Tulane Corporate Law Institute

The Tulane Corporate Law Institute is an annual two-day M&A and corporate law conference that takes place in downtown New Orleans every spring. It attracts the most high-profile lawyers and bankers from around the United States, as well as judges, journalists, and others who follow the dealmaking world.^[1] The event typically takes place on a Thursday and Friday in late March or early April, at a prominent Canal Street hotel.

History[]

In the late 1980s, Delaware Supreme Court Justice Andrew G.T. Moore (author of Smith v. Van Gorkom and Revlon v. MacAndrews) and a group of New Orleans corporate practitioners were among those who undertook an aggressive goal: to establish a new annual platform for a gathering of the nation's leading corporate jurists and practitioners.^[2] More than 20 years later, the Tulane Corporate Law Institute remains a critical meeting place for national leaders in the fields of law and business.^[3]

The second day of the 22nd annual meeting (on April 16, 2010), coincided with the unexpected release of an SEC fraud complaint against Goldman Sachs.^[4] The release temporarily disrupted the day's meeting agenda as the story made national headlines and SEC officials were sought for comment in The Roosevelt Hotel.^[5] The news caused an immediate thirteen percent drop in Goldman's stock price, and a 1.3% decline in the market as a whole.^[6]

Past speakers[]

• Antonio Weiss, global head of investment banking, Lazard^[7]
• Damon Silvers, director of policy and special counsel, AFL-CIO—2011 keynote speaker^[8]
• Troy A. Paredes, SEC Commissioner—2010 keynote speaker^[9]
• Dr. William Poole, former president of the Federal Reserve Bank—2009 keynote speaker^[10]
• Paul S. Atkins, SEC commissioner—2008 keynote speaker
• Brian Cartwright, SEC general counsel and ex-Latham & Watkins partner
• Brackett B. Denniston III, senior vice president and general counsel, General Electric
• Robert A. Kindler, vice chairman of Morgan Stanley
• Martin Lipton, founding partner of Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz
• Christina Mohr, managing director, Citigroup Global Markets
• Joseph R. Perella, CEO of Perella Weinberg Partners
• Mark Shafir, global head of mergers and acquisitions, Citigroup
• Myron Steele, Delaware Supreme Court chief justice

Past media attendees[]

• David Faber, anchor, "Squawk on the Street," CNBC
• Andrew Ross Sorkin, head mergers and acquisitions reporter, The New York Times
• Dennis Berman, head mergers and acquisitions reporter, The Wall Street Journal

Past locations[]

• The Roosevelt Hotel New Orleans^[11]
• The Ritz-Carlton New Orleans
• Westin New Orleans Canal Place

Students meet with the partner of a major law firm, April 3, 2009.

Student-practitioner interaction[]

The Tulane Law School's Career Development Office typically organizes informational interviews among leading practitioners and select groups of Tulane law and JD/MBA students. In the past, students have met directly with a variety of business and governmental leaders, including partners of big New York City and Los Angeles law firms, in-house attorneys at major investment banks and hedge funds throughout the country, and the commissioner of the SEC.

References[]

See also[]

• Corporate law
• Mergers and acquisitions
• Tulane University Law School