Schedule
The 2026 Securities Regulation Institute is a three-day, in-person conference hosted by Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. All sessions are in Pacific Standard Time. Session times and speakers are subject to change. Additional agenda details to come.
Monday, January 26, 2026
7 a.m. - Registration and Continental Breakfast
8–8:15 a.m. - Welcome and Overview
Zachary Clopton, Interim Dean and Daniel Hale Williams Professor of Law, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, Chicago (recorded)
David Lynn, Institute Chair, Goodwin Procter LLP, Washington, DC
8:15–9 a.m. - Alan B. Levenson Keynote Address
Speaker
Mark Uyeda, Commissioner, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Washington, DC
9–9:10 a.m. - Break
9:10–10:10 a.m. - General Counsel Roundtable: Challenges and Opportunities in 2026
- Managing the current legislative and regulatory landscape
- Cybersecurity governance
- Blockchain and digital assets and how companies are handling these technologies
- Balancing legal risk with business strategy and managing boardroom dynamics
- How GCs are driving AI adoption while managing regulatory and reputational risks
Session Chair
Keir Gumbs, Institute Vice Chair, Principal, General Counsel, Edward Jones, Washington, DC
Panelists
Tammy Albarrán, Chief Legal Officer, Peloton Interactive, Inc., New York City
Robert Beard, Chief Legal and Global Affairs Officer, Coherent, Santa Clara, CA
Lucas Moskowitz, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary, Robinhood Markets, Inc., Washington, DC
10:10–10:20 a.m. - Break
10:20–11:50 a.m. - Capital Markets: Public and Private Offering Developments
- Overview of market activity and deal terms in private and public markets
- Reviewing 2025 transactions and the outlook for 2026
- Dealmaking changes with a new SEC—new policies and new rules?
Session Chair
Richard Blake, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Palo Alto, CA
Panelists
Ran Ben-Tzur, Fenwick & West LLP, Mountain View, CA
Catherine Clarkin, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, New York City
Brittany Skoda, Global Head of Software Banking, Morgan Stanley, San Francisco
11:50 a.m.–12:55 p.m. - Lunch (provided)
12:55–1:40 p.m. - Developments in the Division of Corporation Finance
Speaker
Jim Moloney, Director, Division of Corporation Finance, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Washington, DC
Moderator
Lona Nallengara, A&O Shearman, New York City
1:40–1:50 p.m. - Break
1:50–3:05 p.m. - Corporate Governance and Proxy Developments
- Preparing for the 2026 proxy season: evolving shareholder engagement practices and best practices for annual meetings
- Key disclosure considerations for 2026 proxy statements
- Shareholder proposal and shareholder activism trends and developments
- Proxy advisory firm and investor voting policy updates
- Corporate governance hot topics in 2026
Session Chair
Peggy Foran, Chief Governance Officer, Senior Vice President & Corporate Secretary, Prudential Financial, Newark, NJ
Panelists
Krystal Berrini, Partner, PJT Camberview, San Francisco
Lillian Brown, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, Washington, DC
Scott Siamas, Senior Vice President, Office of Board Affairs, Public Company Compliance & Global Governance, Salesforce, Inc., San Francisco
3:05–3:20 - Break
3:20–4:20 p.m. - Accounting & Auditing: Hot Topics for 2026
- SEC update, including leadership and staffing changes, overview of waiver and preclearance process and best practices for interacting with SEC staff in OCA and CF-OCA, and issues of focus on the regulatory agenda
- Update on the current state of the Board and new PCAOB auditing standards
- FASB disclosure update, including new accounting and reporting disclosures for 2025 10-Ks and what's to come in 2026
- Navigating non-GAAP issues and other accounting comment letter trends
Session Chair
Kyle Moffatt, Partner, Professional Practice Group Leader, PwC, Florham Park, NJ
Panelists
Elad Roisman, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, Washington, DC
Heather Rosenberger, Chief Accountant, Division of Corporation Finance, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Washington, DC
Amie Thuener, Vice President, Corporate Controller and Principal Accounting Officer, Alphabet, Inc., Redwood City, CA
4:20–4:30 p.m. - Break
4:30–5:30 p.m. - The Ascendance of Artifical Intelligence: What Now?
