Vice President, Special Advisor for Proxy & Corporate Actions, Broadridge
As a key proxy and corporate actions expert, Larry focuses on creating new ways to create value for clients within the Broadridge network globally and bring a valuable client perspective to Broadridge’s product and service evolution. He also drives and supports key industry initiatives such as end-to-end confirmation for proxy contests.
With more than 25 years in financial services, Larry brings extensive expertise from Fidelity Investments, where he was formerly the Vice President for the Operations and Services Group. In this role, Larry had product and business management responsibilities for the Asset Services Division, which included domestic and global Corporate Actions and Proxy. Larry has also led and participated in several industry working and advisory groups focused on evaluating legislative and regulatory changes as well as driving industry best practices.
Mr. Conover earned a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Finance from Rutgers University, and an MBA/MIS degree from St Peter’s University. Mr. Conover holds Series 7 and 24 licenses and completed the Securities Industry Institute program at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Former Managing Director, BlackRock Inc.
Joanne Medero was until July 2020 a Managing Director at BlackRock where she was member of their Global Public Policy Group and a Senior Advisor to the Vice Chairman on the intersection of public policy and corporate governance. In June 2021, Ms. Medero was appointed a director/trustee of the Nuveen Funds.
Ms. Medero's service with BlackRock dates back to 1996, including her years with Barclays Global Investors (BGI), which merged with BlackRock in 2009. She joined BGI as its Global General Counsel in 1996 and after more than ten years in that role, became the global head of Government Relations and Public Policy for Barclays’ investment banking and investment management businesses. Prior to joining BGI, Ms. Medero was a partner with Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe specializing in derivatives and market regulation issues. Ms. Medero also served as general counsel of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (1989-1993) and as an associate director for legal and financial affairs at the Office of Presidential Personnel, The White House (1986-1989).
Ms. Medero is a graduate of St. Lawrence University and received her JD from George Washington University.
Founder, Paredes Strategies LLC
Troy A. Paredes is the founder of Paredes Strategies LLC. From 2008-2013, Mr. Paredes was a Commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, having been appointed by President George W. Bush. At the SEC, Mr. Paredes was a strong advocate for small business and the JOBS Act, for solving the information overload problem of securities law disclosure, and for rigorous cost-benefit analysis. He also consistently expressed concerns about the overregulation and overreach of the Dodd-Frank Act. Since leaving government, Mr. Paredes has had an active consulting practice. Mr. Paredes advises on financial regulation, corporate governance, compliance, and governmental and regulatory affairs. He also serves as an expert and adviser in regulatory enforcement investigations and actions and in private litigation involving securities law and corporate law, and he has been an independent compliance consultant/monitor. Before becoming an SEC Commissioner, Mr. Paredes was a professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis and a professor of business (by courtesy) at Washington University’s Olin Business School. Currently, he is the Distinguished Policy Fellow and Lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School. Next year he will be a Distinguished Scholar in Residence at NYU School of Law. Mr. Paredes is the author of numerous academic articles on financial regulation, corporate governance, innovation, and behavioral economics. He also is a co-author (beginning with the 4th edition) of a multi-volume securities regulation treatise with Louis Loss and Joel Seligman entitled Securities Regulation. Mr. Paredes serves on the board of directors of Electronifie Inc. and is a member of the board of advisors of StreetShares, Inc. Mr. Paredes holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from UC Berkeley and earned his J.D. from Yale Law School.
Deputy General Counsel, Investment Company Institute
Matthew Thornton is Deputy General Counsel for the Investment Company Institute, with responsibility for a wide range of legal issues affecting registered investment companies and investment advisers. Mr. Thornton’s primary areas of responsibility include liquidity, valuation, corporate governance and proxy voting, advertising/social media, issues related to fixed income, disclosure, and investment advisory matters. Before joining ICI in 2014, he was an associate in Dechert LLP’s financial services group from 2005 to 2014. Before practicing law, Mr. Thornton held positions in the financial services industry at SunTrust Banks (now Truist) from 1998 to 2005 and Merrill Lynch from 1997 to 1998. Mr. Thornton is a member of the Washington, D.C. and Maryland bars and a Certified Financial Planner™. He received his BA in economics from the University of Notre Dame and his JD from Georgetown University Law Center.
Vice President, Special Advisor for Proxy & Corporate Actions, Broadridge
As a key proxy and corporate actions expert, Larry focuses on creating new ways to create value for clients within the Broadridge network globally and bring a valuable client perspective to Broadridge’s product and service evolution. He also drives and supports key industry initiatives such as end-to-end confirmation for proxy contests.
