Panel Discussion on Transactional Practice

The Harvard Law School Program on Corporate Governance is pleased to announce the availability of the video of its event on transactional practice. The event, which was held earlier this month, is the second of the Program’s series entitled Introduction to Corporate Practice. The series’ aim is to expose students to leading practitioners and their perspective on corporate practice—What do they enjoy about their jobs? What issues do they deal with? And what does it take to succeed in their field? The videos are made public as a resource for law students and young lawyers everywhere who are considering corporate practice.

The three panelists at the transactional practice event were:

• Eileen T. Nugent, co-head of the Private Equity group at Skadden Arps.
• Matthew J. Gardella, co-chair of the Public Offerings & Public Company Counseling practice group at Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP.
• Christopher L. Mann, a partner in the New York office of Sullivan & Cromwell.

Each member of the panel gave introductory remarks, followed by Q&A. One of the main topics of discussion was how the panelists came to find and love transactional practice. Chris Mann said he had always wanted to be involved in business deals, and got off to a very quick start when he was sent to Papua New Guinea for a finance project three weeks into his job at Sullivan & Cromwell. Project finance is still one of his major areas of practice today. By contrast, Matt Gardella admitted that he had originally wanted to become a defense attorney. He eventually moved into securities work because he valued the long-term client relationship, in which the attorney can take a proactive advisory role. Eileen Nugent discovered her passion for deals as an in-house counsel, and only later moved to Skadden Arps to pursue it. All three emphasized the business orientation of transactional lawyering. The panel also offered their perspectives on career planning issues, including working for law firms or other players in the transactional world, and the types of characteristics they felt were central to the success of associates.

A video of the panel discussion is available for download here. (video no longer available)