Chief Justice Myron Steele is the seventh Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court. Appointed in 2004, he has presided over dozens of seminal cases in his twenty-three years as a member of Delaware’s judiciary.

William Braithwaite at Stikeman Elliott LLP provides a compelling insight into the current developments and issues surrounding fairness opinions in Canada.

The renowned and respected Charles "Casey" Cogut provides his sought-after expertise on the impact of the Dodd-Frank Act in setting new standards for corporate governance.

Who's Who Legal brings together four of the leading practitioners in the world to discuss key issues facing lawyers today.

Following on the heels of the worst financial crisis in decades, regulators and investors around the world have looked for solutions to the problems that hobbled the world markets in 2007 and 2008, and some responsibility for those problems has been consistently placed at the feet of corporate leaders.

With the benefit of over 14 years of research and tens of thousands of votes from clients and private practitioners, Who's Who Legal takes a closer look at developing trends in the corporate governance legal marketplace worldwide.

Who's Who Legal analyses the findings of our research in greater depth to identify the firms and practitioners who stand out worldwide.

Our research has revealed 477 practitioners in 52 jurisdictions who can truly be considered experts in this field.

In February 2009, the same month as the last edition of this publication was released, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published a damning report entitled “the Corporate Governance Lessons from the Financial Crisis”, in which it stated “The financial crisis can be to an important extent attributed to failures and weaknesses in corporate governance arrangements.”

September 2008 proved to be a defining month for the United States economy as the largest state rescue plan in history was launched to support the country's biggest mortgage companies Fannie Mae (Federal National Mortgage Association) and Freddie Mac (Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation), which between them lend or guarantee upwards of US$5 trillion.

Lawyers from the US have once again dominated our research and New York took the lion's share of the votes, with an impressive 43 practitioners in the guide.

Corporate governance remains high on the agenda in boardrooms across America, its importance raised by the straitened economic circumstances.

This chapter picks out lawyers who are especially well regarded for their expertise in corporate governance advisory work, including advising directors and company officers on compliance with statutory requirements, stock exchange rules and codes of conduct in the administration of company affairs.

Corporate governance continues to be of high importance to boards of directors at public companies across the US, who lean on their outside counsel for guidance on the often sensitive company matters governed by corporate law, stock exchange rules and governance principles require.

In the highly regulated US marketplace, corporate governance is an ongoing concern for business leaders. This chapter identifies those lawyers with a proven track record in counselling the boards of directors of listed companies and substantial privately held entities in aspects of regulatory compliance, including sensitive corporate disclosure and policy issues, as well as new laws, regulations, stock exchange rules and governance principles, in relation to transactions and on an ongoing basis.