Tom Wardell

Tom Wardell | McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP

Editor: Please tell our readers about your background. Wardell: I attended Harvard Law School and began my career at Mayer Brown in Chicago. At that time the firm only had offices in Chicago and Paris. From there, I went to Sullivan & Worcester in Boston. I practiced there for many years. I...

Tom Wardell | McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP

Editor: "Compliance readiness" is a term that was unknown to most of our readers just a few years ago. As one of the leading practitioners in the field of corporate governance, what do you mean by the term? Wardell: In attempting to define compliance readiness, I ask myself two questions. First...

William “Bill” Ide, Tom Wardell | McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP

So, you're a General Counsel of a public company, and you've received one of those "back-dated options" letters from the Council for Institutional Investors - Or maybe CALPERS or another pension fund. Do you call the SEC? DOJ? Outside counsel? The Board? Your shrink? The letter says benignly, "We...

Tom Wardell, Andrew Surdykowski | McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP

Introduction Unlike the previous years since the corporate scandals broke and Sarbanes-Oxley was passed, 2004 and the first seven months of 2005 were a period of adaptation as companies became more accustomed to the expanded reporting and governance requirements. The principal focus for most...

Tom Wardell | McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP

Editor: Your background in corporate governance is extensive. In the post-Enron era, corporate executives and directors have new responsibilities. For starters, would you summarize the responsibilities in place before the corporate scandals and Sarbanes-Oxley? Wardell: Many of the things that...