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

March 30, 2004

SEC Official, Judge to Speak at Garrett Institute

CHICAGO --- Recent newsmakers Stephen Cutler, chief enforcement director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and Leo Strine Jr., vice chancellor, Delaware Court of Chancery, will be featured at Northwestern University School of Law’s 24th Annual Ray Garrett Jr. Corporate and Securities Institute.

Cutler, who has led recent SEC investigations of company wrong doing that are having a far-reaching impact on corporate America, will deliver the keynote address after lunch Thursday, April 29.

Strine, whose rulings regarding the attempted sale of Hollinger Inc. have made international headlines, will preside at a mock hearing on the enforceability of merger provisions at 10 a.m. Friday, April 30.

A number of other SEC officials also will participate at the institute April 29 and 30 in Thorne Auditorium at the School of Law, 375 East Chicago Ave.

“Anyone who practices in the corporate and securities arena is aware of the enormous amount of SEC regulations and increased government scrutiny of public companies during the last year,” said Bob Wall of Winston & Strawn and chair of the institute's planning committee. “This program will address topics that have a meaningful impact on our audiences’ day to day practice.”

A panel discussion on current securities issues and developments will be led by former SEC chairman David Ruder, William W. Gurley Memorial Professor of Law at Northwestern, with key SEC officials including Cutler, Donald Nicolaisen, chief accountant, Giovanni Prezioso, general counsel, and Martin Dunn, deputy director of the Division of Corporation Finance. Linda Chatman Thomsen, deputy director of the Division of Enforcement, will also be in attendance.

The Garrett Institute was established in memory of Ray Garrett Jr., former chairman of the SEC, member of the Northwestern Law faculty and partner in the Chicago office of Gardner Carton & Douglass. Sponsored by the Northwestern University School of Law, the Ray Garrett Jr. Corporate and Securities Institute is accredited in most states with mandatory continuing legal education requirements. Tuition is $900. (For further information or to request a complete program brochure, call (312) 503-8932.)