summary judgment is and how one raises a genuine issue of fact. Because pro se litigants do not understand

basic legal concepts, they do not always understand the rulings we make. And when a pro se litigant brings a lawsuit, the case is never “strictly business;” they take every ruling very personally.

Unfortunately, there is no ready solution for this. Pro se litigants often ask the judge to appoint a lawyer for them, but there is no constitutional right to representation in a civil action, and it is a rare case where a judge is able to find a private practitioner to take on one of these lawsuits.

Why are the number of pro se suits increasing?

Well, it’s really a subset of a larger issue — the litigiousness of our society generally.

Part of that is attributable to us. When something bad happens to Americans, I think they are far more ready to “make a federal case out of it” than they were 25 years ago. Former Chief Judge Charles Brieant once said that the Southern District of New York had evolved over his tenure from a court dealing primarily with business matters into a “people’s court.” He was referring to our increasing tendency to sue when we don’t like something.

And part is attributable to Congress, which is far readier than it once was to create new claims, new causes of action — sometimes for very good reasons, and sometimes for purely political reasons. Not surprisingly, people take advantage of that.

Why has our society become so litigious?

I don’t know. Maybe it’s because people see lawyer shows on television and they decide that’s the way to handle their problems.

There is actually a school of thought among judges that this trend is not a bad thing. They argue that the courts offer people an outlet for dealing with what is frustrating them, and one of our missions is — or ought to be — to give people a forum where they can be heard when they have something to complain about.

I am not unsympathetic to that notion. But the courtroom is a very expensive place for people to air their grievances. I wonder whether there might be a more efficient way

to achieve the result. But I confess that I don’t know what it would be.

The honorable andrew J. peCKU.S. Magistrate Judge


The high cost of litigation and the resulting decrease in the ability of parties to afford trials. Because of this, there is a corresponding decrease in the number of lawyers who actually know how to go to trial as opposed to merely performing discovery.

What is driving the increase in costs?

Part of the increase, of course, is that as first-year salaries go up, the billing rate of lawyers go up, so that long trials are becoming astronomically expensive. It’s been a gradual increase over the years.

A new cause, and perhaps a more significant one, is the cost of over-discovery: the fear of not finding every bit of documentation that might support your case. Since the December 2006 rule amendments added guidelines for discovery of electronically stored informa-tion, it is infinitely more expensive than in the old days. Or at least it can be if not appropriately managed both by the litiga-tors and the clients and by the courts.

What are the effects of the increase?

Those who can’t afford counsel are forced to drop the issue or bring a case pro se. But how many of those cases actually succeed? It’s probably not a great amount, although many of them do achieve settlement.

On the defense side, part of the problem with the so-called American rule is that, if the defense has to pay its own legal fees regard-less of outcome, it creates an incentive to pay more to settle cases that have little or no merit.

The result is that most cases do not go to trial. They’re either decided on a motion to dismiss, a motion for summary judg-ment, or they settle before trial. And on the criminal side, the sentencing regime which gives a credit for pleading guilty has certainly encouraged plea bargaining.

34 alumni news 2008 | Paul, Weiss , rifkind, Wharton & Garrison llP Paul, Weiss , rifkind, Wharton & Garrison llP | alumni news 2008 35

And litigation costs affect lawyer training. With billing rates being what they are now, I think there will be much less “training by watching” going on.

One of the things that surprised me when I got on the bench — I had a 99 percent federal practice at Paul, Weiss, litigating against other firms of the same stature — was just how bad so many lawyers are. Maybe I was naïve, but I learned. So the cost of litigation can, over time, degrade professional standards.

What about professional ethics?

Well, this is less of an effect than a cause. If you abandon certain basic ethical guidelines, if you abandon trust, or allow the opposition or the bench to distrust your representation, you will drive up the costs as well.

Here’s what I mean. When I was at Paul, Weiss, associates would negotiate discovery issues with their peers on the other side. There were times where we would cut a deal and then we’d report the result back to the partners and one of them would say, “You shouldn’t have done that.”

And so there were times when the asso-ciate would walk away from the deal and say “I hope you’ll forgive me. I did agree to that but my senior partner is tearing my head off — can we revisit it?” Now I see a tendency in court to just say “Oh no, I never agreed to that, I agreed to something totally different.”

And that’s when you lose respect for the adversary, and that’s when it drives up costs. Because any time you have any conversation with that lawyer, you are going to immediately shoot off an accurate letter — nowadays an email, I guess — saying, “Here is what we just spoke about. We agreed on X, Y, and Z.” And the next time you face this adversary, you’re more likely to prepare for the case in a retalia-tory way, which means higher costs as well.

Is there a solution?

Probably not. Part of the solution could be for clients and lawyers to be confident enough in their case and in their abilities that they don’t have to take ten depositions when two will do, or bury the opposition in paperwork or renege on agreements.

But the increasing number of lawyers who are not well acquainted with trial prac-tice and with courtroom ethics increases the perceived need for these tactics. So the increase in cost reinforces itself.

We need more lawyers who are willing to take the high road because it’s the right thing to do, it’s better practice and, frankly, it’ll get a better result for the client anyway.

The honorable sidney h. sTeinU.S. District Court Judge


The difference in pay between judges and private practitioners is so substantial that it threatens a crucial attribute of the bench: its diversity.

Public service will always call for sacrifice. However, there are tremendous non-financial rewards to being a judge; you’re free from the constraint of arguing solely on a client’s behalf. Your goal is solely to follow the law and do justice.

