General Counsel & Legal Forum

Matt Broad was named General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Darden Restaurants in October 2015. As the chief legal officer and chief compliance officer of the company, Matt oversees Darden’s legal affairs, including corporate governance, labor and employment law, development law, litigation, and corporate and regulatory compliance.

Darden owns and operates more than 1,700 Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze and Eddie V’s restaurants in North America, employing more than 180,000 people and serving nearly 390 million guests annually.

Matt brings more than 30 years of experience in business and corporate law to Darden, including extensive experience across various industries in manufacturing, distribution and retail. Most recently, Matt served as a consultant with Axiom, a provider of tech-enabled legal services. There he provided legal counsel to companies across various industries including food and beverage, manufacturing and healthcare.

Prior to that, Matt served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer for OfficeMax, responsible for legal affairs, corporate compliance and public policy. Before joining OfficeMax in 2004, Matt was Associate General Counsel with Boise Cascade, a publicly traded manufacturer and distributor of forest products and distributor of office supplies.

A native of California, Matt earned a bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, from the University of California, Santa Barbara and his Juris Doctor degree from University of California Hastings College of Law.

Nathan Goldman was appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer in November 2017. In this role, he directs the company’s legal affairs, government relations, risk management, environmental, and audit functions.

Goldman joined CSX in 2003 as General Counsel-Business and later assumed responsibilities that included corporate governance. Prior to being named Chief Legal Officer, he was Vice President of Risk and Compliance and General Counsel, where he led innovative and successful work in compliance, risk management, and safety programs.

Prior to CSX, Goldman served as the president of U.S. operations for a European company, a partner at two national law firms, Foley & Lardner and McGuireWoods, and a founding partner of Stoneburner, Berry & Goldman.

Goldman earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass. and went on to earn a Juris Doctor and master's degree in business administration from Duke University in Durham, N.C. He also participated in CSX’s Executive Leadership Forum with Harvard Business School in 2011 and 2012.

Scott Wilensky is executive vice president and general counsel at Xcel Energy. Previously he was vice president of Regulatory and Resource Planning for all of Xcel Energy's operating companies. He has more than 25 years of experience in utility regulation, having served both as managing director of Rate Revenue and as managing director of Government Affairs. Before coming to Xcel Energy, he spent 10 years as assistant attorney general with the Minnesota Attorney General's Office in areas affecting public utility regulation.

Wilensky serves on the board of directors for The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and Twin Cities Diversity in Practice, based in Denver, Colorado.

Wilensky earned a law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School, Lansing, Mich., and a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Tamara Linde was named executive vice president and general counsel for Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (PSEG) in July 2014. She is also the executive vice president and general counsel of Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G), PSEG Power and PSEG Services Corporation.

As PSEG’s chief legal officer, Ms. Linde has responsibility for all legal and regulatory functions, and has general supervisory responsibilities for the office of corporate secretary, business assurance and resilience and federal affairs and sustainability. Ms. Linde is a member of PSEG’s Executive Officer Group.

Previously Ms. Linde was vice president – regulatory, PSEG. She has led the company’s federal and state regulatory functions, as well as managed corporate, environmental and labor/employment practices within the company. Ms. Linde has served as regulatory counsel on many of the company’s most important initiatives in recent years.

Ms. Linde joined the law department of Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G), as an attorney in 1990 handling a variety of natural gas and electric regulatory and transactional matters. After holding several other legal positions at PSE&G she became general solicitor, in 2000. In that position she was responsible for the regulatory affairs of the PSEG companies including electric, gas and nuclear matters.
She has had significant experience working on regulatory matters before various state and federal regulatory agencies on industry issues relating to electric transmission and distribution and energy markets.

Ms. Linde is a member of the New Jersey, New York, District of Columbia and Texas bars. She currently serves on the Board of the PSEG Foundation, the Community Foundation of New Jersey and the Mater Dei Prep High School Board. In addition, Ms. Linde is a member of the General Counsel Steering Committee of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) and the American Arbitration Association. She is past President of the Northeast Chapter of the Energy Bar Association and served as chair of the Energy Bar Association Electricity Regulation and Compliance Committee. Ms. Linde graduated from Seton Hall University School of Law with a Juris Doctorate and from Seton Hall University with a bachelor’s degree.

Now in his third year, Mr. Siegel currently serves as Senior Vice President and General Counsel.

