Lecturer Bios
Gregory A. Markel, Esq.
Greg Markel is a partner in the Litigation Department of Seyfarth Shaw LLP’s New York office. Mr. Markel is a nationally known trial lawyer who concentrates his practice on corporate governance litigation, mergers and acquisition litigation, directors and officers defense, securities litigation and antitrust litigation particularly in bet your company cases.
He has been recognized for years as a leader in the profession. LawDragon magazine recently recognized Mr. Markel as a “legend” and one of only 50 lawyers and judges in the legal profession in the United States who have been named to the Law Dragon 500 in each of the last ten years. He has also received recognition from many other publications including Acquisition International’s 2015’s Most Highly Regarded Litigators, 2013 Lawyers of the Year for Mergers and Acquisition by Best Lawyers, LawDragon’s 500 Leading Lawyers in America, and one of the 100 Securities Litigators You Need to Know, one of the Top 100 Lawyers in New York by Super Lawyers, highly ranked by Chambers for Securities Litigation, Benchmark as a national Litigation Star, for outstanding performance by Best Lawyer’s in America, Legal 500 Leading Commercial Litigators, “Best in Class” in the legal profession by BestofUS.com, The International Who’s Who of Commercial Litigators and many others.
He is a member of the Boards of the Legal Aid Society, the New York County Lawyers Association (NYCLA), Junior Achievement of New York and the Historical Society of New York Courts.
Mr. Markel is Chairman of the Center for Corporate Governance of the New York County Lawyers Association. He and Gillian Burns recently received the Burton Award for Distinguished Legal Writing.
Mr. Markel is a graduate of Yale Law School, the University of Michigan with an MBA in Finance and Columbia College.
He is a member of the Business Law, Litigation and Antitrust sections of the American Bar Association; the Federal Bar Council; the City Bar Committee on Securities Litigation; the Securities Industry Association – Compliance & Legal Division; the New York State Bar Association, Commercial Litigation Section, is a Fellow of the New York Bar Foundation. He is frequently called on to comment on legal issues for the Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, CNBC, Bloomberg TV, Bloomberg Radio, The New York Times, Time, Newsweek, The Daily and the Associated Press. Mr. Markel frequently speaks to the press and others on a range of topics, such as director’s and officer’s liability, securities law, commercial litigation, accountants’ defense, law firm management and Internet litigation.
Giovanna A. Ferrari, Esq.
Ms. Ferrari is a partner in the Litigation Department of Seyfarth Shaw LLP. She has counseled and represented clients in all phases of litigation, including at trial, at temporary restraining/injunction proceedings, at mediation, in AAA, JAMS, FINRA and ASBCA arbitrations, and in appellate proceedings. Ms. Ferrari is experienced in state and federal class action defense.
Ms. Ferrari specializes in commercial and business litigation affecting all industries with a special focus on the financial services, government contractor, and retail/hospitality industries. Ms. Ferrari defends companies against securities claims, commercial and government contract disputes, fraud and misrepresentation claims, common law and statutory business tort claims, and California statutory consumer fraud claims. Ms. Ferrari counsels clients in internal investigations regarding regulatory compliance, and litigates fiduciary duty and director/officer disputes. Ms. Ferrari is also experienced in employment litigation (including defense of wage and hour class actions, discrimination and harassment claims, and California Labor Code violation claims, and prosecution of trade secret claims).
Ms. Ferrari is the Vice Chair of the San Francisco Office Litigation Practice Group. Ms. Ferrari is an active member of the Firm Trial Team and the New Matter Intake Committee. Ms. Ferrari is also on the Lawyer Development Committee and the Associate Coaching Committee which both focus on the growth, development and mentoring of associates. Ms. Ferrari is the Firm Litigation Lead for the Future Employer Taskforce.
Jeroen van Kwawegen
Jeroen van Kwawegen is a partner in the New York office of BLB&G. A senior member of the firm’s Corporate Governance Litigation team, his practice focuses on the fiduciary duties of boards of directors and senior executives, shareholder appraisal actions, shareholder activism, and regulatory compliance. For his professional achievements, he has been recognized as a New York Super Lawyer and a New York "Rising Star" by Thomson Reuters, and a leading practitioner in his field by Legal 500 US.
Mr. van Kwawegen has extensive experience in litigation on behalf of shareholders involving the oversight of board and management misconduct. He has represented institutional investors in numerous high profile derivative actions, including actions involving Board entrenchment and shareholder voting rights violations, as well as merger and acquisitions disputes and shareholder appraisals. Mr. van Kwawegen has also prosecuted a variety of securities class actions on behalf of large institutional investors, including numerous matters relating to the credit crisis and disputes regarding the sale of residential mortgage-backed securities.
