Tag: corporate law

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AABANY Corporate Law Committee Hosts First Meet & Greet of FY27 to Connect with Committee Members

On May 19, the AABANY Corporate Law Committee kicked off the new fiscal year with a virtual Meet & Greet, bringing together members and prospective members to share ideas on programming for the year.  Attendees ranged from recent law school graduates just beginning their careers to seasoned attorneys returning to corporate practice. Corporate Law Committee leadership, which includes Co-Chairs Keli Huang (Partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP) and Ashley Wong (Associate Corporate Counsel at Amazon), along with Vice Chairs Kyle Zhu (Associate at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP) and Judy Lin (Associate at Kirkland & Ellis LLP), introduced themselves and opened the floor to attendees. The conversation was centered on understanding the types of events that would be most beneficial to the members, and the leadership team came away with a clear direction: social events and CLE-eligible programming that support both professional development and genuine community-building.

The Committee leadership also shared about two upcoming AABANY marquee events. First, the AABANY Annual Dinner, taking place next Thursday May 28th, is expected to draw hundreds of attendees and offers one of the year’s premier networking opportunities across the broader AABANY community. Then September 26th, the Fall Conference, hosted at the Fordham Law School, promises another outstanding occasion to connect with colleagues, exchange ideas, and build the cross-practice relationships that make this community so valuable. Both events reflect the Committee’s commitment to creating spaces where members can forge lasting professional connections and strengthen the synergy within the AABANY network.

Beyond these signature events, the Corporate Law Committee is actively exploring programming ideas that speak directly to where the legal profession is heading. Keli shared that the Committee is already planning its popular summer social event, and this time it is in a karaoke location not yet open to the public that AABANY members will get to experience before its opening. Another exciting program under consideration is an event on artificial intelligence focusing on the responsible use of AI in legal practice, managing client expectations around emerging tools, and leveraging technology to make legal work more efficient. Given how rapidly AI is reshaping the industry, this is exactly the kind of timely, practical programming that members expressed enthusiasm for. Stay tuned and keep an eye on the AABANY Calendar for announcements. We hope to see you at upcoming events! To learn more about the Corporate Law Committee and how you can get involved, click here.

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Corporate Law Committee Hosts Golf & Game Night at Five Iron Golf, Sponsored by PNC Bank

On Friday, July 11, AABANY’s Corporate Law Committee hosted Golf & Game Night, a high-energy evening of virtual golf, ping pong, drinks, and community connection, generously sponsored by PNC Bank. The event, led by Vice Chairs Ashley Wong and Kyle Zhu, was held at Five Iron Golf in Midtown Manhattan and welcomed attorneys, in-house counsel, and professionals in industries ranging from capital market transactions to international tax law for a night that balanced fun with a distinctly corporate-law twist.

From the moment guests walked in, the space buzzed with friendly competition and good cheer. Screen golf bays lit up with simulated fairways as participants took their swings—some practicing carefully calculated drives, others simply enjoying the chance to unwind after a long week. Nearby, ping pong matches sparked bursts of applause, while the foosball table quickly became a hotspot for spontaneous showdowns and cross-table banter.

Guests sipped cocktails and munched on light bites between games, mingling with old colleagues and making new connections across firms and industries. The turnout, peaking at over 40 attendees, reflected a strong desire within the AABANY community for more casual, low-pressure ways to engage.

Winners of the night’s golf challenges pose with their prizes.

The event was more than just an opportunity to relax—it was a thoughtful attempt to reignite community. As Vice Chair Kyle Zhu shared, “The corporate law culture makes it hard to organize social events, but we’ve had a lot of support—corporate sponsors, vendors, folks outside the committee—who’ve helped us bring things to life. Going to [NAPABA national conference] is great, but it’s the local stuff that really matters. That’s how we build community.”

With laughter echoing from the golf bays and conversations continuing long after the last swing, the event affirmed how much community can be built when people come together—not just to network, but to simply enjoy each other’s company.

Special thanks to our sponsor PNC Bank for helping to make this event possible.

