Craig Wasserman ’86/Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz Alumni Breakfasts
The Craig Wasserman ’86/Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz program for Law School alumni in New York City features panel discussions over breakfast on current topics in business law. Speakers include members of the bar, business and investment communities, public officials, and Law School faculty. The program aims to strengthen ties between the Law School and graduates over substantive conversations.
Initiated in 2000, the alumni breakfast program was named in 2013 in honor of Craig Wasserman ’86, one of six original members of our Board of Advisors, and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, where Craig was a leader in the corporate and financial institutions practices.
In 2013, the alumni breakfast program was named in honor of Craig Wasserman ’86, a leader in the corporate and financial institutions practices at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, and an original and enthusiastic Board of Advisors member. For more about Craig Wasserman, please see below.
Fall 2024
Who Calls the Shots in Delaware? The Evolving Tug of War between Boards, Controllers, and Judges
(From left) NYU Law Prof. Edward Rock, Columbia Law Prof. Zohar Goshen ’90 (LL.M.), ‘91 (J.S.D.), YLS Prof. and Ctr. Co-Dir. Sarath Sanga ’14, YLS Prof. and Ctr. Co-Dir. Roberta Romano ’80, YLS Prof. Jonathan Macey ’82, and NYU Prof. Marcel Kahan.
Alumni attendees at Fall 2024 Alumni Breakfast.
On Thursday, November 21, 2024, the Center held an Alumni Breakfast program on the evolving landscape of Delaware corporate law, focusing on the dynamic interplay between boards, controllers, and judges. The program featured:
Zohar Goshen ’90 (LL.M.), ’91 (S.J.D.), Jerome L. Greene Professor of Transactional Law, Columbia Law School
Marcel Kahan, George T. Lowy Professor of Law, New York University School of Law
Jonathan Macey ’82, YLS Sam Harris Professor of Corporate Law, Corporate Finance, and Securities Law
Edward Rock, Martin Lipton Professor of Law and Co-Director, Institute for Corporate Governance & Finance, New York University School of Law
Sarath Sanga ’14, YLS Professor of Law and Co-Director, YLS Center for the Study of Corporate Law
Roberta Romano ’80, YLS Sterling Professor of Law and Co-Director, YLS Center for the Study of Corporate Law, moderated the discussion.
Panelists began by noting that Delaware corporations with controlling shareholders have increased in both number and prominence in recent years, and therefore it comes as no surprise that Delaware jurisprudence is evolving in response. Specifically, the presence of controlling shareholders has required Delaware courts, as well as the Delaware legislature, to consider the proper balance between (i) contractual freedom between boards and controlling shareholders and (ii) mandatory protection of minority, non-controlling shareholders. Panelists discussed key developments, including, among other things, Moelis, New Enterprise Associates, the new DGCL Section 122(18), and Tornetta and Tesla's decision to move to Texas. Panelists also highlighted the impact of these key developments on Delaware’s competitive edge in attracting corporate charters.
Reading materials for the Alumni Breakfast program are available here.
Past Alumni Breakfast Highlights
Fall 2023: "The Transformative Impact of AI on Healthcare and Legal Practice" with David Rhew, Laura Safdie '11, YLS Prof. & Solomon Ctr. Fac. Dir. Abbe Gluck '00, Harlan Krumholz, and Lane Dilg '04.
Fall 2023: Alumni attendees at "The Transformative Impact of AI on Healthcare and Legal Practice."
Spring 2023: "Policing the Securities and Digital Asset Markets" with Antonia M. Apps, Scott Hartman '10, David Zornow '80, and Avi Perry '10.
Spring 2023: Alumni attendees at "Policing the Securities and Digital Asset Markets."
Fall 2022: "Is Sustainable Investing Sustainable?" with Jill Fisch '85, Robert Sitkoff, Ctr. Exec. Dir. Nancy Liao '05, YLS Prof. and Ctr. Dir. Roberta Romano '80, and Leo E. Strine, Jr.
Fall 2022: Alumni attendees at "Is Sustainable Investing Sustainable?"
Fall 2019: "Corporate Enforcement in the Trump Administration" with Robert J. Giuffra Jr. '87, Jennifer H. Arlen, YLS Prof. & Ctr. Dir. Roberta Romano '80, Fadi Hanna '06, and Alicyn Cooley '08.
Fall 2019: Alumni attendees at "Corporate Enforcement in the Trump Administration."
Spring 2019: "The Current Landscape in Delaware M&A" with William Savitt, Hon. Travis Laster, YLS Prof. & Ctr. Dir. Roberta Romano '80, Joel Friedlander, and YLS Prof. Jonathan Macey '82.
Spring 2019: Alumni attendees at "The Current Landscape in Delaware M&A."
Fall 2018: "Law, Finance, and Innovation in Pharmaceutical R&D" with Pablo Legoretta, Vivek Ramaswamy '13, YLS Prof. & Solomon Ctr. Fac. Dir. Abbe R. Gluck '00, Janet Woodcock, and Richard Thakor.
Fall 2018: Alumni attendees at "Law, Finance, and Innovation in Pharmaceutical R&D."
Craig Wasserman ’86
(From left) Marla, Craig, Jared, and Alison Wasserman.
Initiated in 2000, the alumni breakfast program was named in 2013 in honor of Craig Wasserman ’86 (1960-2010), one of six original members of our Board of Advisors.
Craig was a remarkable individual. A partner at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, he specialized in the financial institutions practice of the corporate group, and was one of the nation’s leading deals attorneys.
An active participant on the Center’s Board of Advisors, Craig was a fount of ideas, with unbounded enthusiasm for what the Center was trying to accomplish and how we could do it better. He was especially concerned about strengthening ties between the Law School and its graduates. In that regard, he was an avid proponent of the alumni breakfast program, and was intimately involved in planning a number of programs, so it was especially appropriate that the breakfast series was named in his honor by the generosity of his colleagues at Wachtell Lipton.
On establishing the Bert W. Wasserman Workshop in Law and Finance, Craig described his father as “a distinguished leader in the field of finance who exemplified the field’s highest professional and ethical standards.” Those twin concerns of professional excellence and ethical conduct animated his own life, and those who knew Craig admired the very same qualities in him. Remarks honoring Craig on the occasion of the inaugural Craig Wasserman ’86/Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz alumni breakfast on October 17, 2013, were delivered by then-YLS Dean Robert Post ’77 and Wachtell Lipton partner Steven A. Rosenblum ’82.
View remarks by Robert Post ’77
View remarks by Steven Rosenblum ’82