With more than 25 years in financial services, Larry brings extensive expertise from Fidelity Investments, where he was formerly the Vice President for the Operations and Services Group. In this role, Larry had product and business management responsibilities for the Asset Services Division, which included domestic and global Corporate Actions and Proxy. Larry has also led and participated in several industry working and advisory groups focused on evaluating legislative and regulatory changes as well as driving industry best practices.
Mr. Conover earned a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Finance from Rutgers University, and an MBA/MIS degree from St Peter’s University. Mr. Conover holds Series 7 and 24 licenses and completed the Securities Industry Institute program at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Former Managing Director, BlackRock Inc.
Joanne Medero was until July 2020 a Managing Director at BlackRock where she was member of their Global Public Policy Group and a Senior Advisor to the Vice Chairman on the intersection of public policy and corporate governance. In June 2021, Ms. Medero was appointed a director/trustee of the Nuveen Funds.
Ms. Medero's service with BlackRock dates back to 1996, including her years with Barclays Global Investors (BGI), which merged with BlackRock in 2009. She joined BGI as its Global General Counsel in 1996 and after more than ten years in that role, became the global head of Government Relations and Public Policy for Barclays’ investment banking and investment management businesses. Prior to joining BGI, Ms. Medero was a partner with Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe specializing in derivatives and market regulation issues. Ms. Medero also served as general counsel of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (1989-1993) and as an associate director for legal and financial affairs at the Office of Presidential Personnel, The White House (1986-1989).
Ms. Medero is a graduate of St. Lawrence University and received her JD from George Washington University.
Founder, Paredes Strategies LLC
Troy A. Paredes is the founder of Paredes Strategies LLC. From 2008-2013, Mr. Paredes was a Commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, having been appointed by President George W. Bush. At the SEC, Mr. Paredes was a strong advocate for small business and the JOBS Act, for solving the information overload problem of securities law disclosure, and for rigorous cost-benefit analysis. He also consistently expressed concerns about the overregulation and overreach of the Dodd-Frank Act. Since leaving government, Mr. Paredes has had an active consulting practice. Mr. Paredes advises on financial regulation, corporate governance, compliance, and governmental and regulatory affairs. He also serves as an expert and adviser in regulatory enforcement investigations and actions and in private litigation involving securities law and corporate law, and he has been an independent compliance consultant/monitor. Before becoming an SEC Commissioner, Mr. Paredes was a professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis and a professor of business (by courtesy) at Washington University’s Olin Business School. Currently, he is the Distinguished Policy Fellow and Lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School. Next year he will be a Distinguished Scholar in Residence at NYU School of Law. Mr. Paredes is the author of numerous academic articles on financial regulation, corporate governance, innovation, and behavioral economics. He also is a co-author (beginning with the 4th edition) of a multi-volume securities regulation treatise with Louis Loss and Joel Seligman entitled Securities Regulation. Mr. Paredes serves on the board of directors of Electronifie Inc. and is a member of the board of advisors of StreetShares, Inc. Mr. Paredes holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from UC Berkeley and earned his J.D. from Yale Law School.
Deputy General Counsel, Investment Company Institute
Matthew Thornton is Deputy General Counsel for the Investment Company Institute, with responsibility for a wide range of legal issues affecting registered investment companies and investment advisers. Mr. Thornton’s primary areas of responsibility include liquidity, valuation, corporate governance and proxy voting, advertising/social media, issues related to fixed income, disclosure, and investment advisory matters. Before joining ICI in 2014, he was an associate in Dechert LLP’s financial services group from 2005 to 2014. Before practicing law, Mr. Thornton held positions in the financial services industry at SunTrust Banks (now Truist) from 1998 to 2005 and Merrill Lynch from 1997 to 1998. Mr. Thornton is a member of the Washington, D.C. and Maryland bars and a Certified Financial Planner™. He received his BA in economics from the University of Notre Dame and his JD from Georgetown University Law Center.
Partner, Cooper & Kirk PLLC
BRIAN W. BARNES has litigated high-stakes cases at all levels of the federal court system and has also argued numerous cases in state trial and appellate courts. He was the principal author of the briefs for the petitioners in Collins v Mnuchin, a multi-billion-dollar administrative law case challenging the nationalization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which is currently pending in the United States Supreme Court. In related litigation, Mr. Barnes deposed several of the current and former senior executives for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, including both companies’ former CEOs. Mr. Barnes also played a central role representing shareholders in disputes over the scope of the government’s discovery obligations in the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac litigation, successfully persuading the Court of Federal Claims to order the government to show plaintiffs’ counsel most of the documents the government attempted to withhold under the deliberative process and bank examination privileges.