And the variety of matters is extraordi-nary. When I was in private practice I had what I thought was a varied practice, but the cases that I see as a judge are much broader in scope and in number. Intellectually it is fabulous. Those are all significant non-monetary rewards.

But the salary for federal judges is now very close to what summer associates are paid in top tier law firms — and that’s a travesty.

The result is that a considerably narrower group of people are able to apply to be judges. Rather than every lawyer being able to aspire to the federal bench, those who apply now are increasingly drawn from three groups. The first group is accustomed to non-private sector salaries — academics or sitting United States attorneys or state judges. The second group is the independently wealthy or those without children to educate. The third group consists of those who have had a long career at the bar and whose children are grown.

An inadequate salary is famously the reason why Judge Rifkind left the bench.

Yes, but when Simon Rifkind left the Bench in 1950, it was news around the

country. He said it was not possible for him to maintain a reasonable standard of living on a judge’s salary. Now it happens frequently enough, but it isn’t shocking the way it was when Simon Rifkind left.

In the 1960’s only a handful of federal judges left the bench, but in the ’90s approximately 70 did so. You see it happening now. Judges are leaving for private practice. They are even leaving for academic or corporate positions. Here in the Southern District, two judges in the past few years — John Martin and Michael Mukasey — have left for private practice. It’s not just a dearth of new applicants that threatens a diverse bench. Resignations and retirements are adding to that.

What are the results of this loss of diversity?

The river of life runs right through my courtroom. In every trial I have jurors — selected from every walk of life — decide important questions that have arisen in the affairs of their fellow citizens. It’s daily life. Was the contract breached? Was the plain-tiff discriminated against? Did this person commit a crime? It involves everything: securities, trademark, antitrust, admiralty, patents and constitutional issues. Any one of these things involve personal and business interactions that happen on a daily basis.

Rendering judgment is a rich and intricate process. Judges enforce statutes, interpret them, decide evidentiary issues so the trials are fair, arrive at issues of fact … And we have a whole variety of constraints on us. We have case law precedents that we are bound by, rules about degrees of deference given to Congress and the executive, jurisdictional constraints … all of which need to be applied.

As judges, we assess all of these complexities through the prism of our experience. You can’t avoid that — you shouldn’t avoid that. But what you do need is a bench that has the broadest array of those experiences, to match the complexity of the task at hand. Or else it will lose its flexibility and precision — and the ability of the judicial system to reflect and under-stand society will suffer.


| Pro bono


PAUl, WeiSS’S PlACe iN AN hisToriC sTruGGle

Voting Rightsthrough its Pro bono eFForts, Paul, Weiss is Fighting

the latest attempts to exclude eligible voters from exercising their right

to vote. the belief in an inclusive, truly representative government has

inspired generations of americans. battles to advance and safeguard

this ideal are as old as the country itself. Paul, Weiss is taking part in

the latest phases of this struggle, connecting the firm and its public

service commitment to the larger historical struggle for truly inclusive

political representation.

Paul, Weiss’s commitment to pro bono work and public service is legendary in the legal community. the firm’s efforts to ensure that eligible voters have unhindered access to the polls is a part of this proud tradition. Paul, Weiss has served as lead counsel and friend of the court in numerous voting-related suits across the country, with more than 80 lawyers contributing over 25,000 hours to the fight.

recently, the firm has tackled two of the major conflicts surrounding voters rights: disenfranchisement caused by efforts to clean up the voter registration process, and disenfranchisement caused by burdensome voter iD requirements.

QUeStioNAble Voter MAtChiNg ProCeDUreS

in response to the turmoil surrounding the 2000 presidential election, congress passed the help america Vote act (haVa) in 2002. haVa requires each state to establish a single statewide voter registration database. historically, voter registra-tion lists were poorly maintained and unreliable. haVa attempts to improve the administration of elec-tions — a worthy goal. however, some states, in an effort to comply with haVa, have passed legislation that erroneously excludes thousands of legitimate voters from the voter rolls. Paul, Weiss helped fight questionable voter record matching procedures under haVa in Washington state and helped the brennan center for Justice at new York university school of law battle similar laws in two sepa-rate Florida cases.


bUrDeNSoMe Voter iD reQUireMeNtS

the second skirmish in the battle over voting rights has a considerably older and more ominous pedigree. individual voter fraud, a recent cause celebre, is being used as a weapon to threaten the rights of legitimate voters.

individual voter fraud is actually very rare. between 2002 and 2005, only 24 people were convicted or pled guilty to illegal voting as individuals at the federal level. but despite the lack of evidence for individual voter fraud, the rhetoric surrounding this imagined crisis is encouraging countermeasures

that may be leading to the very real disenfranchisement of legitimate voters across the nation.

many states are enacting voter iD laws that demand various forms of identification to ensure that individual voter fraud doesn’t occur, which includes presenting proof of u.s. citizenship or a photo iD at the polls. While the majority of american citizens possess such proof, as many as 10 percent of eligible voters do not. the demographics of voters who are least likely to possess the required iD tend to be the disabled, lower-income citizens, racial minorities, and the elderly.

measures that restrict access to the polls are nothing new, nor are

they the province of any particular party or political movement. efforts to counteract the political power of groups of voters are often invented when elections are decided by extremely close margins. Paul, Weiss has played a key role in fighting such restrictive and disenfranchising voter registration laws in indiana, georgia and arizona, as well as a municipal ordinance in albuquerque, new mexico.

the right to vote is the bedrock of any democracy. changing existing voter laws, even when they are meant to alleviate actual problems such as data integrity in registration lists, is a delicate business at best. even well intentioned laws like haVa are fraught with difficulty, where misinterpretation and misapplication can lead to unintended disenfranchisement. enacting unnecessary restrictions on voting rights by exploiting the fear of nonexistent individual voter fraud is an even graver threat.