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AABANY Corporate Law Committee Hosts Meet & Greet

On Thursday, June 13, 2024, the Corporate Law Committee (CLC) hosted a Meet & Greet via Zoom. The Meet and Greet was led by Co-Chairs Tracy Feng, Alice Hsu, Keli Huang, and John Hwang, and was an opportunity for committee members to meet the leadership team.

After the Co-Chairs introduced themselves, they completed a brief recap of various events CLC had hosted in the past year, including a Winter Soiree and a Happy Hour at Maru. Attendees were then asked to introduce themselves as well as share any suggestions for events they would like to see CLC host this year. Many attendees expressed their interest in networking events, especially with senior associates. Other ideas included professional and personal development programs, collaborations with other committees where corporate law may intersect, as well as events about artificial intelligence and what it means to be a good corporate lawyer.

The CLC Co-Chairs wrapped up the meet and greet by giving attendees a sneak peek of some potential upcoming events, including the Fall Conference, a spa day, and career development panels, with a goal of hosting at least one event per quarter.

Thank you to those who attended the CLC Meet and Greet event. To learn more about CLC, please click here.

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AABANY Presents Ask a Mid-Level: How to be a Stellar Associate

On March 11, AABANY’s Corporate Law Committee hosted a panel discussion on how junior associates can become star team players. Over 60 attendees were present over Zoom. The moderator was Ashley Wong of Sidley Austin and the speakers, all mid-levels at leading law firms, were: 

  • Keli Huang, Kirkland & Ellis
  • Douglas Kim, Debevoise & Plimpton
  • Amrita Mukherjee, Weil, Gotshal & Manges
  • James Park, Sidley Austin

The purpose of the panel was to provide guidance to junior associates on how to build stronger workplace relationships and produce deliverables more efficiently. This was an instructional program that provided 1.0 CLE credits in Law Practice Management. 

Advice from the speakers included researching a deal team’s working style before accepting an assignment, getting to know the firm’s research tools and letting people know when one has made a mistake so it can be solved faster. 

The event ended with a gift card raffle. Congratulations to Terry Shen and Evelyn Mau for being the lucky winners of a Seamless gift card! 

Thank you to all who attended this event. To learn more about the Corporate Law Committee, please visit https://www.aabany.org/page/128. 

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AABANY Presents Corporate Law Program at NYU Stern Business & Law Association

On Thursday, Oct. 10, AABANY collaborated with the NYU Stern Business and Law Association (SBLA) to present a program on corporate law. The lunchtime program took place in Tisch Hall at the NYU Stern School of Business. The panelists included Michael Ye, an associate at Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz, and Vincent Jian Wu, international lawyer at Kobre & Kim. Michael spoke about the practice of corporate law from a transactional perspective, while Jian described it from the litigation and dispute resolution perspective. Both are AABANY members and Jian is co-chair of AABANY’s Asia Practice Committee. In attendance were undergraduates from NYU who are interested in learning more about the legal world and possibly pursuing law school or the legal profession as a career path. Those in attendance found the discussion engaging and the speakers impressive.

Thanks to former AABANY intern Jason Cheung for spearheading the outreach to NYU Stern, and thanks to Alex Chiang, Director of External Events, SBLA, and SBLA Co-Presidents, Gloria Zheng and Maurice Elbaz, for inviting us. We hope this event is the first of many as AABANY extends its outreach to students beyond law schools. (Thanks to Jason for the photos.)

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AABANY Pre-OCI Information Session: What Do Corporate Lawyers Do?

On Tuesday, July 22nd, AABANY’s Corporate Law Committee and Student Outreach Committee hosted an insightful Pre-OCI Information session, “What do corporate lawyer do?”, at Paul, Weiss. With more than 30 law school students and undergraduate students in attendance, Executive Director Yang Chen welcomed everyone and introduced the moderator, Terry Shen. 