Mr. Barnes also has extensive experience representing plaintiffs in suits filed under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”). He briefed and argued St. Luke’s Health Network v. Lancaster General Hospital, 967 F.3d 295 (3d Cir. 2020), in which the Third Circuit reversed dismissal of RICO claims filed as part of a putative class action against a hospital that allegedly defrauded a Pennsylvania program that subsidizes care for indigent patients. Mr. Barnes also helped pioneer the use of RICO to sue state-legalized marijuana businesses: he filed the first such case, successfully argued the case on appeal after it was dismissed, and later helped try the case to a jury on remand. See Safe Streets Alliance v. Hickenlooper, 859 F.3d 865 (10th Cir. 2017).
Mr. Barnes has also worked on a wide range of other matters. He has briefed and argued cases concerning state preemption of local gun regulations in the trial and intermediate appellate courts of Illinois and Pennsylvania. In litigation over the Department of Education’s Title IX regulations, Mr. Barnes represents intervenors who are defending the regulations. And he has an active practice advising institutional investors on the probable outcomes of market-moving litigation in both state and federal courts.
Mr. Barnes clerked for Justice Samuel Alito during the Supreme Court’s 2012 Term and was previously a law clerk to Judge Thomas Griffith of the D.C. Circuit. He is a graduate of Yale Law School, where he was an Articles Editor for the Yale Law Journal and a member of the Yale Supreme Court Clinic. Mr. Barnes received his B.A. from Yale College and is a member of the Colorado and District of Columbia bars.
Partner, Sidley Austin LLP
HARDY CALLCOTT’s practice concentrates on enforcement defense and regulatory counseling concerning securities market and regulatory issues for broker-dealers, investment advisers, mutual funds, and others in the financial services industry. He provides securities enforcement defense before the SEC, Department of Justice, FINRA and other SRO and state regulators for members of financial services industry, public companies and officers and directors. He also conducts internal investigations.
Prior to Sidley, Hardy was senior vice president and general counsel with Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. He also served in the General Counsel’s Office of the SEC as assistant general counsel for Market Regulation (now Trading and Markets), and taught in the Securities LLM program at Georgetown University Law Center. After law school, Hardy clerked for the Hon. Mariana Pfaelzer in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
Former Managing Director, BlackRock Inc.
Joanne Medero was until July 2020 a Managing Director at BlackRock where she was member of their Global Public Policy Group and a Senior Advisor to the Vice Chairman on the intersection of public policy and corporate governance. In June 2021, Ms. Medero was appointed a director/trustee of the Nuveen Funds.
Ms. Medero's service with BlackRock dates back to 1996, including her years with Barclays Global Investors (BGI), which merged with BlackRock in 2009. She joined BGI as its Global General Counsel in 1996 and after more than ten years in that role, became the global head of Government Relations and Public Policy for Barclays’ investment banking and investment management businesses. Prior to joining BGI, Ms. Medero was a partner with Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe specializing in derivatives and market regulation issues. Ms. Medero also served as general counsel of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (1989-1993) and as an associate director for legal and financial affairs at the Office of Presidential Personnel, The White House (1986-1989).
Ms. Medero is a graduate of St. Lawrence University and received her JD from George Washington University.
Partner, Cooper & Kirk PLLC
BRIAN W. BARNES has litigated high-stakes cases at all levels of the federal court system and has also argued numerous cases in state trial and appellate courts. He was the principal author of the briefs for the petitioners in Collins v Mnuchin, a multi-billion-dollar administrative law case challenging the nationalization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which is currently pending in the United States Supreme Court. In related litigation, Mr. Barnes deposed several of the current and former senior executives for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, including both companies’ former CEOs. Mr. Barnes also played a central role representing shareholders in disputes over the scope of the government’s discovery obligations in the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac litigation, successfully persuading the Court of Federal Claims to order the government to show plaintiffs’ counsel most of the documents the government attempted to withhold under the deliberative process and bank examination privileges.
