Joel I. Papernik, a Partner of the Corporate Practice of Mintz, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C., will lead a panel discussion at the 25th Anniversary Conference of New York Bio.  The conference takes place May 4-5 at the Time Warner Center in New York City.

Mr. Papernik’s panel discussion is entitled, “Preparing For and Addressing Activist Shareholders.”  It will focus on common approaches taken by activists and discuss the various ways in which companies can prepare themselves for activism (including: strategy, investor outreach, self-due diligence, as well potential responses to activist demands (including: communication and engagement with shareholders, valuation and assessment of the company, adoption of a poison pill, buy backs, staggered board, and other measures). The panel will also include discussion of proxy advisory firms and their role, best practices regarding communication and the role of communication advisory firms with shareholders and potential activists and the use of investment bankers.

The other panelists include Jonathan Salzberger, Director, Innisfree M&A Incorporated, Kelly Sullivan, a partner of the Joele Frank Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher firm, and Neal Karnovksy, Managing Director in Healthcare M&A at Stifel.

Mr. Papernik’s practice concentrates on corporate, commercial, and securities matters as well as strategic transactions and corporate structuring.  He frequently guides acquisitions, collaborations, and licensing transactions in the life sciences industry. As more life sciences companies have extended their activities from discovery to development, his practice has been more involved with development and later stage activity. In addition to guiding numerous domestic mergers, acquisitions, dispositions, and public offerings to successful conclusions, he has served as US counsel to several overseas firms in connection with establishing operations, their conduct of public offerings, and their acquisitions in the United States