About Us

Elisa D. Garcia joined Macy’s, Inc. in September 2016 as chief legal officer. She serves as the company’s chief legal counsel and secretary to the board of directors, and oversees law department functions located in Cincinnati, St. Louis, Atlanta, San Francisco and New York.

Richard Hays is the managing partner of Alston & Bird LLP. He previously served as financial partner on the firm’s management committee and chaired the Litigation & Trial Practice Group. Mr. Hays received his A.B. from Harvard University in 1982, his M.Sc. in law from Edinburgh University in 1984 as a Rotary Scholar and his J.D. in 1986 from Vanderbilt School of Law, where he was an editor of the Vanderbilt Law Review.

Lord Brennan QC has been a Queen’s Counsel since 1985 and is a senior associate member of Matrix. His areas of expertise include commercial law, public and private international law and international arbitration. Lord Brennan QC, as an appointed life peer, is active in politics as well as dedicating time to his incredibly varied legal practice. His most notable case during 2009 was the landmark civil Omagh bombing case. The outcome, in favour of his clients – relatives of those ki...

Julian Yarr is the Managing Partner of A&L Goodbody, a leading Irish law firm providing legal services to the corporate sector across the island of Ireland. The Firm has offices in Dublin and Belfast, London, and New York. Before taking the seat of Managing Partner, Mr. Yarr was head of A&L Goodbody's London office. In addition to leading the firm, his practice focuses on corporate law, mergers & acquisitions, and private equity law.

Maura Abeln Smith is the founder of Maura A. Smith Law Offices LLC, a boutique law firm that opened in 2016. Offices are located in New Canaan, CT, and New York City, NY. Previously, Ms. Smith was Executive Vice President, General Counsel and General Secretary of Delhaize Group before she left the firm in 2013 to start her own practice.

The primary focus of Rodgin Cohen’s practice is acquisition, regulatory, enforcement and securities law matters for U.S. and non-U.S. banking and other financial institutions and their trade associations, and corporate governance matters for a wide variety of organizations. In addition, Mr. Cohen has advised a number of major foreign banks in connection with the establishment of offices in the U.S., including China Merchants Bank Co., Ltd., the first Chinese bank to receive the Federal ...

Marc-André Blanchard is the Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations. He was previously the Chair and Chief Executive Officer of McCarthy Tétrault. Mr. Blanchard focused his practice on civil and commercial litigation and has worked on matters involving shareholder disputes, contested mergers and acquisitions, class actions and boards of inquiry. Mr. Blanchard was president of the Québec Liberal Party from 2000 to 2008, an active member in cabinet campaigns of United Way since 2004, and a bo...

William Perlstein is a partner in the firm's Bankruptcy and Financial Restructuring Practice Group, and a former co-managing partner of the firm. Among his many professional activities, Mr. Perlstein is a Fellow and Counsel to the American College of Bankruptcy.

Mr. Husband develops labor and employment solutions to help companies maintain compliance with federal and state laws regulating the employment relationship. He counsels Fortune 500 companies and small businesses alike on matters including wrongful discharge, equal opportunity, trade secrets and covenants not to compete, wage and hour, privacy, disability, occupational safety, affirmative action and collective action, strikes, unions, and collective bargaining.

Henry Walker serves as the Chair of Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP. In this role, he serves as the firm’s chief executive officer overseeing the strategic direction and growth of the firm. Mr. Walker leads the firm’s Executive and Management Committees working closely with them to define and execute the firm’s strategic and operational objectives. Prior to his election to Chair, he served as the firm’s Managing Partner.

Satoru Murase advises global corporations regarding cross-border investments and disputes in the United States, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. He is well known for his representation of major Japanese and Asian corporations in their overseas operations and disputes, as well as major U.S. and European corporations operating in Asia. He provides advice regarding mergers and acquisitions, finance, litigation, corporate governance, compliance, crisis management, employment, and government rel...

Anne De Wolf was the General Manager of the Institut des juristes d’entreprise – the Institute of Company Lawyers (1800 members). She is also a delegate to the International Company Lawyers Association (ECLA and ACC Europe). As the General Manager, she was responsible for the daily business of the Institute. She leads a team of 6 staff members and is responsible for the permanent education program, the coordination of internal Practice Groups and regional branches. She promotes the profession...