Frank Aquila, Class of 1983, is co-head of Sullivan & Cromwell’s General Practice Group and in that role he has responsibility for 450 lawyers in 12 offices around the world. This group includes the Firm’s corporate, financial institutions, securities, mergers & acquisitions, corporate governance, real estate, leveraged finance, private equity, project finance, restructuring and intellectual property transactional practices.

Mr. Aquila has a broad multidisciplinary practice that includes extensive experience in negotiated and unsolicited mergers and acquisitions; complex cross-border transactions; global joint ventures; private equity transactions; and corporate governance matters. He serves as a regular adviser to global leaders such as Amgen, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Avon, Diageo, International Airline Group and United Rentals.

Mr. Aquila has been repeatedly cited as one of the world’s leading mergers and acquisitions lawyers. He has been recognized as one of a small number of lawyers ranked by Chambers Global in Band 1 (their top tier), as an American Lawyer “Dealmaker of the Year” and as a recipient of the Atlas Award as “Global M&A Lawyer of the Year.” For his work in corporate governance, Mr. Aquila has been named by the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) to their “Directorship 100” – one of the 100 most influential people in corporate governance and inside the boardroom. He is also a two-time winner of the Burton Award for Legal Achievement (2005 and 2010). In 2009 Mr. Aquila was selected by the American Bar Association as a “Legal Rebel” – one of the profession’s 50 leading innovators.

Hon. Robert E. Grossman, Class of 1973, has been a U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge for the Eastern District since April of 2008, the most recent role change in his distinguished career in public service and private practice. He is also a past President of the BLS Alumni Association.

Gary B. Pillersdorf, Class of 1971, is the founder of Gary B. Pillersdorf & Associates, P.C., one of New York’s most prominent litigation firms, with its principal office in Manhattan. He is board certified in Civil Trial Advocacy by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. With over 35 years of courtroom experience, Gary has taken more than 350 verdicts, including 28 verdicts exceeding one million dollars, as well as many multi-million dollar settlements.

Mr. Pillersdorf is a member of the Million-Dollar Advocates Forum, has been selected for Who’s Who in American Law and has been elected to “Super Lawyers, the Top Attorneys in New York” for the past three years. He has won the prestigious Mel Award from the Melvin Belli Society, the Trial Lawyer of the Year Award from the Institute of Jewish Humanities and was the first northerner to win the War Horse Award presented by the Southern Trial Lawyers Association.

He is a past president of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, where he currently serves as Dean Emeritus for New York State Continuing Legal Education. He has authored the highly acclaimed textbook New York Motor Vehicle Accidents, published by James Publishing, and is a frequent contributing author to Trial Magazine, a national publication for the trial bar. Mr. Pillersdorf is a highly sought after lecturer, teaching courses in Trial Advocacy, Medicine and Courtroom Techniques, throughout the nation.