Panel Chair: Mike Francies - Mike is managing partner of the London office of law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges. He is also a member of the firm's Management Committee. He is experienced in public and private mergers and acquisitions, equity issues (IPOs and secondary), private equity/venture capital/MBOs and joint ventures. He won 'Partner of the Year' at The Lawyer Awards, 2004 and has been named as one of the UK's 'Hot 100' lawyers by The Lawyer magazine. He has also been ranked as one of the 'World's Top Ten Private Equity Lawyers' by the Expert Guides.
Panel Deputy Chair: Margaret Mannell, having built aircraft carriers and other things in between, Margaret found her home in the law. She spent fifteen years as "headmistress" of Taylor Wessing before joining U.S. firm, Morrison & Foerster, in the summer of 2005. At MoFo, as the firm is affectionately known, her job title is "Director of Administration", and her responsibilities include herding cats, fire-fighting and tight-rope walking. Answering to several masters in many time-zones, she works with a dynamic group of partners and administrative staff who are focused on developing Morrison & Foerster's European practice.
Panel Director: Nick Jarrett Kerr LL.B. (Solicitor) is a Founding Member of Kerma Partners. In the last five years, Nick has rapidly established himself as one of the leading advisers to law firms in the UK and internationally on leadership, management and strategy. He was a founder member of the UK Law Society's Law Management Section and served as its Chairman for two years. He is also a member of the Association of Partnership Practitioners. He regularly leads or facilitates retreats, partner conferences and away days. Until 2001, Nick was for eight years the Chief Executive Partner of Bevan Ashford, a leading regional firm in Great Britain, during a period of enormous growth.
Panel Director: Friedrich Blase is a member of Kerma Partners where he advises primarily law firms in change projects for organizational structures, management systems, intellectual capital development, and compensation schemes. He works with firms on both sides of the Atlantic having been based in Frankfurt before moving to Toronto.
Secretary: Astrid Altmann Forbes (Head of Marketing Europe) Covington & Burling
Tony Bash is the Director of Finance for Weil, Gotshal & Manges in the UK. Prior to joining Weil, Gotshal & Manges he was the Financial Controller for Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in the US. She has almost 20 years experience in Finance in law firms. He is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and has an executive MBA from Cass Business School.
Kathryn Byrne is Partner, International Services at Weiser LLP. Kathryn’s practice provides accounting, auditing, tax, and consulting services to domestic and foreign corporations in various industries. Her expertise includes specializing in public companies and international companies. Weiser is a member of Moores Rowland International (“MRI”), a worldwide association of independent accounting and consulting firms and Kathryn serves as the firm’s liaison with MRI. She currently serves as the MRI Worldwide and North American Chairperson of Audit and Assurance Service Line Unit, as well as the North American Representative on the Membership Committee, which is an executive committee of the MRI Board.
Roy Hoffman with more than 25 years of experience advising clients on accounting, business management and personal finance issues Roy has counseled many large and small foreign clients who have created U.S. subsidiaries or have acquired U.S. operations. Active in industry, Roy is a member of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (“NYSSCPA”) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He serves on the Cooperation with Investment Bankers and Stock Exchanges Committee of the NYSSCPA.
Robert Holmes (European Marketing Manager) Squire, Sanders & Dempsey
Leanne Robson is lead partner for the London office of Irish firm Matheson Ormsby Prentice, focusing on corporate, M&A and private equity, including Irish elements of the larger cross-border M&A transactions. Leanne and her team also advise a range of domestic Irish clients on a broad range of corporate matters. Until July 2004, Leanne was a Senior Associate at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, also focusing on private equity and domestic and cross-border M&A.