Paul, Weiss has been helping to fight both of these challenges to the ideal of a truly inclusive democracy. as different states continue to enact new standards, our efforts to ensure that the voter registration process is as inclusive as the law demands will continue. il

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there were universal cheers.“i didn’t say i loved the red sox.

i said i hated the Yankees,” he recalls. “i’m a mets fan. but if you hate the Yankees, they’ll love you in boston.”

but it was the substance of the speech that mattered. “i said the key value we share is integrity. We had a tremendous amount of authority. We had to be sure we were enforcing the rules for the right reasons — not for publicity, not because the politicians wanted us to do it, but because it was the right thing to do.”

Walter was recruited to columbia for long-distance running. as a psychology major, he was mentored by one particular professor who was examining new techniques in jury testing, and focusing on the mental and emotional side of the law. “Practicing law is the art of persua-sion, and psychology definitely teaches you the basics of the art.” Walter went on to attend new York university school of law, followed by a clerkship for the hon. charles r.

Walter g. ricciardi

richey of the u.s. District court for the District of columbia. it was an experience he’d never forget.

“it was wonderful. a great job. You really learn how the judicial system works. You get to see a bunch of trials and experience how the decision-making process works.” it was also a crash-course in lawyering for Walter, who was allowed no vaca-tion for the entire two-year period of his clerkship, except for two days to take his honeymoon.

as an associate at hughes hubbard & reed in Washington, D.c., Walter worked for coopers & lybrand as outside counsel. there was a case going to trial in Detroit, involving an embezzlement at a mortgage bank. Walter was sent to Detroit to assist on the matter, and quickly demonstrated just how good he was on his feet, questioning witnesses with a confidence beyond his years. “the verdict was better than anyone expected, and they started sending me a lot of work.”

in 1984, the general counsel at coopers & lybrand asked Walter to join the firm. Walter accepted, and was soon a rising star handling complex legal issues for the profes-sional services giant. “one of the big selling points of coopers was that i was in charge of matters,” Walter says. “i was picking the lawyers, supervising the defense, negoti-ating, going to trial.” he started by handling most of coopers’s repre-sentations before the sec, which quickly became a specialty of his. Walter also spent time advising his partners on how to avoid litiga-tion and identifying accounting problems before they turned into lawsuits.

by the time coopers merged with Price Waterhouse in 1998, Walter was heading up the litigation Practice group. and with the merger came an inevitable changing of the guard. “mergers of partnerships are very, very difficult. i had worked with the coopers side for 18 years on all of their most difficult prob-lems,” he remembers. “overnight you have another thousand partners who don’t know you from adam. there were 2,000 partners in the u.s., and something like 5,000 part-ners around the world. suddenly there was a great deal of pressure because they were all counting on you to solve their problems. complex problems.”

“my job was about managing teams of people who were handling grand jury and sec investigations, shareholder and bondholder liti-gation, lawsuits from bankruptcy trustees, and i coordinated them all.” Prominent cases that Walter oversaw

Walter ricciarDi knoWs hoW to Work a croWD.

in his first speech to his staff as the newly minted district administrator of

the new england region of the u.s. securities and exchange commission,

Walter wanted to dispel any misunderstandings about him and his back-

ground right away. “i grew up in new Jersey,” he told them. “i went to college

and law school in manhattan, and i’ve worked there for 20 years. but i hate

the Yankees!”


included aherF, smartalk and safety-kleen.

eventually, he was elected by his peers to serve as a member of the firm’s board of Partners and the global oversight board of the Pwc global organization. this experi-ence at the board level of Pwc was of great benefit to Walter to prepare him for his next job at the sec.

in 2004, a former colleague, the chief accountant at the sec, encour-aged him to join the commission. “i spent almost as much time in the enforcement building of the sec as i had spent in my own offices,” he recalls. “Pricewaterhousecoopers audits about one-third of Fortune 500 companies. so i’d developed close relationships with many officials at the sec. ”

Walter was hired to fill a leader-ship vacuum at the sec’s boston office, where he was charged with inspiring the office’s confidence in its mission. “i asked them for passion

for the mission of investor protection, for fierceness. We had to be as tough as the attorneys we went up against, who were some of the best in the world.” Walter and his staff settled many of the big market-timing cases, such as the Prudential securities case, working collaboratively with state enforcement officials to coordi-nate efforts and streamline cases.

after only a year and a half as the boston district adminis-trator, Walter was promoted to deputy director of the Division of enforcement and was a key manager of the enforcement program. after four years, he decided he needed a change — especially a change in venue. having shuttled between boston and Washington, he looks forward to spending time at home in new York.

“Paul, Weiss has a very strong practice in the regula-tory area,” Walter says. “i think i add to the practice because of the

insights gained from my years at the commission. We all practice before the commission with integ-rity, quality and excellence. it’s a great opportunity to help people navigate the turbulent waters of regulatory investigations.”

there’s another quality about Paul, Weiss that sets the firm apart from the others, Walter explains. “the rarest commodity i have seen in my line of work is trial skill. to take a case to trial, and win,” he maintains. “hands down no one has that talent like Paul, Weiss does.”

a vase on Walter’s new desk at Paul, Weiss, bears the inscrip-tion: integrity, Passion, teamwork. it was a gift presented to him for his years of service to the sec. but this message has been his credo all along. help good people, see them through their challenges with zeal, and collaborate with others in doing so. this is what Walter ricciardi is all about.

walTer G. riCCiardi

Job Title: Paul, Weiss litigation

Partner, Securities litigation and

White Collar Defense

base of operations: New York City

passions outside the law: “i try to

run five or six days a week, typically

5½ – 6 miles. i also have a 1926

harris Shaw 12½ -foot sailboat which

i race on Menemsha Pond in Martha’s

Vineyard. i usually come in last, but i

have a great time.”

