VALLI BALDASSANO
Valli Baldassano joined Tyco International in May 2003 as Chief Compliance Counsel, where she is responsible for the design and implementation of Tyco’s Global Compliance Program. Prior to joining Tyco, Ms. Baldassano served for four years as the Senior Director, Global Compliance and Associate General Counsel for Pharmacia Corporation where she managed Pharmacia’s compliance program. Ms. Baldassano spent one year as Senior Counsel, Fraud and Compliance at Independence Blue Cross in Philadelphia. From 1990 to 1998, Ms. Baldassano was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania where she investigated and tried federal criminal cases involving healthcare fraud, public corruption, civil rights and significant narcotics trafficking. Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Ms Baldassano was an attorney specializing in white-collar defense. She is a magna cum laude graduate of Syracuse University College of Law and has a BA from Georgetown University.
THOMAS O. GORMAN
Mr. Gorman chairs the firm’s Washington-based national and international litigation and trial practice. His litigation practice focuses on international matters involving the antitrust, securities and commodities laws, as well as issues concerning accounting, auditing, and intellectual property and proceedings before U.S. regulatory agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Mr. Gorman's signature case is the $197.1 million treble-damage verdict which he and a team of attorneys obtained on behalf of a Peruvian company after a six-month jury trial against the Hunt brothers and others in Minpeco S.A. v. Hunt et al. In that case, the jury found that the defendants had engaged in price fixing, monopolization, and manipulation activities in the world silver markets in violation of the antitrust, commodity, and racketeering laws. He also served as counsel to the central bank of Nicaragua during their commercial bank disputes, successfully defended a British merchant bank in a $150 million securities fraud and racketeering law action, represented the Republic of Peru in 54 actions in five countries involving $6 billion of commercial bank debt, participated in the defense of a trade organization alleged to have violated the antitrust laws, successfully concluded a high-profile action for a large German multi-national company with a government-to-government agreement, represented presidential candidate Ross Perot and his campaign before the court of appeals, obtained a $25 million jury verdict for a European financial institution in an international lending and shipping action, and recently won dismissal of an antitrust case for a multi-national corporation.
Prior to joining Porter Wright, Mr. Gorman was a partner with Cole Corette & Abrutyn, an international law firm in Washington, D.C., for ten years where he recently served as head of litigation. He also served for seven years in positions of increasing responsibility on the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C. Those positions included Senior Counsel, Division of Enforcement and Special Trial Counsel, Office of the General Counsel. In those positions, Mr. Gorman was responsible for the litigation of securities enforcement actions, accounting and auditing cases, and defending suits brought against the Commission and its staff. Before joining the Commission staff, Mr. Gorman was in private practice in Cleveland where he litigated criminal and civil actions and served for two years on the staff of the Public Defender's Office.
He is a member of the International Bar Association, the American Bar Association Litigation and Business Law Sections, and is active in the ABA's Committee on SEC Enforcement Matters and Litigation.
Mr. Gorman received his Master of Legal Letters (concentrating in antitrust and securities) from Georgetown University Law Center (1982), his law degree (cum laude) from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law (1973), where he was editor of the law review, and his Bachelor's degree in Literature from John Carroll University (1970). He is admitted to practice in Ohio, the District of Columbia, and New York.
DAVID L. KORNBLAU
Mr. Kornblau has been the Chief Litigation Counsel of the SEC's Division of Enforcement since December 2000. He oversees the Enforcement Division's nationwide litigation program, which includes the prosecution of civil enforcement actions in federal district court and administrative proceedings alleging violations of the federal securities laws. He joined the SEC in 1995 as a trial attorney in Washington, D.C., and has litigated numerous cases involving financial fraud, insider trading, Ponzi schemes, broker-dealer fraud, and hedge fund fraud. Before joining the SEC, Mr. Kornblau was a litigation associate with Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison in New York City, where he worked on a wide variety of litigation matters, including the criminal and civil defense of Michael Milken. Mr. Kornblau received his undergraduate degree cum laude in 1983 from Princeton University, graduated cum laude in 1986 from Harvard Law School, served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review, and clerked for the Honorable Charles M. Merrill of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco. He is also a frequent speaker on SEC enforcement issues.
Don Marlais
Don Marlais is Special Counsel to Kayla Gillan, one of founding members of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. The PCAOB was created by Congress in 2002 to oversee auditors of companies publicly traded in the US. Don has been with the PCAOB since it opened its offices in January 2003.
Prior to joining the Board, Don worked as a lobbyist on behalf of several public interest clients, including the California Public Employees Retirement System. While representing CalPERS and other clients, Don focused on tax, finance and investment-related pension issues, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
He also served as counsel to a California Congressman and worked in private practice. Don is a graduate of California State University, Hayward and Santa Clara University Law School.
Originally from California, Don and his wife relocated to Washington about five years ago.
JUDGE STANLEY SPORKIN
Judge Stanley Sporkin (Ret.) is a Partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges residing in its Washington, D.C. office. Judge Sporkin's practice consists of counseling parties in SEC, Corporate Governance and Litigation Matters. Because of his judicial background, he also acts as an arbitrator and provides mediation services. Judge Stanley Sporkin attended Pennsylvania State University from 1949-1953 and received his law degree from Yale University in 1957. Judge Sporkin spent twenty years with the SEC serving the last seven as the Director of the Division of Enforcement. He then went to the CIA where he served five years as the General Counsel. In 1985, President Ronald Reagan appointed him to the Federal Bench where he served as a United States District Judge for the District of Columbia for 14 years. Judge Sporkin is also a Certified Public Accountant.
In 1976 he received the National Civil Service League's Special Achievement Award and in 1978, Judge Sporkin received the Rockefeller Award for Public Service from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. In 1979, he was the recipient of the President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service, the highest honor that can be granted to a member of the Federal career service. During his service with the Central Intelligence Agency, the Director of Central Intelligence conferred on him the Distinguished Intelligence Medal. In 1990, he was named an Alumni Fellow at the College of Business Administration, The Pennsylvania State University. In 1994, he was presented the William O. Douglas Award for Lifetime Achievement by the Association of Securities and Exchange Commission Alumni and in May 1996, he was presented the H. Carl Moultrie Award for Judicial Excellence by the Trial Lawyers of Washington, D.C. In June 2000, he was presented with the prestigious Federal Bar Association's Tom C. Clark Award. In October 2000, Judge Sporkin received the Judicial Excellence Award from Judicial Watch
Judge Sporkin is the son of The Honorable Maurice W. Sporkin (deceased), a long time Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Ethel Sporkin (deceased). He is married to Judith Sally Imber and has three children: Elizabeth Sporkin, Daniel Sporkin, and Thomas Sporkin; and two grandchildren.