Distinguished Panelists
Victor A. Afanador
Partner, Lite DePalma Greenberg & Rivas, LLC
Victor A. Afanador, a partner at Lite DePalma Greenberg & Rivas, LLC in Newark, New Jersey, handles litigation, trials, and appeals of civil and criminal cases. His experience includes municipal tort liability defense, police related state and federal civil rights defense, condemnation and redevelopment law, complex commercial litigation, defense related employment litigation, and criminal defense. In addition, he served as Deputy Director of Law for the City of Perth Amboy (1999-2005).
Mr. Afanador has successfully tried to verdict jury and bench trials in civil rights, employment and redevelopment law matters. He has also tried municipal employee termination hearings before the Office of Administrative Law and numerous matters in municipal court. He also litigated and managed the condemnation of sixteen properties in a single municipality. His published opinions include Deegan v. Perth Amboy Redevelopment Agency, 374 N.J. Super. 80 (App. Div. 2005).
He also clerked for Judges Mathias E. Rodriguez and Frederick P. DeVesa, Superior Court of New Jersey, Middlesex County. He was appointed by the Essex County Executive in September of 2005 to serve as a Commissioner on the Essex County Board of Public Utilities. Mr. Afanador received his undergraduate degree from Drew University, and his law degree from Seton Hall University School of Law.
Jennifer M. Carrillo-Perez
Associate, Trenk, DiPasquale, Webster, Della Fera & Sodono, PC
Jennifer M. Carrillo-Perez, an associate at Trenk, DiPasquale, Webster, Della Fera & Sodono, PC, concentrates her practice in the areas of land use, regulatory and government affairs, municipal law, bankruptcy, and commercial litigation.
In 2006, Ms. Carrillo-Perez was named to the Board of Directors of the Discovery Charter School in Newark, NJ, a non-profit organization committed to educational reform and student achievement. In 2004-05, she served as the law clerk for the Honorable Claude M. Coleman, Judge of the Superior Court, Essex County, Civil Division. From 2001 through 2004, she served as an Advisory Board Member for the Newark Board of Education. In that capacity, she recommended and voted on issues of finance, personnel, curriculum, facilities, and community programs concerning the school district of the City of Newark.
Ms. Carrillo-Perez received her undergraduate degree from Montclair State University, and her law degree from Rutgers University School of Law-Newark.
George A. Castro II
Commissioner, Board of Commissioners, New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority
Commissioner George A. Castro serves as a member of the Board of Commissioners of the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority. He also served as a Commissioner to the New Jersey State Investment Council, representing the consolidated Police and Fireman’s Pension Fund Commission, and was appointed to serve as Vice-Chair from September 2002 to September 2003.
As a real estate entrepreneur, Mr. Castro quickly began to branch out into related fields such as development and construction. In 1994, he purchased the vaudeville-era Ritz Theatre in Elizabeth, NJ, and undertook a massive restoration project to return the historic, architectural gem to its former glory. In 2001, the Mayor of Elizabeth appointed him to serve as Commissioner of the Zoning Board of Adjustment of said city. He also serves as member of the Board of Trustees and Board of Governors of Union County College.
David S. Denenberg
Senior Vice President, Legal & Business Affairs, NBA Entertainment
As Senior Vice President, Legal & Business Affairs for NBA Entertainment (NBAE), David S. Denenberg serves as chief counsel for the production arm of the NBA. In such capacity, he is responsible for negotiating agreements relating to all facets of NBAE’s business, including television, film, music, digital media, photography and talent. He also negotiates distribution and affiliation agreements relating to NBA TV and NBA League Pass, and frequently advises NBA and WNBA teams on a variety of issues relating to their television and entertainment businesses.
In addition to his legal responsibilities, Mr. Denenberg helps oversee the league’s footage licensing and extended-market television businesses, and has been actively involved in planning the NBA / NCAA youth basketball initiative. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Prior to joining the NBA in March 1995, Mr. Denenberg worked in the Corporate Department of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker in New York City.
A 1991 cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School, Mr. Denenberg graduated magna cum laude from Colgate University in 1988.
Margaret M. Foran
Vice President, Chief Governance Officer, and Corporate Secretary, Prudential Financial
Margaret M. Foran is Vice President, Chief Governance Officer and Corporate Secretary of Prudential Financial, Inc. In addition, the divisions of Shareholder Services, Mergers & Acquisitions, Disclosures, Capital Markets, and Derivatives within the Enterprise report directly to her. Prior to Prudential, she was Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Sara Lee Corporation. Prior to joining Sara Lee, she was Senior Vice President-Corporate Governance, Associate General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Pfizer Inc.; an Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary of ITT Corporation, and a Vice President, Assistant General Counsel and Assistant Secretary for J. P. Morgan & Co. Previously, she was an associate with Reid & Priest.
