WOMEN ’ SCONN EC T I ON

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Women’s Committee ChairsMaripat Alpuche Lori E. Lesser

Joanna Pressman

Issue #11January 2013

Letter from the Women’s Committee ChairsThis edition of the Women’s Connection profiles Joanna Pressman (STB ‘00-‘04), the

general counsel of the Robin Hood Foundation. We also feature recently retired Exempt Organizations partner Victoria Bjorklund’s reflections on the growing role of in-house counsel at non-profit organizations.

We’d like to take this opportunity to say farewell and a heartfelt thank you to our two retiring women partners: Victoria Bjorklund and litigation partner Libby mcGarry (both of the New York office).

We wish you and yours a wonderful new year.

aLumna ProfiLefundinG the Best of the Best at the roBin hood foundation: Joanna Pressman serVes as roBin hood’s first eVer GeneraL CounseL

In 2008, when former Simpson Thacher associate Joanna Pressman (STB ’00-’04) was ready to make the next leap in her career, Exempt Organizations partner Victoria Bjorklund had the perfect idea. Victoria was then (and still is) on the board of the Robin Hood Foundation, a grant making organization that funds the best of the best poverty-fighting non-profit groups in New York City. It just so happened that Robin Hood was in need of its first ever general counsel, and Victoria was certain that Joanna would be the right person for the job.

Joanna had worked with Victoria during her four-year tenure at the Firm. In 2004, Joanna left to become an associate general counsel at Planned Parenthood, where she quickly became involved in the organization’s public policy and advocacy work. After one presidential election and one midterm election, Joanna was ready for a broader variety of work and a new set of challenges.

When Joanna joined Robin Hood, she was in the unique position of defining and shaping her new role as the organization’s first general counsel. At the same time, she had to be willing to roll up her sleeves and have a hand in anything and everything that touched on legal issues affecting the organization.

These days, Joanna remains a true generalist. Her responsibilities run the

—Maripat Alpuche and Lori E. Lesser

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Victoria Bjorklund

gamut from intellectual property and employee benefit and compensation issues to the legal aspects of grant making and event planning. Recently, Joanna found herself at the table with a team of entertainment lawyers in the weeks leading up to “12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief,” the concert at Madison Square Garden that raised money for the Robin Hood Relief Fund. “It’s a bit like being a solo practitioner,” explains Joanna, because her work requires her to know a little bit about a broad range of different areas of the law.

“The work is really fast-paced,” she says of the day-to-day pressures of reviewing contracts, attending meetings and making her way down her very long to-do list. But Joanna finds that the “do good aspect” of her job “is a real motivator and a real reward.” When her days get too hectic, she can always take a step back and remind herself that she is working hard to help fight poverty in New York City. “As a native New Yorker,” she says, “it’s hard to imagine a better reason for going to work each day.”

One of the many perks of Joanna’s job is the chance to work with her friends at Simpson Thacher again. The Firm does a substantial amount of legal work for Robin Hood on a pro bono basis. For example, Simpson Thacher created the standard form grant agreement that Robin Hood uses, and the Firm’s Exempt Organizations, Intellectual Property, ERISA and Labor and Employment groups advise Robin Hood on a regular basis. “I couldn’t do my job without being able to rely on Simpson Thacher as a great resource,” says Joanna.

feature ProfiLethe GroWinG roLe of in-house CounseL in the non-Profit seCtor: refLeCtions By exemPt orGanizations Partner ViCtoria BJorkLund

As Exempt Organizations partner Victoria Bjorklund looks back on her 30-year long career with the Firm, one of the major changes she has seen is a dramatic increase in the number of non-profit organizations with in-house legal counsel. “It’s hard to imagine now,” reflects Victoria, but “40 years ago Princeton University had only one in-house lawyer, and even that was considered unusual by non-profit standards.” Today, most major non-profit organizations have at least one in-house lawyer, and some have in-house legal teams.

“Working in-house at a non-profit organization has become a very attractive career option,” Victoria notes, and “many of the lawyers who choose to pursue this path are women.” Several Simpson Thacher alumni have left the private sector to work in-house at non-profit organizations.1 The Firm’s Exempt Organizations group has played an integral role in placing a number of these alumni.

1 For example, former Real Estate counsel Lilian F. B. Andrews (STB ’83-’99) is Assistant General Counsel at the National Audubon Society; Sasha Carbone (STB ’98-’01) is Associate General Counsel of the American Arbitration Association; Jaye Chen (STB ’96-’03) is Executive Vice President at the Institute of International Education, Inc.; Jean Chen (STB ’06-’12) is Associate Counsel at the Open Space Institute; Kirstie Howard (STB ’03-’07) is Associate Counsel at The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Matthew Lansburgh (STB ’97-’99 and ’05-’06)

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Victoria emphasizes that in-house counsel positions at non-profit organizations are not restricted to lawyers with Exempt Organizations experience, although it certainly is a plus. “Because an in-house lawyer at a non-profit organization must act as a generalist,” she explains, “non-profit organizations can be flexible about a lawyer’s background and area of expertise.” Over the years, she has seen non-profit organizations hire corporate attorneys, litigators and real estate lawyers.

