Schulte Roth & Zabel Presents Its 11th Annual Shareholder Activism Conference

Schulte Roth & Zabel, a market-leading law firm serving the financial services industry, is hosting its 11th Annual Shareholder Activism Conference today. The virtual event spotlights prominent players in the shareholder activism space, including activist investors, advisers and proxy advisory firms. The speakers will discuss their perspectives on the current activist environment, lessons learned from recent campaigns and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and regulatory changes, among other topics. The event is by invitation only.

Ele Klein and Marc Weingarten, SRZ partners and co-chairs of the firm’s global Shareholder Activism Group, are spearheading the annual event. Mr. Weingarten will provide introductory remarks and Mr. Klein will speak on the “The Activist Perspective: Effecting Change and the Market Challenges of COVID-19,” panel featuring Josh Frank of Trian Fund Management, Scott Ostfeld of JANA Partners and Jeffrey Smith of Starboard Value, among others.

Aneliya Crawford, SRZ partner in the Shareholder Activism and M&A Groups, will speak on the panel “Anatomy of a Contest: Voce Capital at Argo Group International,” featuring J. Daniel Plants of Voce Capital Management and Dan Zacchei of Sloane & Company. Ms. Crawford will also moderate the panel “The Role of the Proxy Adviser Amidst New Rules and COVID-19,” with appearances from Cristiano Guerra of Institutional Shareholder Services, Jason McCandless of Glass Lewis & Co. and Gregory Taxin of Spotlight Advisors.

Mr. Klein will participate also on the “Anatomy of a Contest: Harbert Discovery at Enzo Biochem” panel with speakers Bruce Goldfarb of Okapi Partners and Kenan Lucas of Harbert Management. Josh Black of Insightia, Jonathan Gasthalter of Gasthalter & Co. and Scott Winter of Innisfree M&A Incorporated will discuss the “State of the Market and Trends for the 2020-2021 Proxy Season.”

In addition, the conference will highlight the expertise of the following SRZ partners: Stephanie Breslow discussing the growing interest in ESG by investors; Michael Swartz providing insight into proxy litigation and Craig Warkol weighing in on insider trading, all as related to shareholder activism and the current state of the market.

“We are proud to present our 11th Annual Shareholder Activism Conference,” said David Efron,

SRZ co-managing partner and co-head of the Investment Management Group. “A year like no other, 2020 and the impact of the pandemic on the activism market will give way to timely discussions during today’s conference,” commented Marc Elovitz, SRZ co-managing partner and chair of the Investment Management Regulatory & Compliance Group.

Mr. Klein commented, “In particular, there was a substantial change in how companies conduct annual meetings, a reignited debate on the purpose of the corporation and new defensive strategies for companies.” Mr. Weingarten added, “There was also a reshaping of the shareholder activist model, as some activists adopted tactics historically associated with private equity. We will discuss the drivers behind this development and others during today’s seminar.”

SRZ is widely regarded as the dominant global law firm for shareholder activism. We bring to each matter a sophisticated knowledge of market practices, vast experience and unparalleled expertise in all areas of law impacting activism. SRZ has more than 30 years of experience advising clients on more than 1,000 shareholder activism matters, making us one of the most experienced advisers to activists in the world.

SRZ assists with all matters relating to activism, including campaign strategies, corporate governance, proxy rules, trading and affiliate rules, Sections 13 and 16 compliance, antitrust regulations, federal and state securities and corporate laws, tax and regulatory issues and litigation. Our lawyers work with clients on a variety of activist strategies, including behind-the-scenes long-term partnerships between activists and management, proxy contests, board and management changes, consent solicitations, special meetings and withhold campaigns, M&A activism, exempt solicitations, regulatory approvals, investigations and legislative hearings, corporate governance improvements, defensive and offensive litigation, spin-offs, split-offs, divestitures and buybacks, and ESG.

Click here to read the November 2020 Shareholder Activism Insight report, published by SRZ in association with Activist Insight and Okapi Partners. Visit SRZ’s Shareholder Activism Resource Center.