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seeing her intellectual curiosity, professor alfange took tracey under his wing, teaching her the fine points of legal jurisprudence: interpretation of political theory. before long, she changed her major — from biology to political science with a biology minor. “i loved science,” tracey says. “i still do. but something Professor alfange said really stuck with me: ‘You can use your science in law, but you can’t use your law in science.’” and a lawyer was born.

While attending boston university school of law, tracey was a summer associate at Palmer & Dodge (now edwards angell Palmer & Dodge) in boston. Professor alfange’s maxim proved true: the firm had a strong focus on biotech matters, and tracey considered pursuing a full-time biotech or healthcare law career.

“i worked on a couple of iPos for biotech companies, which was

tracey A. Zaccone

very cool,” she recalls, “because i understood the science. When the ceo would get up to present on the company’s technology, i felt that i knew what was being discussed, and that i was asking intelligent questions.” even after her summer experience, however, she was not sure what she wanted the focus of her practice to be. she didn’t want to over-specialize, or specialize too early in her career.

and so, degree in hand, she began her career as a corporate associate at cravath, swaine & moore in new York. she found great success in the cravath rotation training system. “When it came time for me to move into a public m&a rotation — after high-yield work, banking and securities — i was in my fifth year, the senior associate on these deals. by that time i had acquired a tremendous skill: composure. the ability to remain calm and inspire confidence even when you’re

thinking, ‘i have no idea what i’m doing!’ that was one benefit of the system.”

When she moved on to king & spalding a little more than six years into her career, tracey began working in the Private equity group. there was a great variety of work, and she was prepared for all of it. “i think if you’re a good corporate lawyer, you can work in any industry, for any kind of client. For example, i once did an offering for mohawk rugs, and at the time, i knew much more about carpets than anyone would ever want to know. You can collect a great deal of obscure knowledge in this line of work.” tracey became a king & spalding partner in 2005 at the end of her seventh year of practice.

caremark, the prescription benefit management company, provided tracey with several major deals at king & spalding, including the merger between caremark and cVs. “it was a game-changer for the industry,” she remembers. “it was the first time a market leader in retail pharmaceuticals joined forces with a market leader in pharmacy benefits management.” tracey also built a relationship with citigroup, working with them in their clean and renewable energy industry efforts. after a series of offerings, including work for fuel cell, clean tech and solar companies, she had developed a market expertise in that area — experience that she is leveraging at Paul, Weiss.

tracey credits her move to Paul, Weiss in the spring of 2008

as a biologY maJor at the uniVersitY oF massachusetts

at amherst, tracey Zaccone was determined to become a physician. “it

was my life plan,” she explains. but that changed after she took a few

classes in constitutional law with a professor who remains her close

friend to this day. Dean alfange, Jr. “is a brilliant, brilliant man, and

was notorious for being really tough and ruining gPas. he became my

mentor and changed my life.”


to “the reputation of the firm,” she says. “that’s what settled the issue.” the significant body of work the firm has performed on behalf of citigroup was also appealing, as well as an almost perfect fit with the practice she’s developed over the years.

“i see it as the final stop for me. i started at a prestigious new York firm, to hone my skills and really develop as an attorney. then after leaving, i had a very unique experience because i chose to move to a firm that was very entrepreneurial, and there i was exposed to the practice development side of things, understanding how to be a business generator in addition to being a lawyer. but i wanted to return to a firm similar to where i had started and i found that in Paul, Weiss.”

as a member of the capital markets and securities group, tracey represents investment banks and issuers in a variety of offerings and transactions. but what tracey enjoys most about her work is the interaction with her clients.

TraCey a. ZaCCone

Job Title: Paul, Weiss Corporate

Partner in the Capital Markets and

Securities group

base of operations: New York City

passions outside the law: equitation, yoga and her three dogs

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“i like building relationships and client development. on the underwriting side, you have to be in close touch with the bankers to develop and maintain those relationships. there are many lawyers here in new York who offer the same things you do, so you have to be proactive about client development.” the issuer side is more immersive. “You need to know everything that’s going on with their business.”

“it’s a collaborative and creative process, no matter which side you represent,” she says. “When you take a company public, it’s the most creative thing you can do. You’re creating the story of the company. You have to have a solid

understanding of the company, what they really do, their focus and strategy, and appreciate the risks they are taking.”

outside of her practice, tracey finds time helping a different kind of client. in her childhood, she rode horses competitively from a very young age, and continued competing while in college. she even took time from her busy law school schedule to teach young children how to ride. today, tracey works as a pro bono advocate for last chance for animals, a national non-profit organization dedicated to fighting animal cruelty. it’s a perfect professional expression of her lifelong love of animals.


| neW Partner


Susanna M. buergel

susanna m. buergel became a partner in the litigation Department, where her practice focuses on complex commercial litigation, with particular emphasis on sec investigations, securities class actions, intellectual property matters and internal investigations.

roberto Finzi

roberto Finzi, a former federal prosecutor in the securities Fraud unit of the united states attorney’s office for the southern District of new York, became a partner in the litigation Department, where his practice focuses on white collar criminal defense and government enforcement actions, with particular emphasis on defending individuals and companies in a variety of criminal and regulatory matters.