For lawyers who are serious about making a leap to the in-house counsel ranks at a non-profit organization, Victoria recommends getting some experience by working for non-profit organizations on a pro bono basis. “Here at the Firm, we have an excellent program to help lawyers gain exposure to the non-profit field,” she says. Associates from any department may take on pro bono Exempt Organizations assignments, and the Firm will assign a lawyer from the Exempt Organizations department to supervise and guide those associates.

A number of associates from the New York office, including Crystal L. frierson, audra f. amarosa and Lindsay n. thomas, have taken advantage of this program to help the four New York City charter schools currently in the New

Visions for Public Schools network in obtaining federal tax exempt status. They have been working closely with Victoria, as well as Chairman of the Firm and founder of New Visions dick Beattie, Exempt Organizations partner david shevlin and Exempt Organizations associate Jennifer maimone-medwick (all of the New York office), on this very significant initiative.

In conjunction with the Firm’s pro bono program, many organizations—including the Lawyers’ Alliance for New York, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest and Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts—offer pro bono opportunities in the Exempt Organizations sphere.

Another option for gaining experience in the non-profit sector is serving on the board of a non-profit organization. “Non-profit organizations are very interested in young professionals,” notes Victoria. For example, corporate associate makiko harunari (New York office) serves on the board of Year Up New York, an organization that provides job training support to urban young adults. And litigation associate Linton mann iii (also of the New York office) is chair of the board of trustees for eight public charter schools that comprise the Collegiate network of Uncommon Schools.

While it may be challenging to find an in-house position at a non-profit organization, the journey is well worth it. “I have always been energized and inspired by my clients,” says Victoria. “I take care of the legal plumbing, so to speak, so that my clients can focus on their missions. And those missions include improving and saving lives.”

was until recently Associate General Counsel at the New York Public Library; Ingrid C. Miller (Seradarian) (STB ’04-’10) is Vice President & Assistant General Counsel at JPMorgan Chase, serving as counsel for JPMorgan’s Global Philanthropy group and general counsel of the JPMorgan Chase Foundation; and Drew C. Rabe (STB ’07-12) is Associate General Counsel at Open Society Institute.

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aLumnae notesPlease drop us a line at

WomensConnection@stblaw.com to let us know if you’ve changed jobs, taken on a new role at your company or firm, or have other professional news to share. We would love to mention you in the next edition, either as a short note or a longer profile.

in-house & CorPoraterawia ashraf (STB ’05-’12; Litigation):

Antitrust Editor, Practical Law Company; Jean Chen (STB ’06-’12; Corporate, Banking and Credit): Associate Counsel, Open Space Institute; ariana Cooper (STB ’08-’12; Corporate, M&A): Vice President—Legal & Compliance Group, BlackRock; sarah L. dunn (STB ’05-’12; Litigation): Corporate Counsel, MetLife; m. reece hunt (STB ’10-’12; Corporate, Capital Markets and Securities): Corporate Counsel, Avon Products, Inc.; alison kelly (STB ’07-’12; Personal Planning): Vice President/Wealth Planner, Brown Brothers Harriman; nisha khanduja (STB ’06-’09 and ’10-’12; Corporate, M&A): Assistant General Counsel—Corporate Transactions Group, New York Life Insurance Company; Carolyn Barth renzin (STB ’01-’02; Litigation): Managing Director—Investigations and Compliance Moni-toring, Guidepost Solutions LLC; erin a. rinn (STB ’08-’12; Corporate): Associate Corporate Counsel—Securities and M&A, VMWare; keren siman-tov (STB ’08–’12; Corporate, Intellectual Property): Legal Counsel, Lab126, a subsidiary of Amazon.com; Pamela sutton-hall (STB ’94-’02; Corporate, Banking & Credit): Vice President Finance and Treasury, Noble Environmental Power, LLC; kim t. Vu

(STB ’06-’11; Corporate, M&A): Counsel, Becton, Dickinson and Company; and Wendy W. Wu (STB ’07-’12; Corporate, Banking & Credit): Vice President and Counsel, Jefferies Finance LLC.

JudiCiaryJeannie J. Chung (STB ’10-’12;

Litigation): Law Clerk to the Honorable Martin Glenn of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York; ilana Levin (STB ’10-’12; Litigation): Law Clerk to the Honorable I. Leo Glasser of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York; sarah e. Phillips (STB ’09-’12; Litigation): Law Clerk to the Honorable William H. Pauley III of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York; and rachel s. Weiss (STB ’09-’12; Litigation): Law Clerk to the Honorable Edgardo Ramos of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

GoVernmentPaige Petersen (STB ’01-’03; Litigation):

Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah—Violent Crimes Section; and margaret y. rubin (STB ’10-’12; Corporate): Division of Trading and Markets, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Women at simPson thaCher todayseLeCted enGaGements

maripat alpuche (New York office) represented Sycamore Partners in connection with the sale by its portfolio company, Talbots Inc. of its credit card portfolio to Alliance Data Systems

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Corporation, and ADS’s agreement to provide private label credit card services for Talbots; and TD Bank Group in its $5.9 billion acquisition of Target’s U.S. credit card portfolio.

sarah Cogan (New York office) represented the underwriters in the $575 million IPO of Nuveen Preferred and Income Term Fund; ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return Fund Inc. in its $700 million IPO; the underwriters in BlackRock Municipal Target Term Trust’s $1.55 billion IPO; and Blackstone/GSO Strategic Credit Fund in its IPO.

