Pomerantz's 2022 Corporate Governance Roundtable

POMERANTZ MONITOR | JULY AUGUST 2022

“Pomerantz delivered an outstanding roundtable with experts presenting on a variety of corporate governance topics. I really appreciated the opportunity to meet fiduciaries and compare viewpoints.”

Megan Peitzmeier, Senior Staff Attorney, Colorado PERA

On June 14, Pomerantz hosted its 2022 Corporate Governance Roundtable in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. The Firm’s Roundtables provide institutional investors from around the globe the opportunity to discuss topics that affect the value of the funds they represent and network with peers in an informal, educational setting.

This year, around 100 attendees traveled to the Roundtable from across the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Israel. The theme was the collective power to make change through ESG (environmental, social, and governance), corporate culture and board diversity. Presenters were international experts in the fields of corporate governance, securities litigation, fiduciary duty, ESG priorities, forced arbitration, and board diversity.

According to Pomerantz Partner Jennifer Pafiti, who organized the event, “After having to reschedule numerous times over the past two years due to varying COVID and travel restrictions, the Roundtable coalesced as a highly energized day during which general counsel and corporate governance professionals from some of the largest financial houses around the globe finally had the opportunity to attend in person. Peers came together to learn best practices, with a particular focus on ESG issues, and to share ideas that can really add value to their funds. It was certainly worth the wait!”

Special guest speaker, President Bill Clinton, was interviewed by Pomerantz’s Managing Partner, Jeremy Lieberman, on President Clinton’s time in office, geopolitical issues, and the current global economy.

The panels covered topics of critical importance to the institutional investing community, including “Inside the Boardroom.” The speakers on this panel inspired a lively discussion on how best to engage to address diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), the conclusion of which was that DEI in the boardroom still has a long way to go.

“Covid-19 and the Litigation Pandemic” addressed ways in which the pandemic has triggered new corporate misconduct, and described cases that are directly derived from companies making misstatements to investors specifically concerning COVID-19.

The “Corporate Governance Developments” panelists engendered vibrant Megan Peitzmeier, Senior Staff Attorney, Colorado PERA “debate among the Roundtable attendees as they explored the global trends in corporate governance and the emerging issues governance professionals will face in the coming year.

Forced arbitration and its negative implications for institutional investors was discussed during one session. The panel of lawyers reported on the Council of Institutional Investors’ and Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association’s historic decision to intervene in the Johnson & Johnson action to protect shareholders’ rights against the business community’s push for forced arbitration.

Robert Jackson, Jr., a former Commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, spoke on “Fiduciary Duty and ESG Priorities in 2022.” The discussion highlighted the limitations of the SEC to deter bad governance in companies, leaving the responsibility to institutional investors to incorporate high standards of ESG performance into their investment analysis and decision-making.

Counsel to a $1.6-trillion European asset management company presented “Securities Litigation Update: Engagement & Litigation.” This session explored institutional investors’ attitudes towards litigation, engagement and other tools used to hold corporations accountable.

At the event’s dinner, attendees heard from the most decorated WNBA player in history, Candace Parker. Candace shared her inspirational journey and achievements and described how she balances a career as a professional athlete with being a full-time mother and businesswoman.

In keeping with the Firm’s continued commitment to provide educational platforms for institutional investors, and in response to the phenomenal feedback from this year’s event, Pomerantz looks forward to hosting the next Roundtable.

“The Roundtable was the perfect size, setting and agenda to ensure that I maximized my time out of the office and completely committed to understanding the corporate governance landscape through the U.S. legal lens. The mix of case studies, frameworks, state, and international perspectives was genuinely insightful to understand the practical crossroads between business, ESG, and law. Each individual session was high quality in its own right, but it was the sum of the parts that left a lasting impression on me.”

Amy D’Eugenio, Director of Business and Client Development for Federated Hermes EOS

If you or your team are interested in attending the next Roundtable event, please register your interest at: PomerantzRoundtable@pomlaw.com.

We extend a hearty thank-you to all our panelists and attendees for making the Roundtable such a success – from all the team at Pomerantz.