New Partners 2008

Xiaoyu greg liu

Xiaoyu greg liu became a partner in the corporate Department, where he is a member of the china Practice group and the mergers and acquisitions Practice group. mr. liu’s practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, private equity transac-tions and securities offerings. he is based in beijing.

Steven J. Williams

steven J. Williams became a partner in the corporate Department, where he is a member of the mergers and acquisitions Practice group. mr. Williams’s practice focuses on both public and private mergers and acquisitions, and includes repre-sentation of private equity funds in acquisitions and dispositions.

lawrence i. Witdorchic

lawrence i. Witdorchic became a partner in the employee benefits and executive compensation group, where his practice focuses on representing companies in matters relating to employee benefits and executive compensa-tion, including public and private mergers and acquisitions, tax-related matters, employment contracts, proxy disclosures and executive equity arrangements.

bernard “buck” Finkelstein 1930–2008

a member of the Personal representation Department, buck Finkelstein arrived at Paul, Weiss in september of 1956, after graduating from new York university in 1951, and Yale law school in 1954. he became partner in 1965, and retired from active practice in 1996.

in memoriamPaul, Weiss mourned the loss of two of our colleagues this year.

Kevin J. o’brien 1934–2008

a member of the tax Department, kevin o’brien arrived at the firm in 1963, having graduated from Fordham university in 1959 and columbia law school in 1962. he became partner in 1970, and retired from active practice in 2005.


Holiday Party 2007

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1 Alumni Norman Sloane, senior vice president and counsel at Title Associates, Inc.; Lisa Bochner, solo practitioner; and Richard Bowler, solo practitioner

2 Alumnae Leslie Rosenthal, vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc.; and Dana Rosen, associate general counsel of Wenner Media LLC

3 Partner Jeh Johnson and Paul, Weiss staff member Millie Gonzalez

4 Partner Chris Boehning; counsel Andrew Finch; and alumna Dominika Tarczynska, law clerk for the Honorable William H. Walls of the District of New Jersey

5 Alumni Neal Klausner, partner at Davis & Gilbert LLP; Glenn Colton, partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati; Sanford (Sandy) Hausler, of counsel at Cox Padmore Skolnik & Shakarchy LLP; and partner Aidan Synnott

6 Alumna Helen Heineman Haje and partner Marilyn Sobel

7 Alumni Norman Sloane, senior vice president and counsel at Title Associates, Inc.; Greg Feldman, managing partner at Wellspring Capital Management LLC; and Peter Haje, solo practitioner

8 Alumnae Nancy Alpert, vice president and deputy general counsel at A&E Television Networks; H. Gwen Marcus, executive vice president of opera-tions and general counsel at Showtime Networks Inc.; and Andrea Simon, senior vice president and deputy general counsel at Showtime Networks Inc.

9 Associate Marta Kelly and counsel Didier Malaquin

10 Paul, Weiss staff member Stella Smith; and alumnus Barry Goldberg, general counsel and managing director of Melohn Properties, Inc.

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Diversity Networking Reception More than 700 guests filled the Rainbow Room in

New York City on July 24 to celebrate our annual Diversity

Networking reception.

1 Over 700 guests gathered at the Rainbow Room

2 Counsel Stephen Koo; guest Melissa Martinez; and associate Gigi Parris

3 Guests Dan Gasby and Barbara Smith of B. Smith Restaurant Group

4 John Payton, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, addresses the crowd

5 Hon. George B. Daniels, U.S. District Court — SDNY, and partner and chair Alfred Youngwood

6 Guest Marisa Lago of Citigroup Global Markets, Inc.; partner Meredith Kane; and alumna Sarah Dodds-Brown, senior counsel at American Express Company

7 Guest Marc Battle, assistant counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund; alumnus Will Shuman; partner Jeh Johnson; and guest Will Mack

8 Guests Keela White, associate at Martin Clearwater & Bell LLP; John Owens, of the Board of Elections in the City of New York; and Javier Seymore, associate at Martin Clearwater & Bell LLP

9 Partner Ted Wells says a few words of welcome to the guests

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LGBT Networking EventOn June 24, Paul, Weiss hosted our second annual LGBT Networking

Event on the rooftop of the Hotel Gansevoort in New York, with more

than 400 attendees.

1 Partner Robbie Kaplan; partner and chair Alfred Youngwood; and partner Meredith Kane

2 Guests Michael Arlotto and David DeMuro from Lehman Brothers Inc.

3. Counsel Michael Himmel; guest Jeremy Fortner; and associate Ted Ackerman

4 Alumna Sharon Werner, vice president of business affairs at Home Box Office, Inc.; partner Robbie Kaplan; guest Rachel Lavine; and guest Susan Axelrod, assistant district attorney for the New York County District Attorney’s office

5 Danyale Dumas, manager of diversity and gender initiatives at Paul, Weiss; alumna Michelle Riley, general counsel, Americas at Good Energies, Inc.; and associates Susanne Kandel and Heath Martin

6 Associate David Friar; alumnus Toby Clark, law clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; and guest Scott Johnson

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Paul, Weiss Plays Ball! Once again, Paul, Weiss lawyers and summer associates took

over Yankee Stadium for a fun-filled evening in the legendary

“House That Ruth Built.”

