Former SEC Commissioner Joseph Grundfest Delivers A.A. Sommer Jr. Lecture

Continuing our tradition of bringing members of the legal, regulatory, business, and academic communities together for a lively debate on securities-related issues, Morgan Lewis sponsored the 16th Annual A.A. Sommer, Jr. Lecture on Corporate, Securities, and Financial Law at Fordham University School of Law in New York.

The firm established the lecture series in 2000 to honor former Morgan Lewis partner Al Sommer, who served as commissioner of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the mid 1970s and started the firm’s securities practice in 1979. Our guest lecturer at the November 18, 2015 event, “Is the SEC Afraid of Federal Juries and Judges? An Empirical Analysis and a Legislative Recommendation,” was Stanford Law professor and former US SEC Commissioner Joe Grundfest. A dynamic and often provocative speaker, professor Grundfest addressed an audience of about 170 attendees, including firm clients, members of the securities bar, securities industry professionals, regulators, Fordham professors and students, and the Sommer family.

Ben Indek, co-managing partner of the New York office, who gave the welcome remarks at the event, discusses Morgan Lewis’s long-standing partnership with Fordham Law School and the creation of the A.A. Sommer lecture series.

The event holds particular significance on our one-year anniversary of the addition of more than 700 lawyers, legal professionals, and staff from the former Bingham McCutchen firm, including many exceptional lawyers in the securities enforcement, financial services regulatory, and securities class action practices whose capabilities and talent enhance the global services of the firm.

From left: Fordham Law dean Matthew Diller; Daniel Gallagher, a former SEC commissioner who gave last year’s lecture; Stanford law professor Grundfest; partner Ben Indek; and Sean Griffith, director, Fordham Corporate Law Center.
(Photo credit: Dana  Maxson/Courtesy of Fordham Law School)

After the lecture, we held our annual alumni reception for the securities regulatory group at A Voce Columbus, where Morgan Lewis alumni joined lawyers from our New York, Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Chicago, and Washington, DC, offices. Our guests included representatives from financial services companies, law firms, and regulatory agencies.

The lecture series is one of Fordham Corporate Law Center’s most significant and influential programs and provides a forum for leading regulators and policymakers to share insight into crucial issues confronting global financial markets with Fordham University School of Law's students, faculty, and the broader legal community.