Herbert S. Wander

Herbert S. Wander

Partner
p / 312.902.5267
f / 312.577.8885
ResumeVcard
Herbert S. Wander is a partner in the Corporate Practice. Mr. Wander concentrates on all aspects of business law, especially corporate governance, securities law and M&A transactions. He has been the chief legal architect for many major M&A transactions—both negotiated and hostile.

In 2013, Mr. Wander was named Chicago Securities Regulation Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers in America. In 2011, he was named Chicago Corporate Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers in America. Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business (2010) says, “Senior statesman, Herb Wander, remains an active practitioner and is revered as one of the gurus of the market. He has extensive and enviable knowledge of corporate governance, securities and hostile and negotiated M&A matters.” Mr. Wander is listed in Illinois Super Lawyers (20052013).

In December 2004, Mr. Wander was appointed by then SEC Chairman William H. Donaldson as one of the co-chairs of the SEC’s Advisory Committee on Smaller Public Companies to examine the impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act on these companies. In April 2006, the Advisory Committee published its Final Report, which included many recommendations that were implemented by the SEC and a major recommendation that was adopted by Congress in Dodd-Frank. The SEC also invited Mr. Wander to be one of two lawyers to make a presentation at the SEC’s April 2001 Regulation FD Roundtable.

Corporate Governance Experience

Mr. Wander has lectured and written frequently on corporate governance topics, including audit committee matters. He represents the independent directors and audit committees at numerous public companies. Moreover, he serves as a director, chair of the compensation committee and audit committee member for non-client Telephone and Data Systems, Inc., a $2.5 billion public market cap telecommunications company, and served as a director and secretary of Advance Ross Corporation, a publicly held corporation, before its sale. Mr. Wander has served two terms as a member of the Legal Advisory Committee to the New York Stock Exchange Board of Governors and as a member of the Legal Advisory Committee to the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. Since 2002, he has been named by his peers as one of the world’s leading practitioners in the field of corporate governance and has been one of approximately 150 US lawyers listed in The International Who’s Who of Corporate Governance Lawyers.

Lectures and Articles

An accomplished lecturer, Mr. Wander frequently speaks at institutes and programs of various business and legal organizations, including NIRI, the National Association of Corporate Directors, American Law Institute-American Bar Association, Practising Law Institute (including the annual Securities Regulation Institute), the Corporate Counsel Institute and Ray Garrett Jr. Corporate and Securities Law Institute at Northwestern University, Northwestern Law’s annual Securities Regulation Institute in San Diego, and many state and city bar associations and other professional and business organizations.

In addition, Mr. Wander has authored numerous articles and book reviews published in the Yale Law Journal, The Business Lawyer, the Southwestern Law Journal, the Northwestern University Law Review, the Review of Securities and Commodities Regulation, INSIGHTS and the New York Law Journal, and served as co-editor of Selected Articles on Federal Securities Law, published by the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association. He was the first editor of the Business Law Section’s magazine, Business Law Today, and served as editor of volume 49 (1993–94) of The Business Lawyer.

Memberships and Affiliations

Mr. Wander served as chair of the ABA’s 53,000-member Business Law Section from 1995–96 and continues to serve on numerous bar association committees. He is the immediate past chair of the Business Law Section’s Corporate Law Committee, which in 2007, under his leadership, published the influential Corporate Director’s Guidebook (5th Edition). In addition, Mr. Wander has served as president of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago and the Jewish United Fund, and is chair of the Michael Reese Health Trust. He was appointed by the president of the American Bar Association to serve as one of 12 members of the ABA Commission on Multidisciplinary Practice in 1998, and to serve as one of 9 members on the ABA Task Force on Attorney-Client Privilege in 2004. He also is a member of the American Law Institute.

Education and Bar Admissions

Mr. Wander’s educational background includes a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and a law degree from Yale Law School, where he served on the Yale Law Journal.

News & Publications

March 18, 2013
Firm News
January 4, 2013
Firm News
September 17, 2012
Advisories
August 31, 2012
Advisories
August 24, 2012
Firm News
July 2, 2012
Advisories
June 7, 2012
Firm News
April 26, 2012
Firm News
February 28, 2012
Firm News
October 6, 2011
Firm News
September 12, 2011
Firm News
September 5, 2011
Firm News
June 10, 2011
Firm News
June 2, 2011
Advisories
January 31, 2011
Advisories
November 12, 2010
Firm News
October 28, 2010
Firm News
September 2010
Firm News
August 26, 2010
Advisories
August 9, 2010
Firm News
July 6, 2010
Advisories
June 24, 2010
Firm News
May 19, 2010
Firm News
April 16, 2010
Firm News
January 2010
Articles
January 29, 2010
Firm News
January 28, 2010
Advisories
January 21, 2010
Advisories
January 12, 2010
Advisories
January 7, 2010
Advisories
January 4, 2010
Advisories
August 5, 2009
Firm News
June 17, 2009
Advisories
June 12, 2009
Firm News
April 30, 2009
Advisories
March 9, 2009
Firm News
February 2, 2009
Firm News
September 23, 2008
Firm News
September 2008
Advisories
June 13, 2008
Firm News
June 26, 2007
Firm News
June 25, 2007
Firm News
August 10, 2006
Firm News
June 7, 2006
Firm News
December 16, 2004
Firm News
October 7, 2004
Firm News
July 22, 2004
Firm News
April 2004
Articles
More

Events

November 09, 2011
Presented by Practising Law Institute
New York, New York
February 16, 2011
Presented by The Business Law Section of the Florida Bar and West LegalEdcenter
Miami, Florida
February 11, 2010
Presented by West LegalEdcenter
Coral Gables, Florida
October 21, 2009
Chicago, Illinois
December 04, 2008
Chicago, Illinois
December 04, 2006
Sponsored by Grant Thornton
October 16, 2006
October 12, 2006
September 28, 2006
Chicago, Illinois
September 27, 2006
Chicago, Illinois
August 17, 2006
Presented by the Practising Law Institute
San Diego, California
February 09, 2006
Dallas, Texas
January 31, 2006
Chicago, Illinois
January 18, 2006
Coronado, California
December 06, 2005
Chicago, Illinois
December 05, 2005
Washington, District of Columbia
April 14, 2005
Chicago, Illinois

Background

Education

  • LLB, Yale University
  • AB, University of Michigan

Bar Admissions

  • Illinois

Memberships

  • American Bar Association
  • American Israel Friendship League
  • American Law Institute
  • Chicago Bar Association
  • Illinois State Bar Association
  • The Jerusalem Foundation
  • The Economic Club of Chicago