1 Top Row (L to R): Partner Tom de la Bastide; summer associates Christopher Filburn, Rebecca Windt, Caitlin Grusauskas, Cory Mescon, Jeremy Benjamin, Ari Weisbard, Robert Weinstock, Gabriel Edelman and Jason Chlipala; Bottom Row (L to R): Paula Viola, Nita Kumaraswami, Jocelyn Campanaro, Adam Bernstein, Keith Cohan and Justin Raphael

2 Even while catching a ball in mid-air at Yankee Stadium, partner Marc Perlmutter has time to multi-task!

3 Partner Jeff Saferstein warms up on the field

4 Top row (L to R): Summer associates Jeffrey Recher and Jeffrey Clinton; partners Brad Karp and Dick Borisoff; summer associate Andrew Croner; partner Rick Bronstein; summer associates Christopher DeNicola and Noah Schottenstein; partner Meredith Kane; and summer associates Shira Arnow and David Kessler; Bottom Row (L to R): Summer associates Michael Palmieri, Benjamin Berwick, Lindsay Kurasz, Eileen Keast, Kathleen Eagan and Andree Goldsmit

5 Partner Angelo Bonvino takes a huge swing, while partner Toby Myerson plays catcher

6 SEO intern Andrea Hernandez throws in from the outfield

7 SEO intern William King; summer associate Charles Douyon; SEO intern Kelvin Smith; and Paul, Weiss staff member Sophia Yuan

8 Partner Paul Ginsberg negotiates a fly ball

9 Partner Marty Flumenbaum plays manager as he visits the famous Yankee dugout

10 Summer associates Nita Kumaraswami and Robert Weinstock

11 Summer associate Justin Pines

12 Summer associate Michelle Zimmerman-Day catches the ball with ease

13 Summer associates Melissa Mao, Lisa Krausz, Karen Zeituni and Sipoura Barzideh

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Asia Office OutingMembers of the Paul, Weiss Hong Kong and Beijing Offices held their

annual corporate retreat this year in Cebu, a province of the Philippines.

1. Partner Jeanette Chan and associate Gary Li enjoy some fun in the sun

2. An aerial view of the resort in Cebu

3 Paul, Weiss Asia office members pose for a group photo

4. Partner Jack Lange is the leader of his team, as they prepare their strategy for success

5. Partner Greg Liu in his battle uniform

6. Counsel Corinna Yu enjoyed her diving adventure

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Firm Outing On July 28, Paul, Weiss took a break from the office for

some fun in the sun at Sleepy Hollow Country Club.

1 The Paul, Weiss doubles team of partner Bob Hirsh and counsel David Huntington

2 Partners Tom de la Bastide, David Mayo and Walter Ricciardi

3 Summer associates Rebecca Windt, Elizabeth Seidlin-Bernstein and Caitlin Grusauskas

4 Partners Judith Thoyer, Patrick Campbell, Marc Perlmutter; and partner and chair Alfred Youngwood pause on the tee for a photo

5 Partner Les Fagen; summer associate Sipoura Barzideh; and partner Eric Stone

6. Associate Margaret Phillips and partner Kelley Cornish

7 Summer associates Miriam Glaser, Jeremy Benjamin and Abby Clark

8 Counsel Frances Mi enjoys being a spectator with a refreshing ice cream bar

9 Partner Marco Masotti; associate Michael Hong; and counsel Stephanie McCavitt

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1950Newton Minow

Inside the Presidential Debates: Their Improbable Past and Promising Future is the

new book by Newt, published by the Univer-

sity of Chicago Press. Newt has been involved

in every Presidential debate starting with the

1960 Kennedy/Nixon debate and serves as

vice chairman, with Senator John Danforth,

of the Commission on Presidential Debates

which will sponsor the 2008 debates. This

September the Carnegie Foundation spon-

sored a panel discussion about the book at

the Paley Center for Media in New York.

1953Allan B. Ecker

Allan B. Ecker was quoted in American Prometheus, the Pulitzer Prize-winning

biography of Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer

by co-authors Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin.

Allan is the sole surviving member of the

Paul, Weiss team (headed by Lloyd K.

Garrison) who represented Oppenheimer,

the director of the Manhattan Project that

created the atomic bomb, in 1954 proceed-

ings before the U.S. Atomic Energy Commis-

sion. The commission ultimately terminated

Dr. Oppenheimer’s security clearance; in

the book, Allan asserts that the proceedings

denied Oppenheimer due process, and were

“skewed from the outset.”

1964James Jalenack

James substantially retired from law practice

in January 2008 to become chief adminis-

trative officer at the Memphis Zoo. He feels

very fortunate to have something wonderful

to do following his escape from law practice,

although he remains of counsel at Harris

Shelton Hanover Walsh, PLLC. James has

long been active at the zoo, both as lawyer

and lay leader (formerly board chairman).

To learn more about the Memphis Zoo and

the $100 million of improvements they have

made, visit www.memphiszoo.org.

1967Barry West

Barry has once again been named to the

Southern California’s SuperLawyers list.

Barry’s Los Angeles litigation firm, Gaims,

Weil, West & Epstein, LLP, celebrated its 20th

anniversary on June 1st.

Edwin Frey, Jr.

Ed has recently launched an initiative

to obtain a constitutional amendment to

require all federal officeholders to engage

in monthly, televised conversations with a

citizen or proxy.

1968Stephen Gillers

After a two-year study, Stephen published

a lengthy article on the history of Anglo-

American obscenity law from the mid-19th

century to the 1933–1934 federal court deci-

sions freeing James Joyce’s Ulysses for publi-

cation in the U.S. The article is “A Tendency

to Deprave and Corrupt: The Transformation

of American Obscenity Law from Hicklin to

Ulysses II”, 85 Washington L. Rev. 215 (2007).