Mr. Barnes also has extensive experience representing plaintiffs in suits filed under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”). He briefed and argued St. Luke’s Health Network v. Lancaster General Hospital, 967 F.3d 295 (3d Cir. 2020), in which the Third Circuit reversed dismissal of RICO claims filed as part of a putative class action against a hospital that allegedly defrauded a Pennsylvania program that subsidizes care for indigent patients. Mr. Barnes also helped pioneer the use of RICO to sue state-legalized marijuana businesses: he filed the first such case, successfully argued the case on appeal after it was dismissed, and later helped try the case to a jury on remand. See Safe Streets Alliance v. Hickenlooper, 859 F.3d 865 (10th Cir. 2017).
Mr. Barnes has also worked on a wide range of other matters. He has briefed and argued cases concerning state preemption of local gun regulations in the trial and intermediate appellate courts of Illinois and Pennsylvania. In litigation over the Department of Education’s Title IX regulations, Mr. Barnes represents intervenors who are defending the regulations. And he has an active practice advising institutional investors on the probable outcomes of market-moving litigation in both state and federal courts.
Mr. Barnes clerked for Justice Samuel Alito during the Supreme Court’s 2012 Term and was previously a law clerk to Judge Thomas Griffith of the D.C. Circuit. He is a graduate of Yale Law School, where he was an Articles Editor for the Yale Law Journal and a member of the Yale Supreme Court Clinic. Mr. Barnes received his B.A. from Yale College and is a member of the Colorado and District of Columbia bars.
Partner, Sidley Austin LLP
HARDY CALLCOTT’s practice concentrates on enforcement defense and regulatory counseling concerning securities market and regulatory issues for broker-dealers, investment advisers, mutual funds, and others in the financial services industry. He provides securities enforcement defense before the SEC, Department of Justice, FINRA and other SRO and state regulators for members of financial services industry, public companies and officers and directors. He also conducts internal investigations.
Prior to Sidley, Hardy was senior vice president and general counsel with Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. He also served in the General Counsel’s Office of the SEC as assistant general counsel for Market Regulation (now Trading and Markets), and taught in the Securities LLM program at Georgetown University Law Center. After law school, Hardy clerked for the Hon. Mariana Pfaelzer in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
Former Managing Director, BlackRock Inc.
Joanne Medero was until July 2020 a Managing Director at BlackRock where she was member of their Global Public Policy Group and a Senior Advisor to the Vice Chairman on the intersection of public policy and corporate governance. In June 2021, Ms. Medero was appointed a director/trustee of the Nuveen Funds.
Ms. Medero's service with BlackRock dates back to 1996, including her years with Barclays Global Investors (BGI), which merged with BlackRock in 2009. She joined BGI as its Global General Counsel in 1996 and after more than ten years in that role, became the global head of Government Relations and Public Policy for Barclays’ investment banking and investment management businesses. Prior to joining BGI, Ms. Medero was a partner with Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe specializing in derivatives and market regulation issues. Ms. Medero also served as general counsel of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (1989-1993) and as an associate director for legal and financial affairs at the Office of Presidential Personnel, The White House (1986-1989).
Ms. Medero is a graduate of St. Lawrence University and received her JD from George Washington University.
Managing Director, Chief US Economist and Head of Macro Strategy, BNP Paribas
Dr. Daniel P. Ahn is a Managing Director, the Chief U.S. Economist, and Head of Markets 360 – North America at BNP Paribas in New York. He is also a non-residential Global Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Until 2018, he was the chief economist at the U.S. Department of State, where he advised the Secretary of State and senior principals on a wide range of international economic and security topics relevant to U.S. foreign policy, including global macroeconomic growth, financial stability, economic sanctions, international trade, and energy and environmental issues.
Prior to entering public service in 2014, Dr. Ahn was the chief economist for energy and commodities at Citigroup in New York and also held senior positions at Citadel, Barclays Capital, and Lehman Brothers. He has held research and teaching positions at Harvard University, the National Bureau of Economic Research, Columbia University, the Council on Foreign Relations, the International Monetary Fund, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Georgetown University, and the U.S. Federal Reserve Board of Governors.
He is the author of multiple research articles, Congressional testimony, and a textbook, Principles of Commodity Economics and Finance with MIT Press.
Dr. Ahn has extensive experience using state-of-the-art econometrics, data science, geospatial imagery, and machine-learning for economic forecasting, data analysis, financial risk management, project financing, commercial strategy, public policy, and operational solutions.
He was featured in Forbes Magazine as one of 30 under 30 in Finance. He is the recipient of both the Superior Honor Award and the Meritorious Honor Award from the U.S. Department of State.
He completed his A.B. in economics and finance with honors from Princeton University, and his Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University.
Former Managing Director, BlackRock Inc.