Mr. Siegel directs the Company's worldwide legal functions and activities, advising the Company on a broad range of legal matters affecting various business units. Mr. Siegel manages the Company's mergers and acquisitions activities, litigation portfolio, intellectual property portfolio, and SEC reporting. He also manages input from outside counsel on corporate and litigation matters, and oversees and participates in drafting a broad range of commercial documents and contracts between the Company's business units (and affiliates) and third parties.

Mr. Siegel comes to Henry Schein with a diverse and wide background of legal expertise, including mergers and acquisitions, partnerships, securities, litigation and regulatory. Mr. Siegel previously held the position of Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary for Standard Microsystems Corporation, a publicly traded global semiconductor company. Mr. Siegel is a Yale Law School graduate.

David works with clients to design unique, efficient and cost-effective solutions for their contracting and compliance-related challenges. David comes to QuisLex with over 20 years of law firm experience, including as a partner at Shearman & Sterling and Paul Hastings , where his practice focused on negotiating and structuring complex technology transactions. He has continually been recognized for his expertise in the field of technology and outsourcing transactions by Chambers USA and Legal 500 and is the author of “Intellectual Property in Mergers & Acquisitions,” a leading guide on the handling of intellectual property issues in corporate transactions. David received his B.S. in electrical engineering from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Arts and his J.D. from New York University School of Law.

Jordan is the leader of our non consumer Financial Services Litigation team. His representation of financial institutions and hedge funds focuses on litigation in federal and state courts throughout the United States. He also regularly handles arbitrations before FINRA, JAMS and AAA arbitration panels, and defends financial institutions in major class and derivative actions. Additionally, Jordan has represented financial institutions and hedge fund groups in some of the most hotly contested bankruptcy litigations in recent years.
Jordan's practice is at the cutting edge of structured products litigation, including representing liquidators in the largest CDO fund litigation in history, as well as multiple financial industry players in other structured products litigations and out of court disputes, including disputes related to structured investment vehicles. Jordan also routinely counsels clients regarding potential risks and rewards relating to their structured products investment strategies.

Jordan's practice also includes representation of high net worth individuals and public figures, including in the entertainment and sports fields, in courtroom and out-of-court disputes.

Jordan is a frequent writer and speaker on financial services litigation matters and serves as Vice Chair of the Board of the New York City chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.

Rich Cohen is President and General Counsel of Corporate Creations International Inc. Rich has more than 30 years of legal, business and consulting experience focused on providing the most efficient legal services to clients through blends of people, process and technology. Prior to joining Corporate Creations, Rich served as a Managing Director of Duff & Phelps and President of RenewData Corp. He has held senior positions with The Garden City Group and LexisNexis, and he has served as General Counsel of Ohio Power and Columbus Southern Power. Rich has been recognized as an AV Preeminent rated attorney every year since 1998. Rich serves on the Corporate Counsel Advisory Board of The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel and as Editor in Chief of The Electricity Journal. He is a recipient of the Corporate Legal Times Distinguished Legal Service Award. He has served as President of Association of Corporate Counsel Central Ohio, on the Board of Advisors for Bryan University, and as Co-Chair of the Mass Tort Subcommittee of American Bankruptcy Institute. Rich is a member of Ohio State Bar Association. He graduated from State University of New York at Buffalo and from University of Akron School of Law. Rich and his family reside in Weston, Florida.

David B. Halberstein is an associate in Moses & Singer's Real Estate practice group.

He focuses his practice on the representation of clients in all aspects of real estate transactions, with an emphasis on the acquisition, disposition, financing, development and leasing of real estate assets, including retail shopping centers, office buildings, apartment buildings, hotels, warehouse/industrial properties and mixed-use properties.

Mr. Halberstein is actively involved in the Greater Miami Jewish Federation and the International Council of Shopping Centers and supports a variety of other civic and professional organizations.

Prior to joining Moses & Singer, Mr. Halberstein practiced at Siegfried, Rivera, Hyman, Lerner, De La Torre, Mars & Sobel, P.A., based in Coral Gables, Florida.

David F. Levine is the General Counsel of Bloomberg L.P. where he overseas the company's global legal and compliance functions. David is also the Executive Sponsor for Bloomberg's Black Professional Community and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the New York City Bar Association's City Bar Fund, the Board of Counselors of Equal Justice Works and Union College's President's Council. Prior to joining Bloomberg, David was a partner in the Corporate and Financial Services department of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, where he counseled clients on a broad range of media and technology-driven transactions. David holds a J.D. from the New York University School of Law, an M.Sc. from the London School of Economics, and B.A. from Union College.