He gave the Tabor Lecture at Valparaiso Law

School in 2007, published as “Virtual Clients:

An Idea in Search of A Theory (with Limits),”

42 Valpo. L. Rev. 797 (2008). Stephen will

also publish his forthcoming essay, “‘Charles

Stimson’ Rule and Three Other Proposals to

Protect Lawyers from Lawyers,” in a Hofstra Law Review symposium, and is beginning

work on the 8th edition of his legal ethics

casebook, Regulation of Lawyers: Problems of Law and Ethics (Aspen).

1972David A. Richards

On May 20, David delivered the Third

Annual Bernard H. Breslauer Lecture in Bibli-

ography, sponsored by The American Trust

for the British Library, and his book, Rudyard Kipling: The Books I Leave Behind, was

reviewed in the April 2008 edition of Atlantic.

1973Hon. Samuel L. Bufford

In January, Samuel taught a seminar on

commercial law in Muscat, Oman for judges

from seven Arabian Peninsula countries:

Oman, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Bahrain,

Kuwait, Qatar and United Arab Emirates. In

September, he gave the keynote address in

Lepenski Vir, Serbia at the annual convention

of Serbian commercial court judges. While in

Serbia, he also met with several government

officials in Belgrade to discuss privatiza-

tion and implementation of the new Serbian

bankruptcy law. He is also chair of the ABA

National Conference of Federal Trial Judges,

effective August 2008.

1980Dorothy A. Carey

In February 2008, Dorothy was appointed

chief administrative officer to the New York

State Common Retirement Fund. The

Fund, with assets of over $150 billion, is

the third largest public pension fund in the

United States.

1981Ellen Sinreich

Ellen is now President and CEO of Green

Edge, LLC, a strategic sustainability consulting

firm that helps real estate companies incor-

porate sustainability into their businesses

at the enterprise, portfolio and individual

property levels in practical and value-added

ways. Ellen founded Green Edge a year ago to

respond to the overwhelming need to reduce

the carbon footprint of the built environment

and views sustainability not only as a means

to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but as a

way to improve the bottom line. Over the past

year, Ellen has been speaking about greening

the real estate industry throughout the country

and recently chaired the Practising Law Insti-

tute’s first Green Real Estate Summit.

alumni notes


Joel S. Weiss

Joel had a successful arbitration in a case

concerning a dispute over the purchase price

of an electric power generating plant that he

tried at the end of 2007.

1983Jeffrey Cymbler

Jeffrey has joined Otterbourg, Steindler,

Houston & Rosen, PC, in New York, where he

will continue practicing in the area of credi-

tor’s rights and insolvency.

W. Mary Wong

Mary returned to Hong Kong after six years

in Singapore, joining the School of Business

at The University of Hong Kong. She will be

teaching law in the MBA and Global Execu-

tive MBA Programs as well as the Interna-

tional MBA Program at Fudan University in

Shanghai. Mary credits her six years at Paul,

Weiss in New York and Hong Kong with giving

her valuable exposure to complex transac-

tions and international work. She is proud to

be a Paul, Weiss alumna.

1985Jeffrey J. Wild

Jeffrey heads the largest litigation team at

Lowenstein Sandler PC, now the the largest

law firm in New Jersey. He has been featured

in New Jersey Super Lawyers and co-heads

the firm’s Capital Markets Litigation Group,

which handles claims in New York against

UBS, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs and

other investment banks relating to CDOs,

auction-rate securities and other structured-

finance transactions.

1986Andre De Cort

Andre and his wife Natalia had their second

daughter, Michelle, on January 15, 2008.

Sara Mandelbaum

Sara has joined the firm Scarola Ellis LLP

as of counsel, where she is seeking to build

a practice focusing on the rights of women

and minorities in employment, education

and family.

Roberta Wall

In addition to her solo practice in Ulster

County, Roberta trains lawyers and institu-

tions worldwide in nonviolent communica-

tion. Visit www.steps2peace.com.

1988Victoria Ortiz

Victoria is now assistant dean of Student

Services and director of admissions at the

brand new Donald Bren School of Law at UC

Irvine. She is part of the founding administra-

tive team headed by Dean Erwin Chemerinsky.

They plan to matriculate the first class of law

students in August 2009.

1991Jeffrey Eilender

Jeff married Deborah Kogan on March 7,

2008, with fellow Paul, Weiss alumni George

Anhang, ’91, and Steve Sinaiko, ’92, in atten-

dance. Jeff is a partner in the litigation depart-

ment of Schlam Stone & Dolan LLP.

1992Lori Odierno

Lori returned to NBC Universal as senior

counsel, legal affairs, after three years of

teaching entertainment law as an adjunct

professor at New York Law School and

spending time with her children.

1993Terence A. Dixon

Terence is now in-house as director and

trademark counsel with GlaxoSmithKline

(GSK). He is responsible for GSK’s consumer

healthcare trademarks and related rights in

the U.S. and on a global basis.

Christopher JochnickChris is the director of the Private Sector

department at Oxfam America. He recently

co-edited the book Sovereign Debt at the Crossroads (Oxford, 2007).

1994Jeffrey Hellman

Jeff and his wife, Andrea, are delighted

to announce the birth of their twins,

Spencer Charles and Isabelle Dara, on

October 22, 2007. He lives in New York

where he is an attorney at Phillips-Van

Heusen Corporation.

1997Theodore Cheng

Theo was married on April 12, 2008 to

Dr. Michelle Lee. He was the recipient,

in November 2007, of the National Asian

Pacific American Bar Association award for

being one of the “Best Lawyers Under 40.”

