Allison Leopold Tilley Attended 6th Annual DirectWomen Board Institute In New York

Online, May 13, 2014 (Newswire.com) - Allison Leopold Tilley, Board Member and Partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman in the Corporate & Securities - Technology practice, attended the DirectWomen Board Institute from January 22-24 in New York City. DirectWomen, an organization formed to position women lawyers to serve on boards of public companies, selects a group of qualified women lawyers from a competitive pool of applicants across the country to participate in the three-day program.

At the DirectWomen Board Institute Leopold Tilley attended informational sessions on key issues facing current and future corporate directors and had the opportunity to interact with Institute alumnae and past honorees. The Institute was co-chaired by Professor Hillary A. Sale, Walter D. Coles Professor of Law and Professor of Management at Washington University in St. Louis and Professor Lisa M. Fairfax, Leroy Sorenson Merrifield Research Professor of Law at the George Washington University Law School. Institute faculty featured leading experts on corporate governance as well as experienced directors and officers of large public companies. Speakers covered topics such as the role and work of nominating board members, the evolving nature of shareholder relations, the strategic role of audit committees and the role of executive search firms in board searches.

Leopold Tilley is an expert in corporate governance and regularly advises boards of directors and board committees. She has represented a wide variety of companies ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies and venture capital firms. Recent representative transactions include the sale of Nicira to VMware for $1.3 billion, the sale of Atheros to Qualcomm for $3.2 billion, the sale of LitePoint to Terradyne for $580 million, the sale of WebEx to Cisco for $3.2 billion and the sale of Mission West Properties for $1.3 billion. Throughout her 25 years with Pillsbury she has held several leadership positions including as a member of the Firm's Managing Board, Chair of the Firm's Compensation Committee and Practice Section Leader for the Corporate & Securities - Technology practice. Leopold Tilley is also active in several different organizations that support women and their professional development, advancement and empowerment. She serves on the Ronald McDonald House at Stanford Board of Directors, the Watermark Board of Directors where she serves as Vice-Chair, and the Women in Law Empowerment Forum Advisory Board. Leopold Tilley holds a Juris Doctor from the University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law and received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Davis, with honors.

QUOTES:
"I am honored to be selected to attend the DirectWomen Board Institute," said Leopold Tilley. "I was able to interact with senior women in my field, learn about the issues facing corporate directors and gain valuable insight into the process of nominating board members."

ABOUT:
The mission of DirectWomen is to increase the representation of women on corporate boards. DirectWomen identifies, develops and supports a growing group of accomplished women attorneys who have the experience, independence and diversity required for good corporate governance. Partners of the program include Catalyst, the leading nonprofit membership organization expanding opportunities for women in business, and the American Bar Association's Commission on Women in the Profession.

Other attendees of the 2014 DirectWomen Board Institute:

Susan L. Blount
Executive Vice President and General Counsel at Prudential Financial, Inc.

Marcy S. Cohen
Managing Director, General Counsel and Head of Legal for the Americas, ING Financial Holdings Corporation

Sheri H. Edison
Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Bemis Company, Inc.

Barbara Finigan
Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary for Hasbro, Inc.

Michelle A. Friel
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary for YRC Worldwide Inc.

Kayla J. Gillan
Principal, Leader of Investor Resource Institute, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Marie Oh Huber
Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Agilent Technologies, Inc.

Sarah Hlavinka McConnell
Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for ABM Industries Incorporated

Amanda M. McMillian
Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, Corporate Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer for Anadarko Petroleum Corporation

Sheri L. Mossbeck
Vice President and Treasurer of Leggett & Platt, Inc.

Kim M. Rivera
Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary for DaVita HealthCare Partners

Carol Robles-Romбn
President and CEO of Legal Momentum

Jeanne M. Rosendale
Former Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and Head of Human Resources for Muriel Siebert Co., Inc.

Margaret K. Seif
Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Analog Devices, Inc.

Barbara Sicalides
Partner, Pepper Hamilton LLP - Antitrust Practice

Simone Wu
Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer for Choice Hotels International, Inc.

Loria Baskerville Yeadon
Executive Vice President of Intellectual Ventures Management, LLC