Philadelphia, Pa. – March 19, 2005 – LAWFUEL – The Law News Network – Joan C. Arnold, Thomas L. Hanley, Robert B. Murphy and Neil Boyden Tanner, lawyers with Pepper Hamilton LLP, were speakers at “Going Private in a Public World,” a seminar held in New York City on March 11 and 12, 2005.
The seminar was sponsored by the Association Internationale des Jeunes Avocats (International Association of Young Lawyers, or “AIJA”), with the support of the American Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division, the ABA’s Section of International Law, the New York State Bar Association’s International Section and the New York County Lawyers’ Association’s International Section.
Mr. Tanner, a senior associate in Pepper’s Philadelphia office and the U.S. National Representative to AIJA, opened the seminar. Ms. Arnold, a partner in Pepper’s Philadelphia office and chair of the firm’s Tax Practice Group, spoke on tax issues related to going private. Mr. Hanley and Mr. Murphy, partners in Pepper’s Washington office and alumni of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance, spoke on securities law issues and directors’ fiduciary duties, respectively.
The seminar focused on the recent trend of companies around the world delisting and going private. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission reported that 675 companies deregistered in 2003, and that number was expected to be surpassed in 2004. Many blame this trend on the regulations enacted to increase the quality and quantity of information available to shareholders, such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
The seminar analyzed why companies are going private; how they are going private; the commercial, fiduciary duty and securities law issues inherent in going private; the tax implications of going private; and, strategies for life after going private. Attorneys, regulators and other experts from around the world gave their views in panel discussions on these issues in a variety of jurisdictions.
The Association Internationale des Jeunes Avocats (www.aija.org) promotes professional cooperation and friendship among young attorneys around the world, through a wide range of meetings, seminars, law courses and advocacy. A nonprofit association organized under the law of Luxembourg, AIJA has more than 3,000 members, aged 45 and under, from around the world. AIJA was founded in 1962.
Pepper Hamilton LLP (www.pepperlaw.com) is a multi-practice law firm with 400 lawyers in six states and the District of Columbia. The firm provides corporate, litigation and regulatory legal services to leading businesses, governmental entities, nonprofit organizations and individuals throughout the nation and the world. The firm was founded in 1890.