He is currently an associate at Proskauer

Rose LLP, specializing in patent litigation

work, and remains an appointee to the New

York State Commission on Increasing Diver-

sity in the State Government Workforce.

Elizabeth A. Cohen

Elizabeth is proud to announce that she

had a baby on December 21st of last year,

Isabella Rose Cohen Greene.

Todd Finger

Todd is now a partner at McDermott Will

& Emery LLP. He and his wife, Toni, had a

daughter, Rebekah, in November 2007.


alumni notes

Pedro Hermeto

After spending the last 10 years practicing

law at Vieira, Rezende, Barbosa e Guerreiro

Advogados in Brazil, Pedro decided to leave

the practice of law and take on his family’s

restaurant business in Rio de Janeiro. The

restaurant, Aprazivel, specializes in Brazilian

regional and artisan cuisine and was recently

awarded the prize of “Best Restaurant in the

City of Rio” in the Brazilian cuisine category

by Veja Rio, a major local weekly magazine.

Pedro is in charge of the restaurant’s manage-

ment, overlooking all of the company’s depart-

ments. His experience in law and his time at

Paul, Weiss have helped him adapt to this new

professional challenge.

Hillel C. Neuer

Hillel is executive director of UN Watch in

Geneva. He is an adjunct lecturer at the

Geneva School of Diplomacy and was recently

elected vice president of the Special Committee

on Human Rights of the Conference of NGOs.

He testifies regularly before the United Nations

Human Rights Council on behalf of victims of

human rights violations.

Ian Tattenbaum

Ian was made counsel at Kaye Scholer LLP in

January 2007.

1999Daniel Juceam

Daniel was promoted to branch chief in the

Division of Enforcement of the U.S. Securi-

ties and Exchange Commission in Wash-

ington, D.C. in January 2008. During the

prior year, he received a Division Director’s

Award and Special Act Award from the Divi-

sion of Enforcement.

Andrew Tauber

Andrew has been made partner at Mayer

Brown LLP, where he practices appellate

law with a focus on product liability and First

Amendment cases.

Brian Urbano

After serving as counsel to Lowenstein

Sandler PC in Roseland, New Jersey, Brian

recently joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for

the District of New Jersey as an Assistant U.S.

Attorney. He also teaches Constitutional Law

in the M.S.J. program at Seton Hall University

Law School.

2000Daniel Garodnick

Council member Dan Garodnick recently led

the effort to rezone nine acres of land on the

East Side of Manhattan where the Con Edison

Waterside power plant once stood. By a vote of

51-0, the Council amended a developer’s plan

to add a 630-seat public school, 579 units of

affordable housing, five acres of public space,

and buildings in scale with the surrounding

neighborhood. His efforts have been cited as

a positive precedent for other developments

around the City.

Michael Josenhans

Michael Josenhans, an associate at Simpson

Thacher & Bartlett LLP, has been granted

the “Teufel” Excellence Award from the Teufel

Foundation in recognition of his Ph.D. disser-

tation entitled “Cross-Border Tender Offers.”

Last year Michael, his wife, and their son Paul

Johan happily welcomed the latest addition to

their family — daughter Ella Marlen.

Tyler Korn

Tyler and his wife, Rebecca Kosloff, MD,

welcomed the birth of their son, Gavin Charles,

on December 21, 2007. Tyler is active in his

tax practice in Naples, Florida and has been

busy handling the Ernst & Young/Cap Gemini

tax litigation.

David Kraut

David recently left Debevoise & Plimpton LLP

to join the Hedge Fund Strategies Group at

Goldman, Sachs & Co. as a vice president and

assistant general counsel.

Paul D. Lall

Paul joined the Intellectual Property group at

Steptoe & Johnson LLP in 2007 and has been

focusing on patent and trademark litigation.

Lisa Pisciotta

Lisa recently received her Master of Science

degree with an emphasis in forensic toxi-

cology from the University of Florida’s

College of Veterinary Medicine. She is also

still practicing law at Hughes Hubbard

& Reed LLP.

David Polegreen

David was recently made a partner in the Busi-

ness and Securities Group at Maslon Edelman

Borman & Brand, LLP. He has fond memories

of Paul, Weiss and has kept in contact with

many of his friends from the firm.

2002Rachel Hoover

Rachel married Dr. Tom Murphy on August 2,

2008 in Racine, Wisconsin. She continues to

work as assistant attorney general in the Civil

Appeals Division of the Office of the Illinois

Attorney General.

2003Drew Harris

After completing a clerkship with Judge Koeltl

in the Southern District of New York, Drew

returned to Austin, Texas to take a position at

Graves, Dougherty, Hearon & Moody, P.C. as

an associate. He also recently bought a house

and participated in several triathlons in Texas

this past summer. He misses New York, but

certainly not the weather.

Paul, Weiss is a firm of more than 500 lawyers with diverse backgrounds, personalities, ideas

and interests who collaboratively provide innovative solutions to our clients’ most critical and

complex legal and business challenges. We represent a varied range of clients, including some

of the largest publicly and privately held corporations and financial institutions in the United

States and abroad. We are equally committed to representing those in need, and our pro bono

efforts continue to benefit society in profound ways.

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Save the Dates!

Paul, Weiss Holiday Party wednesday, December 10, 2008

6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

New York Marriott Marquis New York City

Big Apple Circus Sunday, January 11, 2009

Doors open at 11:30 a.m. Show starts at 12:30 p.m.

Damrosch Park at Lincoln Center (62nd Street between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues)

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Documents

Paul, Weiss Alumni News 2008