

Walker Newell & Lenin Lopez (Woodruff & Sawyer): Navigating D&O Risk, Delaware Exit, and Boardroom Litigation
(0:00) Intro to this episode
(1:43) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel.
(2:30) Start of interview
(3:09) Walker Newell's origin story
(6:38) Lenin Lopez' origin story
(9:21) Intro to Woodruff Sawyer, and their focus on corporate law and securities litigation.
(14:00) The Importance of Corporate Governance
(14:38) On the Gallagher merger (WS was acquired for $1.2B)
(15:10) Advising boards on D&O insurance (corporate and litigation). *Reference to E42 with Priya Cherian Huskins (2021)
(17:59) The Delaware Exit ("DExit"). Impact of Derivative Suits. *Reference to VCBA
(26:23) Delaware vs. Texas and Nevada
(29:00) Understanding Delaware's SB21. Books and records demands. D&O questionnaires.
(33:18) The current state of IPOs and SPACs (and impact of D&O insurance pricing)
(37:33) The trend of SPAC companies incorporated in the Cayman Islands. SEC revisiting Foreign Private Issuer eligibility.
(41:15) Trends in Securities Class Actions (~60% filed against tech or biotech companies).
(47:24) Litigation in Private Markets. *Reference to Startup Litigation Digest
(53:27) The hardships of life-science companies
(56:15) How the federal and status regulatory apparatus is evolving, particularly on AI.
(58:52) The evolving role (and burdens) of board members. Example: DOJ whistleblower rules
(1:01:21) What are the 1-3 books that have greatly influenced your life:
- Lenin: The Life and Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoi (1902)
- Walker:
- The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño (1998)
- Maus: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman (1991)
(1:04:03) Who were their mentors, and what they learned from them.
(1:06:27) Quotes they think of often or live their life by.
- Lenin: "Al mal tiempo, buena cara"
- Walker: "Enjoy every sandwich"
(1:08:22) An unusual habit or an absurd thing that they love.
(1:09:50) The living person they most admire
- Lenin: Tony Hawk
- Walker: Rory McIlroy
You can follow Evan on social media at:
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Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License