The panel started with Terry introducing each distinguished panel speaker. The panelists comprised both in-house attorneys from top firms in the industry and corporate law lawyers at prestigious law firms, each with a different specialty practice area within the landscape of corporate law:  

•    Jasmine Ball, Partner, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP

•    Parkin Lee, Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, The Rockefeller Group 

•    Marianne Chow-Newman, Counsel, The Hearst Corporation

•    Lawrence G. Wee, Partner, Paul Weiss Rifikind Wharton & Garrison LLP 

•    Terry Shen (Moderator), Partner, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP

Addressing the question “what do corporate lawyer do?”, the panelists talked about why they chose corporate law, their daily role as a corporate lawyer, the interaction and relationship with corporate clients, the kind of tasks a junior associate will encounter, and interview techniques for the upcoming OCI (on-campus interview) season on campus. 

First, the panelists explained five different subdivisions of corporate law: Capital Markets, Credit & Leverage Finance, Mergers & Acquisitions, Restructuring, and Investment Management. Different from litigation and what has been portrayed in the media, corporate lawyers rarely go to court or draft motions. Instead, corporate lawyers offer legal advice to corporations who attempt to operate and grow their business. Coming from an engineering background in his early career, Parkin Lee characterized his role as a corporate lawyer as “engineering with words.” The nature of corporate operation requires lawyers to write a tight contract, understand the needs of their clients and negotiate on their behalf, build trust between two parties who want to do business, and explain complicated deal structures to the client. Young lawyers need to have the capability to negotiate, conduct due diligence, and strengthen relationships with clients.  

The event concluded with a discussion of the deal team culture and “bro culture” in law firms. Although one does not need to thrive in the bro culture to succeed, Terry drew a connection between bro culture with the work ethic of a young lawyer, illustrating the reliability, can-do mindset and intellectual curiosity embodied in both deal team culture and bro culture.  

We would like to sincerely thank Larry Wee and Paul, Weiss for hosting the event by providing food, beverages, and an excellent space. We also thank the Corporate Law Committee and Student Outreach Committee for putting together this valuable and meaningful program for current or prospective law students.

To learn more about the Corporate Law Committee, please click here.

To learn more about the Student Outreach Committee, please click here.

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On Tuesday, June 17, the In-House Counsel Committee and Corporate Law Committee held their 7th Annual Winetasting and Networking Reception at La Fonda Del Sol in Midtown Manhattan. Blossom Kan and Austin So, Co-Chairs of the In-House Counsel Committee, kicked off the event by welcoming all the attendees and introducing Dwight Yoo, Larry Wee, and Charlotte Kim, Co-Chairs of the Corporate Law Committee.

Following the welcomes, Clara Ohr, AABANY President, introduced and thanked all the sponsors for the event, especially the anchor sponsors, Planet Depos and Summit Financial Printing.

As part of the event, in-house counsel and corporate attorneys had the opportunity to network over hors d’oeuvres and wine. As an icebreaker, in-house counsel attorneys had an incentive to network with corporate attorneys; they had the opportunity to win an iPad Mini. Austin So, Co-Chair of the In-House Counsel Committee explained that the in-house counsel attorney with the most business cards from law firm attorneys would win the iPad Mini. Congratulations to Jean Lee, who won with a total of 59 business cards! Jean raffled off the iPad Mini amongst the attendees who dropped his or her business card in Planet Depos’ raffle bowl. Congratulations to Francis Chin, who won the raffle! Francis Chin generously raffled the iPad Mini amongst the volunteers who are also law students. Congratulations to Christina Nguyen! [Note: Christina is an AABANY Legal Intern and she wrote this summary – not on her iPad Mini, though, as far as we know.]

Thank you to our anchor sponsors, Planet Depos and Summit Financial Printing, our premier sponsor Perkins Coie, and other Wine Tasting sponsors, Archer & Greiner, Dentons, Haynes and Boone, Mayer Brown, Morgan Lewis, Paul Weiss, Reed Smith, and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. We would also like to acknowledge all of our Annual Dinner sponsors, without whom the events throughout the year would not be possible.

The event was a great success and we hope to continue to enjoy the In-House Counsel Committee and Corporate Law Committee’s annual wine-tasting and networking reception. Thank you to all our sponsors, attendees, and volunteers. (Thanks to Kevin Wong for the photos!)

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