Caroline Gottschalk (New York office) represented Lightyear Capital in Validus Holdings Ltd’s acquisition of Flagstone Reinsurance Holdings Ltd.; and ARAMARK Corporation in the spin-off of its majority interest in Seamless North America, LLC to the stockholders of ARAMARK’s ultimate parent company.

risë norman (New York office) represented the initial purchasers in connection with an $800 million Rule 144A and Reg S Senior Notes offering by SBA Telecommunications, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of SBA Communica-tions Corporation; the underwriters in a $2 billion debt offering of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company; and Unisys Corporation in connection with a public offering of $210,000,000 of 6.25% senior notes.

Laura Palma (New York office) represented the underwriters in asset backed notes offerings by Mercedes-Benz Auto for a total of $1,546,500,000.

Lesley Peng (New York office) represented the initial purchasers, led by J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, in connection with Deluxe Corporation’s $200 million Rule 144A and Regulation S note offering;

and JPMorgan Chase & Co. in its offering of 50,300,000 depositary shares.

roxane reardon (New York office) represented Toll Brothers, Inc. and its subsidiaries in a $250 million Rule 144A offering; Rockwood Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries in a $1.25 billion public offering by Rockwood Specialties Group, Inc.; and Rockwood Holdings, Inc. in a $294 million secondary offering of Rockwood common stock. Ms. Reardon also led the product effort for Genesee & Wyoming Inc.’s offering of Tangible Equity Units and Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc. in its offering of $100 million Exchangeable Note Units.

marisa stavenas (New York office) represented the underwriters, as U.S. counsel, in connection with a CAD$250 million note offering by Postmedia Network Inc.; Genesee & Wyoming Inc. in $475 million offerings of common stock and Tangible Equity Units; and Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc. in offerings of $797 million first and second lien secured notes and $100 million Exchangeable Note Units.

kathryn king sudol (Hong Kong office) led the representation of a Chinese investor group in its proposed purchase of up to a 90% stake in International Lease Finance Company from AIG in a trans-action valued at $5.28 billion; HiSoft Technology International Limited in its stock-for-stock merger with VanceInfo Technologies Inc.; Focus Media Holding Limited in connection with a $3.5 billion going private proposal by a consortium led by Carlyle and Fountainvest; and KKR and the management of Unisteel Technology International Limited in connection with the sale of Unisteel to SFS intec, a wholly owned subsidiary of SFS Group.

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aWards & honors

Litigation associate k. Lucy atwood (Los Angeles office) has joined the Editorial Board of the Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine, the official publication of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. Ms. Atwood was also appointed to the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Amicus Briefs Committee for the 2012-2013 year.

Tax partner marcy G. Geller was recognized, along with associates Jonathan Goldstein and devin heckman (all of the New York office), by the Legal Aid Society of New York for their work representing low income tax payers.

Pro bono counsel harlene katzman (New York office) received the 2012 Abely Pro Bono Achievement Award from Sanctuary for Families for her work with immigrant victims of gender-based violence. The award recognizes the contributions of extraordinarily dedicated attorneys who have consistently demonstrated professional commitment to improving the lives of Sanctuary’s clients.

Cheryl scarboro (Washington, D.C. office) has been named by the Diversity Journal as one as the 2013 Women Worth Watching. The annual award is given to women executives who have demonstrated outstanding achievement and leadership in their careers.

Corporate associate sara L. terheggen has been named by The Recorder as a 2012 Women Leader in Law. She was one of only 40 women in California selected for this honor.

Litigation partner mary kay Vyskocil (New York office) has been elected to serve as Chairman of ARIAS·U.S., a not-for-profit organization that focuses on improving the insurance and reinsurance

arbitration process for the international and domestic markets.

rankinGsThree women partners (all of the

Hong Kong office) were ranked as leading lawyers or mentioned in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2013. Corporate: Celia Lam (capital markets, corporate/M&A and private equity); sinead o’shea (banking); and kathryn king sudol (corporate/M&A and private equity).

eVents and ProGramsRecent women’s events have included:

• hosting a panel discussion and networking breakfast for women tax lawyers in September sponsored by the Executive Committee of the New York State Bar Association Tax Section;

• hosting the annual dinner for the DirectWomen Institute in October during which corporate partner marissa Wesely (New York office), an Executive Committee member of DirectWomen, moderated a panel of former DirectWomen honorees entitled “Rewards and Challenges of Board Service;”

• hosting a lunch for women associates in the London office in October;

• hosting a lunch for women of color in the New York office in November;

• hosting a holiday gathering for women litigators in December, during which there was a special toast for retiring litigation partner Libby mcGarry; and

• hosting a women’s holiday lunch in the New York office in December.

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