Recent Events

Speaker: Bertrand C. Fry and Shusmita Chowdhury, Pryor Cashman LLP

Non-U.S. asset managers that provide, or are considering providing, services to U.S. clients (or to investment vehicles with U.S. investors) need to be aware of the comprehensive registration regime applicable under the U.S. Investment Advisers Act. This presentation will outline the availability and limitations of the “foreign investment adviser” exemption, as well as other ways that non-U.S. investment advisers may want to consider addressing U.S. regulatory requirements, including “umbrella” registration and Unibanco letters.

Bertrand C. Fry is a partner at Pryor Cashman, where he co-heads the Investment Management and FinTech Groups. Prior to joining the firm, he served for 14 years in the legal department of the D. E. Shaw Group, serving as its acting General Counsel during the first half of 2007. He started his career at Paul, Weiss, and was a senior U.S. counsel in Dechert’s London office from 2001 to 2003, where his clients included both U.S. and non-U.S. investment advisers. Over the course of his career, Bert has launched and advised on a broad array of U.S. and non-U.S. alternative investment vehicles and their managers.

Shusmita Chowdhury is a member of Pryor Cashman’s Investment Management Group, where she advises institutional investors on their investments in domestic and international private equity funds, real estate funds, hedge funds, venture capital funds, fund of funds and other accounts. She also has extensive experience counseling clients on secondary fund investments and assisting fund sponsors on fund formation and ongoing investment matters, having previously worked in-house for a Swiss private equity firm.

Speaker: Jeh Johnson, Partner, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP

Honored guest and speaker: Jeh Johnson, Partner, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP and former United States Secretary of Homeland Security. Secretary Johnson shared his observations on today's homeland security and put the current situation at the southern border in a legal and historical context.

Speaker: Jennifer Trahan, Professor, NYC Center For Global Affairs

In this timely discussion of the work of the International Criminal Court (“ICC”) we will focus on the US relationship to the court that has varied among presidential administrations. The current administration has banned the ICC Prosecutor from travel to the United States. Our speaker also will discuss the recent dismissal of the ICC’s Afghanistan preliminary examination that would have addressed conduct by US nationals in Afghanistan but that is no longer proceeding. Jennifer Trahan is Clinical Professor of Global…

Speaker: François Ameli, Partner, CKR Law in Paris

Since 2016, there has been a dramatic change in French law on the issue of enforcing judgments and arbitration awards against states and state entities. French law and French courts have increasingly taken into account the protection of states’ assets against so-called ‘vulture funds’, i.e. funds that invest in distressed securities usually (but not always) held against sovereign debtor governments. As a consequence of this policy, enforcement against states or state entities requires a prior and specific court order that…

Speaker: James R. Maxeiner, Associate Professor of Law, University of Baltimore

Sadly, it is not news that our government of laws is failing. Our legal methods of making and applying law work poorly, when they work at all. Years ago, our long-time benefactor and colleague, the late Professor Ernst C. Stiefel had the answer: we need to civilize our system. We need to learn from civil law methods. This talk will identify about ten ways we could use civil law methods to work toward a government of laws. James Maxeiner teaches…

Speaker: Darrel H. Pearson and Francisco J. Cortina Velarde 

In this timely discussion of the USMCA, our Canadian and Mexican trade experts will share their insights on the negotiation process and the provisions of the USMCA that will change the trade landscape for the USMCA Parties, businesses and legal advisors. The speakers will offer their Canadian and Mexican perspectives on the following topics: How did we get to the USMCA? How will preferential treatments accorded under the NAFTA change in the new agreement? Why is US free trade with…

Speaker: Michael W. Galligan, Partner, Phillips Nizer LLP

The presentation will compare and contrast the common law (primarily as exemplified by New York law) and the civil law (primarily as exemplified by French law) approaches to the administration of decedents’ estates. The topics that will be addressed will include (1) who has title to the assets of a deceased person during the pendency of an estate or succession? (2) what is the role of a testamentary executor? (3) how is a decedent’s Will established or recognized as the…

Speaker: Honorable Cheryl L. Pollak, United States Magistrate Judge,Eastern District of New York

In Jesner v. Arab Bank, PLC, the Supreme Court foreclosed suit against foreign corporations, making it clear that, under the Alien Tort Statute (“ATS”), persons injured or killed by terrorist acts committed abroad could not pursue claims for damages against foreign corporations and international banking institutions that allegedly financed and facilitated terrorist activities. The future of such claims under the Antiterrorism Act (“ATA”) is less clear, particularly when viewed in the context of the Justice Against Terrorism Act (“JASTA”) and…