MEDIA CONTACT: Pat Vaughan Tremmel at (847) 491-4892 or at p-tremmel@northwestern.edu

SEC Chair Pitt to Speak at Securities Institute

CHICAGO --- Harvey Pitt, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and other leading SEC officials and practitioners from law and investment firms will be among the featured participants at the 29th Annual Securities Regulations Institute, presented by the Corporate Counsel Center of Northwestern University School of Law, in cooperation with the University of California, San Diego.

The institute will take place Jan. 23 to 25 at the Hotel Coronado in Coronado, Calif.

Pitt will be the keynote speaker at the Jan. 23 luncheon, and Charles A. Bowsher, chairman of the Public Oversight board in Washington, D.C., and former comptroller of the Currency, will deliver the keynote address at the Jan. 24 luncheon.

Recently appointed SEC division directors Alan L. Beller, director of the Division of Corporation Finance, and Stephen M. Cutler, director of Enforcement Division, and Robert K. Herdman, chief accountant, also will be speaking and conducting workshops.

"The lineup of presenters is impressive and we are pleased to have Chairman Pitt and the new directors participating," said David E. Van Zandt, dean and professor at Northwestern University School of Law. "Once again the program promises leading analyses of new developments in securities law, including a panel that will discuss techniques for coping with the SEC’s enforcement program."

"The institute continues to draw heavy participation of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission," said David S. Ruder, law professor and president of Northwestern’s Corporate Counsel Center and former SEC chairman. "It is among the most important annual programs for securities lawyers."

Additional participating SEC officials include Robert A. Bayless, associate director and chief accountant, Division of Corporation Finance; David M. Becker, general counsel; Meyer Eisenberg, deputy general counsel; Annette L. Nazareth, director, Division of Market Regulation; Paul F. Roye, director, Division of Investment Management.

As a program sponsored by the Northwestern University School of Law, the Securities and Regulations Institute is recognized for mandatory continuing legal education credit in New York, California, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin and other states. To register call (312) 503-8932 or go to http://www.law.northwestern.edu/contexec/. Tuition is $1,050.

Among the topics to be discussed:

Wednesday, Jan. 23:
•Corporate Communications with Analysts and the Media
•Accounting Problems in an Active SEC Enforcement Environment
•Non-Financial Disclosure Issues in a Changing Economic Environment
•Audit Committee Practices -- A Year Later
•Counseling Companies and Their Executives Regarding Stock Compensation Programs

Thursday, Jan. 24:
•Advising Boards of Directors Regarding Major Developments in Delaware Fiduciary Law -- California Compared
•Mergers and Acquisitions in a Changing Risk Environment -- Securities Law Considerations
•Raising Capital in Today’s Private and Public Markets
•The Changing Ethical Environment for Securities Lawyers

Friday, Jan. 25:
•Techniques for Coping with the SEC’s Enforcement Program
•Private Securities Litigation – Who’s to Blame When Things Go Wrong?
•Everything You Always Wanted to Know about the Securities Laws but Were Never Given the Chance to Ask