John Coates, the John F. Cogan, Jr., Professor of Law and Economics at Harvard Law School, has joined the American College of Governance Counsel as a Fellow.

The American College of Governance Counsel is a professional, educational, and honorary association of lawyers widely recognized for their achievements in the field of governance. The College promotes a high level of professional standards among governance lawyers, along with a better understanding and broader adoption of best practices within business organizations.

“This high honor is so fitting for John Coates, who is one of the nation’s intellectual leaders in the study of financial institutions and the legal profession,” said John F. Manning, the Morgan and Helen Chu Dean and Professor of Law at HLS. “His rigorous scholarship and keen intellect will contribute immensely to the mission of American College of Governance Counsel.”

Coates is also the Research Director of the HLS Center on the Legal Profession. Before joining the Harvard Law School faculty in 1997, he was a partner at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, specializing in financial institutions and mergers and acquisitions. He has testified before Congress and provided consulting services to the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the New York Stock Exchange, and participants in the financial markets. In addition, Coates is chair of the Investor as Owner Subcommittee of the Investor Advisory Committee of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Membership in the College is extended by invitation only to lawyers who have practiced law for a minimum of 15 years, while devoting at least 10 of those practice years focused on the field of governance. Fellows spend a substantial amount of their time in boardrooms advising directors in a variety of circumstances, such as management succession, internal investigations, disclosure obligations, shareholder litigation, shareholder activism and engagement, and a broad range of regulatory and governmental matters.

A number of Harvard Law alums serve as officers, trustees, and fellows. They include: John F. Olson ’64, of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, who serves as chair; and Board of Trustees’ members James H. Cheek LL.M. ’68 of Bass, Berry & Sims; H. Rodgin Cohen ’68 of Sullivan & Cromwell; and Robert Mundheim ’57 of Shearman & Sterling.

Fellows include: Peter Atkins ’68 of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; James J. Hanks LL.M. ’69; Hon. Jack B. Jacobs ’67 of Sidley Austin; Kim K.W. Rucker ’93 of Tesoro Corp.; Faiza Saeed ’91 of Cravath, Swaine & Moore; Hillary A. Sale ’93 of Washington University Law School; and Richard J. Sandler ’72 of Davis Polk & Wardwell.

Added to this third class of fellows in 2017 are: Brackett Denniston ’73; Alex Dimitrief ’85; Thomas J. Kim ’95; and Alex Moore ’88.

Honorary trustees include: James C. Morphy ’79 of Sullivan & Cromwell (ret.); and Kenneth J. Bialkin ’53 of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.