Steven Davidoff Solomon is one of the nation’s best-known authorities on corporate law and governance. Professor Solomon specializes in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), disclosure processes and procedures, corporate governance (including issues of corporate separateness), and capital markets regulation. His interdisciplinary research focuses on topics involving law, finance, and accounting.
Professor Solomon studies and has been frequently retained by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in litigation related to disclosure processes and procedures and by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to advise on principles of corporate separateness.
Expert testimony in disclosure, M&A, and antitrust litigation
In Hussein v. QSI et al., the first case involving a “holder’s claim” to reach trial in California, Professor Solomon provided defense testimony on the customs and practices surrounding disclosure in public filings, as well as on corporate governance norms around insider trading. Following a 14-day trial, the jury awarded a total victory to the defense.
Professor Solomon has often been called to testify before the U.S. Senate; in state and federal courts, including the Delaware Court of Chancery; and in domestic and international arbitration tribunals. He provides testimony at trial and in deposition in complex litigation involving antitrust and competition, M&A, and disclosure. His corporate governance includes matters related to nonprofits, real estate investment trusts (REITs), and special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), as well as such issues as piercing the corporate veil, evaluating contracts, and analyzing damages.
The National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) has honored Professor Solomon multiple times as one of the 100 most influential governance professionals in the United States.
Publications on M&A and corporate law
For almost a decade, Professor Solomon wrote a weekly column on corporate issues for the New York Times as the Deal Professor. He coauthored Mergers and Acquisitions: Law, Theory, and Practice, a leading casebook in the field, as well as several other volumes focused on M&A and corporate law. Professor Solomon publishes his research in top-tier academic journals in law, finance, and accounting.
Teaching at UC Berkeley School of Law
At UC Berkeley School of Law, Professor Solomon teaches courses on law, economics and accounting, M&A, and business associations.
Cross-border transactions and corporate board roles
Before entering academia, Professor Solomon practiced as an attorney with Shearman & Sterling in New York and London and with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in London. He represented U.S. and European clients in securities law matters, acquisitions and sales of public and private companies, joint ventures, and private equity and venture capital investments.
Professor Solomon sits on the board of directors of a SPAC, where he chairs the audit, nominating, and compensation committees.