About Us

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...

Peter Kleinschmidt is a partner of Blaum Dettmers Rabstein. He is General Counsel for Airbus Group, a global technology and research company. Before entering the role of General Counsel, Mr. Kleinschmidt held a few positions with Airbus and its family of companies including Senior Vice President in the Office of the Chief Operating Officer handling its legal affairs and General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Airbus. He also held different senior positions in legal affairs and M&A with...

Head of the Life Sciences Department of Fieldfisher JAUSAS, with over 20 years’ experience and extensive knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry and related sectors. Advises over 50 companies in the industry on regulatory affairs, market access, advertising, commercial hiring and compliance. Member of Conférence Bleue (European Lawyers’ Conference on Pharmaceutical and Health Care Affairs) since 1997 and co-managing partner of it since 2012.

Gary Naftalis is the head of the Litigation Department and firmwide Co-Chair of Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel. For over 30 years, Mr. Naftalis has represented individuals and corporations in all phases of complex litigation, including bet-the-company in regulatory, criminal and civil matters. He has also counseled numerous corporations through regulatory matters.

W. Mark Lanier is the founder of The Lanier Law Firm, where he also serves as lead litigation counsel. Mr. Lanier is certified as a personal injury trial specialist by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and practices nationwide. In addition to his active practice, Mr. Lanier serves on the Board of Trustees of the Committee for Economic Development and the Board of Directors for the National Center for State Courts.

Ed O’Keefe, former General Counsel of Bank of America Corporation, advises and represents financial institutions. Having also headed or served as a senior executive with the bank’s compliance, technology, human resources and operations functions, Ed’s broad experience includes all aspects of litigation, regulatory compliance, governance, cybersecurity, risk management and compensation, including the structuring and management of pension and equity plans.

Guy Tremblay is a Consulting Partner at BCF. Over the years, Mr. Tremblay has built a reputation for excellence in labour and employment law. His extensive experience was acquired before the Quebec Labour Relations Board, grievance arbitration boards and common law courts. He has been at the heart of many significant court cases that have shaped labour law. A seasoned negotiator and shrewd strategist, he has been a key player in many labour disputes affecting private companies, and regularly ...

As Managing Partner, Steven Sonberg is the chief executive officer of the firm, overseeing the strategic growth and direction of the firm and the management of all aspects of the firm's operations. With more than 30 years of experience, Mr. Sonberg is a corporate lawyer whose practices have focused on the areas of securities law and mergers and acquisitions. His practice has included the representation of domestic and international businesses in public and private offerings of debt and equity...

Sandra H. Robinson, an experienced trial attorney with The Cochran Firm, D.C., handles catastrophic medical malpractice and personal injury cases. She has settled or won at trial malpractice cases in the six- and seven-figure range; in a single year she won more than $20 million in jury awards on behalf of victims of malpractice.Ms. Robinson has served as president of the Civil Justice Foundation and was the first African-American president of the Public Justice Foundation. She is a past memb...

Jeffrey is the co-chairman of McDermott and chairman of the Firm's Management Committee. He previously served as global head of McDermott's Trial Department and head of the White-Collar Criminal Defense Practice Group. He concentrates his practice on white-collar criminal defense, complex commercial litigation, internal investigations and counseling to Boards of Directors and senior business executives. He represents corporations, board of directors, senior executives and other individuals in...

Carrie Hightman serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer for NiSource Inc. She is responsible for all legal and corporate secretary functions, as well as corporate governance, ethics and compliance, business continuity, records management, privacy and unregulated real estate investments. She also serves as the NiSource Executive Inclusion and Diversity Champion. Prior to joining NiSource, Hightman served as President of AT&T Illinois (formerly SBC).

Larry Barden is a partner in the Corporate practice group in Sidley’s Chicago office, and currently serves as chair of the firm’s Management Committee. He has been a member of the firm's Executive Committee since 1999 and its Management Committee since 2011. His principal areas of practice are mergers and acquisitions, securities/corporate finance, strategic counseling/corporate governance and private equity/venture capital.