Joanne Medero was until July 2020 a Managing Director at BlackRock where she was member of their Global Public Policy Group and a Senior Advisor to the Vice Chairman on the intersection of public policy and corporate governance. In June 2021, Ms. Medero was appointed a director/trustee of the Nuveen Funds.
Ms. Medero's service with BlackRock dates back to 1996, including her years with Barclays Global Investors (BGI), which merged with BlackRock in 2009. She joined BGI as its Global General Counsel in 1996 and after more than ten years in that role, became the global head of Government Relations and Public Policy for Barclays’ investment banking and investment management businesses. Prior to joining BGI, Ms. Medero was a partner with Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe specializing in derivatives and market regulation issues. Ms. Medero also served as general counsel of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (1989-1993) and as an associate director for legal and financial affairs at the Office of Presidential Personnel, The White House (1986-1989).
Ms. Medero is a graduate of St. Lawrence University and received her JD from George Washington University.
Senior Fellow, George Mason University National Security Institute
Bryan Smith is a Senior Fellow at the George Mason University National Security Institute.
Research Professor, Regulatory Studies Center, The George Washington University
Brian Mannix is a Research Professor at George Washington University’s Regulatory Studies Center. From 2005 – 2009 he was the EPA’s Associate Administrator for Policy, Economics, and Innovation. Earlier he served as the Deputy Secretary of Natural Resources for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Brian was an economist at OIRA from 1981 – 1987, and then served as managing editor of Regulation magazine at the American Enterprise Institute.
Former Managing Director, BlackRock Inc.
Joanne Medero was until July 2020 a Managing Director at BlackRock where she was member of their Global Public Policy Group and a Senior Advisor to the Vice Chairman on the intersection of public policy and corporate governance. In June 2021, Ms. Medero was appointed a director/trustee of the Nuveen Funds.
Ms. Medero's service with BlackRock dates back to 1996, including her years with Barclays Global Investors (BGI), which merged with BlackRock in 2009. She joined BGI as its Global General Counsel in 1996 and after more than ten years in that role, became the global head of Government Relations and Public Policy for Barclays’ investment banking and investment management businesses. Prior to joining BGI, Ms. Medero was a partner with Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe specializing in derivatives and market regulation issues. Ms. Medero also served as general counsel of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (1989-1993) and as an associate director for legal and financial affairs at the Office of Presidential Personnel, The White House (1986-1989).
Ms. Medero is a graduate of St. Lawrence University and received her JD from George Washington University.
Proxy Plumbing - A Primer for the Coming Policy Debate
Lawrence Conover, Joanne Medero, Troy Paredes, Matthew Thornton
The SEC has periodically examined the ecosystem governing public company shareholder communications and voting—the “proxy...
Proxy Plumbing - A Primer for the Coming Policy Debate
Lawrence Conover, Joanne Medero, Troy Paredes, Matthew Thornton
The SEC has periodically examined the ecosystem governing public company shareholder communications and voting—the “proxy...
Topics
Who’s Really Responsible for Woke Capitalism?: A Review of The New Power Brokers
In U.S. capital markets, it is “proxy season.” From February to June, most public companies...
The Future of Securities Self-Regulation After Alpine
Brian W. Barnes, W. Hardy Callcott, Joanne Medero
Alpine Securities Corp. v. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“Alpine’) raises a challenge to the constitutionality...
The Future of Securities Self-Regulation After Alpine
Brian W. Barnes, W. Hardy Callcott, Joanne Medero
Alpine Securities Corp. v. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“Alpine’) raises a challenge to the constitutionality...
Topics
Elon Musk and Twitter: Acquisition Basics
The headlines read, “Musk Buys Twitter,” and the chatter is about free speech. But it’s...
Topics
Can the SEC Regulate Proxy Advice as Proxy “Solicitation?”
Public companies decry what they see as the outsized influence of proxy advisory firms on...
Topics
Changes Coming to Hart-Scott-Rodino Pre-Merger Notification Rules?
The Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (HSR) has long regulated mergers and acquisitions by subjecting...
Supply Chain Security and Global Power Competition: Should the United States Get China Out of its Supply Chain?
Daniel P. Ahn, Joanne Medero, Bryan Smith
Recent events have demonstrated how dependent on China the United States has become for critical...
The Highs–and Lows–of High-Frequency Trading - Podcast
Brian F. Mannix, Joanne Medero
Corporations, Securities & Antitrust Practice Group Podcast
While other fields of law are trying to anticipate the future ramifications of the widespread...