Fanny Ferdman is an employment law advisor and litigator, focusing her practice on day-to-day workplace issues for a range of industries, with significant experience in the hospitality and retail industries. She regularly advises clients on a variety of employment-related issues, with a focus on the avoidance of litigation. Fanny conducts human resources and wage and hour audits, and drafts and revises various types of employment-related documents. She also provides workplace trainings for employees and management alike. In addition to counseling clients, she litigates in federal and state court and before administrative agencies, representing employers on various employment-related issues.

Julianna Orgel-Eaton is Senior Corporate Counsel at Ziff Davis, LLC. She is an experienced intellectual property attorney who regularly provides strategic advice regarding the availability, validity and enforceability of trademarks. She also has significant experience preventing the unauthorized use of trademarks through litigation, arbitration and negotiation. Ms. Orgel-Eaton has worked extensively in the advertising, fashion, firearms, and media industries. Currently her practice focuses on commercial contracts, licensing, advertising and media law issues as well as brand protection. Ms. Orgel-Eaton is a member of the Association of Corporate Counsel and the New York State Bar Association and is admitted to practice in New York.

Mariana Fradman is a senior paralegal working with the General Real Estate and Affordable Housing practice groups at Nixon Peabody LLP, a multinational law firm. She has over twenty years of experience in real estate practice, concentrating in the areas of transactional real estate law addressing all aspects of project development, rehabilitation, and operation, including acquisitions, dispositions, public and private financings, joint ventures and investments. Ms. Fradman is an adjunct professor at LIU, Brooklyn Campus, teaching business law, contracts and real estate law at the ABA-approved Paralegal Certificate Program, a frequent lecturer on real estate and corporate topics for paralegals and the author of numerous articles published by professional blogs and in the National Paralegal Reporter.

Ms. Fradman serves on the Board of Directors of New York City Paralegal Association as Vice President and as a Chairperson for the Mentor Program and CLE Committees.

Mariana received bachelor’s in science in legal studies, NYC Technical College, CUNY, MBA from the University of Phoenix and holds BS and MS in Engineering from Odessa Polytechnic University, Ukraine.

Mr. Piekarski is a partner in Sichenzia Ross Ference LLP’s Business Litigation & Arbitration Practice Group. His practice focuses on securities and complex commercial litigation in state and federal courts and arbitration. He also represents corporations and individuals before the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, and other U.S. regulatory agencies. Mr. Piekarski previously worked at the SEC.

Rayna Lopyan is an advertising attorney at Frankfurt Kurnit Klein and Selz. She advises brands, ad agencies and start-ups across various industries, including beauty, fashion, travel, sports, entertainment, financial services, telecom, consumer products, and food and beverage. She focuses primarily on celebrity talent and influencer deals, branded content deals, media buying agreements, and music, event, venue, and sports sponsorships. Prior to joining FKKS, Rayna worked on IP matters for fashion clients at Debevoise & Plimpton.

Robyn is a senior associate at BakerHostetler specializing in litigation and privacy matters. She counsels clients on regulatory compliance strategies and best practices around broad data privacy issues, including those relating to biometric authentication, wearables, social media platforms, and other emerging technologies. In addition, she is a member of BakerHostetler’s E-Discovery Advocacy and Management team, working with in-house counsel, IT managers and outside consultants to preserve evidence and manage discovery in data breaches and security incidents, as well as in subsequent class actions and regulatory investigations.

Samuel Groner is a litigation partner in Fried Frank's New York office. Mr. Groner represents financial institutions and corporations at both the trial and appellate levels in cases involving a broad array of complex corporate disputes, with an emphasis on securities and shareholder litigation. His clients include Under Armour, Perrigo, Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Goldman Sachs, Pioneer Investments, Sinclair Broadcast Group, and Deutsche Bank. In addition, Mr. Groner represents clients in commercial disputes across a wide range of industries in connection with allegations of breach of contract, fraud, tortious interference, violation of non-compete and non-solicitation agreements, and misappropriation of trade secrets. Mr. Groner has been recognized by Legal 500 and Super Lawyers as a top-rated securities litigation attorney. Mr. Groner received his JD, magna cum laude, from Cornell Law School, and his BA, cum laude, from Columbia University.

Seth Engel is an attorney who is a member of the New York and Paris bars. He advises clients on cross-border transactions, U.S. securities offerings, and international dispute resolution. Seth works hand in hand with public and private companies in Asia, Europe, and the United States to advise on strategic transactions and disputes, including advising boards of directors and special committees. Seth is an avid musician and arts supporter, serving on the board of the Duke Ellington Center for the Arts.