- Cross-industry transformation and the ways different industries are leveraging AI and the resulting legal and operational implications
- Challenges and best practices in embedding governance frameworks for diverse AI use cases
- Data, IP, and content rights under generative AI and what companies and lawyers must watch for
- How companies are navigating a shifting regulatory landscape, managing risk, and leveraging outside counsel
- Human + AI collaboration in the legal and product world and balancing efficiency gains with accountability and trust
Session Chair
TJ Graham, Cooley LLP, Palo Alto, CA
Panelists
Derek Chien, Vice President and Assistant Corporate Secretary, Synopsys Inc., Sunnyvale, CA
Sara Harrington, Vice President, Legal-Data, AI, and Privacy, LinkedIn Corporation, San Francisco
Jishnu Menon, Legal Director – Games Studio and Product, Netflix, Palo Alto, CA
Francesca Odell, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, New York City
5:30–6:45 p.m. - Attendee Reception
Tuesday, January 27, 2026
7–7:45a.m. - Sponsored Roundtable (By Invitation Only)
Canadian Securities and Capital Markets: Tariffs, Trade, and Canada-U.S. Relations
Presented by Miller Thomson
- Canada's responses to recent changes in tariffs
- Trade impacts and repercussions on Canada-U.S. relations
- Canadian securities laws and capital market conditions
Speakers
Geoff Clarke, Miller Thomson LLP, Toronto
Alexander Lalka, Miller Thomson LLP, Toronto
7:15 a.m. - Continental Breakfast
8–9:15 a.m. - Recurring Disclosure Challenges
- Addressing trends and developments impacting close peers or related industries
- Handling executive officer transitions
- Talking about Artificial Intelligence
- Disclosing government investigations in a dynamic environment
Session Chair
Thomas Kim, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Washington, DC
Panelists
Duc Dang, Associate Director, Division of Corporate Finance, and Acting Chief Counsel, Office of the Chief Accountant, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Washington, DC
David Fredrickson, Covington & Burling LLP, Washington, DC
Elizabeth Morgan, King & Spalding LLP, New York City
Christina Thomas, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Washington, DC
Marko Zatylny, Ropes & Gray LLP, Boston
9:15–9:25 a.m. - Break
9:25–10:25 a.m. - Ethical Issues of Interest to Securities Lawyers
This session will address the ethical issues presented when…
- An attorney's prior work for a current client is put at issue
- An attorney learns of potential errors in securities filings that they oversaw
- An attorney relies on artificial intelligence tools that generate inaccurate information
- An attorney is advising a client whether to waive privilege over the attorney's own conversations
Session Chair
Craig Singer, Williams & Connolly LLP, Washington, DC
Panelists
Anne Auten, Vice President - Senior Claims Counsel, ALAS, Chicago
Allison Handy, Perkins Coie LLP, Seattle
10:25–10:45 a.m. - Break
10:45–11:45 a.m. - Securities Regulation for $800: Frequently Answered Questions
The panelists will address frequently encountered securities and governance questions in an engaging game show format.
