Key Takeaways
- • The third annual Ira M. Millstein Memorial Conference convened at Columbia Law School on April 17, 2026, bringing together legal scholars, business practitioners, and corporate governance experts to address current trends in private equity and corporate ownership structures.
- • Private equity emerged as a central focus of the conference, with a dedicated panel titled "Private Equity and Its Discontents: Industry Trends and Policy Recommendations" led by Dorothy S. Lund, Columbia Law's Alumna Professor of Law and faculty co-director of the Millstein Center, examining industry trends and potential policy interventions.
- • The conference featured keynote remarks from Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, senior associate dean for leadership studies at Yale School of Management, addressing strategic leadership themes relevant to institutional investors and corporate governance practitioners.
- • The event honored the legacy of Ira M. Millstein '49 (1926–2024), the late senior partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges and corporate governance luminary, whose name anchors the Ira M. Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership at Columbia Law School.
- • The conference platform enabled Columbia Law School faculty to present new scholarly research on capital markets and corporate governance, with contributions from both academics and law firm practitioners commenting on evolving regulatory and structural challenges in the sector.
Summary
Columbia Law School hosted the third annual Ira M. Millstein Memorial Conference on April 17, 2026, at Jerome L. Greene Hall, convening a cross-disciplinary audience of legal scholars, institutional practitioners, and business experts to examine innovation and current developments in corporate governance and private equity. Sponsored by the Ira M. Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership, the event served as a forum for presenting original scholarship and facilitating practitioner dialogue on fast-moving capital markets issues.
Dean Daniel Abebe, Lucy G. Moses Professor of Law, opened the conference by emphasizing the enduring influence of Ira M. Millstein, a 1949 Law School graduate and founding chair of the center bearing his name. Millstein, who passed away in 2024 at age 98, was a senior partner at major law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges and held significant roles in corporate governance and civic leadership throughout his career. Abebe noted that the conference's leadership roster—comprising scholars and practitioners at the forefront of their respective fields—represented a fitting continuation of Millstein's intellectual and professional legacy.
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, senior associate dean for leadership studies and Lester Crown Professor in the Practice of Management at Yale School of Management, delivered the keynote address, focusing on strategic leadership dimensions relevant to corporate governance practice. The conference program featured multiple panels presenting recent scholarship by Columbia Law School's business law faculty, with invited commentary and discussion from both academic and practitioner participants. A prominent panel discussion, "Private Equity and Its Discontents: Industry Trends and Policy Recommendations," was led by Dorothy S. Lund, an Alumna Professor of Law and faculty co-director of the Millstein Center, examining contemporary developments and emerging policy considerations within the private equity sector.
The conference format prioritized both original academic research and real-world perspective, combining rigorous scholarly analysis with the practical insights of legal practitioners engaged directly in capital markets transactions and corporate governance matters. This structure reflects the Millstein Center's mission to bridge academic inquiry and professional practice in addressing governance challenges affecting both private and public company structures.
Dean Daniel Abebe, Lucy G. Moses Professor of Law, opened the conference by emphasizing the enduring influence of Ira M. Millstein, a 1949 Law School graduate and founding chair of the center bearing his name. Millstein, who passed away in 2024 at age 98, was a senior partner at major law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges and held significant roles in corporate governance and civic leadership throughout his career. Abebe noted that the conference's leadership roster—comprising scholars and practitioners at the forefront of their respective fields—represented a fitting continuation of Millstein's intellectual and professional legacy.
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, senior associate dean for leadership studies and Lester Crown Professor in the Practice of Management at Yale School of Management, delivered the keynote address, focusing on strategic leadership dimensions relevant to corporate governance practice. The conference program featured multiple panels presenting recent scholarship by Columbia Law School's business law faculty, with invited commentary and discussion from both academic and practitioner participants. A prominent panel discussion, "Private Equity and Its Discontents: Industry Trends and Policy Recommendations," was led by Dorothy S. Lund, an Alumna Professor of Law and faculty co-director of the Millstein Center, examining contemporary developments and emerging policy considerations within the private equity sector.
The conference format prioritized both original academic research and real-world perspective, combining rigorous scholarly analysis with the practical insights of legal practitioners engaged directly in capital markets transactions and corporate governance matters. This structure reflects the Millstein Center's mission to bridge academic inquiry and professional practice in addressing governance challenges affecting both private and public company structures.
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