Session Chair
David Lynn
Panelists
Brian Breheny, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Washington, DC
Adé Heyliger, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, Washington, DC
Jonathan Ingram, Deputy Chief Counsel, Division of Corporation Finance, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Washington, DC
Courtney Kamlet, VP, Chief Governance and ESG Disclosure Officer, Vontier Corporation, Raleigh, NC
11:45 a.m.–12:30 p.m. - Lunch (provided)
12:30–1:15 p.m. - David S. Ruder Luncheon Address
Speaker
Leo Strine Jr., Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, New York City
1:15–1:25 p.m. - Break
1:25–2:25 p.m. - State Corporate Law Developments
- Implications of the 2025 amendments to corporate law statutes in Delaware, Texas, and Nevada
- What boards and advisors to companies in the 2026 IPO pipeline should consider when deciding on location of incorporation
- Institutional investors and their evolving stance on issues of state corporate law and changing a corporation’s state of incorporation
- Impact of private capital on the relevance of state corporate law
- Factors public companies that do not have controlling shareholders should consider
Session Chair
Ethan Klingsberg, Freshfields US LLP, New York City
Panelists
Andre Bouchard, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, Wilmington, DE
Andy Hill, General Counsel, Andreessen Horowitz, Menlo Park, CA
Robert Kimball, Vinson & Elkins LLP, Dallas
2:25–3:20 p.m. - Ice Cream Social
3:20–4:20 p.m. - Surveying the M&A Landscape
- Examining M&A trends and the current state of the M&A market
- Avoiding traps for the unwary in M&A
- Unique issues for controller transactions
- Negotiating earnouts and minimizing post-closing disputes
- The latest trends with shareholder activism for corporate control
Session Chair
Michele Anderson, Latham & Watkins LLP, Washington, DC
Panelists
David Katz, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, New York City
Iliana Ongun, Milbank LLP, New York City
Jane Ross, Hogan Lovells US LLP, Redwood City, CA
Ted Yu, Associate Director (Specialized Policy and Disclosure), Division of Corporation Finance, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Washington, DC
4:20–4:30 p.m. - Break
4:30–5:30 p.m. - Digital Assets and Blockchain: Where Are We Now?
- The landscape of the new era of public companies in the blockchain and crypto industry
- How the current and expected regulatory activity will impact traditional finance at large
- Why state regulatory risk continues to be on the boards' agenda
- Biggest misconceptions about the blockchain and digital asset industry
- Key credentials for a highly functioning board in managing the crypto space
Session Chair
Era Anagnosti, DLA Piper LLP (US), Washington, DC
Panelists
Richard Gabbert, Chief of Staff, Crypto Task Force; Senior Advisor to the Chairman, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Washington, DC
Sebastian Gomez Abero, Acting Deputy Director, Legal & Regulatory Policy, Division of Corporation Finance, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Washington, DC
Ryan VanGrack, Vice President of Legal, Coinbase, Washington, DC
Sarah Wilson, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Circle, New York City
Wednesday, January 28, 2026
7:30 a.m. - Continental Breakfast
8–8:45 a.m. - Developments in the Division of Enforcement
Speaker
Kate Zoladz, Deputy Director of the Division of Enforcement (West), U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Los Angeles
Moderator
Arian June, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, Washington, DC
8:45–8:55 a.m. - Break
8:55–9:55 a.m. - SEC Enforcement and Investigations
- Recent enforcement initiatives and whistleblower developments
- Evolving approaches to investigations and cooperation
- Changes to SEC enforcement policies and practices
- Takeaways and best practices for this administration and beyond
Session Chair
Jane Norberg, Ogletree Deakins, Washington, DC
Panelists
Kelly Gibson, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP, Philadelphia
Jonathan Hecht, Goodwin Procter LLP, Washington, DC
Fuad Rana, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, Washington, DC
9:55–10:05 a.m. - Break
10:05–11:05 a.m. - Securities Class Action and Litigation
- Recent trends in securities litigation and settlements, including cases involving AI, cybersecurity, crypto, and the life sciences and technology industries
- Class certification challenges in securities cases
- Recent trends in derivative litigation, including Caremark cases and the uptick in derivative settlements with monetary components
- Mandatory arbitration for federal securities claims
Session Chair
Nilofer Umar, Sidley Austin LLP, Chicago
Panelists
Mahrukh Hussain, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, UNFI, Oak Brook, IL
Joni Jacobsen, Dechert LLP, New York City
James Smith III, Winston & Strawn LLP, New York City
11:05–11:30 a.m. - Break for Boxed Lunch
11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. - Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Securities Laws but Were Never Given the Chance to Ask...
Panelists answer questions from attendees submitted throughout the three days of the Institute
Session Chair
Andrew Thorpe, Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian, LLP, San Francisco
Panelists
Ryan Adams, Morrison & Foerster LLP, Washington, DC
David Brown, Alston & Bird LLP, Washington, DC
Vanina de Verneuil, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Vir Biotechnology, Inc., Palo Alto, CA