Ms. Foran is a member of the American Bar Association’s Committee on Corporate Laws and the former Chair of the ABA Committee on Corporate Governance. Ms. Foran is a former Chairperson, a former director, and the former Treasurer of the American Society of Corporate Secretaries (ASCS). She is also a former Director of The MONY Group Inc and MONY Life Insurance Company. Ms. Foran received her undergraduate (Magna Cum Laude) and law degrees from the University of Notre Dame. She is admitted to the New York and Pennsylvania Bars.
Walt Kane
Reporter/Anchor, News 12 New Jersey
Three-time Emmy winner Walt Kane has been with News 12 New Jersey since it signed on in 1996. In addition to producing his award-winning “Kane In Your Corner” program, he runs the station’s State Capitol bureau. In more than 20 years in television news, he has won nearly 150 awards for outstanding reporting from organizations including the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the National Headliners Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, and the New York Press Club.
Before coming to News 12 New Jersey, Mr. Kane spent more than a decade at television at stations in New York, Michigan, Oklahoma and Kansas. He is considered an authority on journalism ethics, and often holds seminars on writing and reporting at stations throughout the News 12 Network.
Rafael Perez
Partner, Cozen O’Connor
Rafael Perez, a Member of Cozen O’Connor, is co-head of the firm’s public and project finance practice and the Office Managing Partner of the Newark and Trenton, N.J., offices. Prior to joining the firm, he served as executive director of the New Jersey Educational Facilities Authority, where he was responsible for the financing and development of various facilities for the state’s public and private institutions of higher education.
Mr. Perez has been involved in a wide variety of public finance projects, acting as bond counsel, underwriter’s counsel, trustee’s counsel and borrower’s counsel. He has represented investment banks, nonprofit and for-profit corporations, municipalities, and states agencies. He has also represented corporations and financial institutions in transactional and general corporate matters in Mexico and South America. He also works with Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies, advocating for clients with decision-makers in all branches of local, state, and federal government.
He has served as regional president of the National Hispanic Bar Association (1989-1990) and president of the Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey (1994-1995). He served as a trustee of the New Jersey State Bar Association (1996-2002). He is a member of the National Association of Bond Lawyers. Mr. Perez received his undergraduate degree from Rutgers University, and his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania.
Fernando M. Pinguelo
Partner, Norris McLaughlin & Marcus
A partner of Norris McLaughlin & Marcus and Co-Chair of its Response to Electronic Discovery and Information Group, Fernando M. Pinguelo devotes his practice to complex civil litigation.
A leader in the emerging area of electronic discovery, Mr. Pinguelo works with businesses to develop strategies to manage business and legal issues related to electronic documents. Notably, he was involved in New Jersey’s first case addressing its new electronic discovery rule amendments, and has lectured numerous times on the topic, including at the Judicial College of New Jersey. In fact, the Fulbright Program, the U.S. government’s flagship international exchange program, designated him a Fulbright Specialist for his work in e-discovery. He also designed a state-of-the-art electronic discovery law course and teaches one of only a handful of such courses in the country at Seton Hall University School of Law. He created eLessons Learned, an educational blog about e-discovery best practices for employers.
As Chair of the firm’s Entertainment Law Group, Mr. Pinguelo represents television personalities, including Emmy Award-winning talent, music performers, and writers on a variety of legal issues. He serves as a judge of the Emmy Awards®, sponsored by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, New York Chapter. He received his undergraduate degree from Boston College, and his law degree from Boston College Law School.
Sabino (Rod) Rodriguez
Partner, Day Pitney LLP
Rod Rodriguez, a partner in the New York City office of Day Pitney LLP, advises senior management and boards of directors and private equity managers on matters of executive compensation, governance and structure, as well as in tax-sensitive transactions, in particular involving corporations and their shareholders, strategic joint ventures, private equity fund investments and cross-border transactions. He has written and lectured extensively on executive compensation and corporate governance matters. His practice areas include Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation, Infrastructure, International Transactions, Mergers, Acquisitions and Joint Ventures, Private Companies, Private Equity and Investment Funds, Public Companies, Tax, Tax-Exempt Organizations and Charitable Giving.
Mr. Rodriguez has experience counseling NYSE companies and the compensation and management development committees of their boards of directors on executive compensation matters, as well as representing numerous cross-border families in structuring controlled business ventures and senior executives of public companies in their employment arrangements. In addition, he served on the Professional Staff of the Council on International Economic Policy, Executive Office of the President and as a consultant to the U.S. Treasury Department.
Mr. Rodriguez received his undergraduate degree (Magna Cum Laude) from Harvard College and his law degree from Harvard Law School, where he was Comments and Notes Editor of the Harvard International Law Journal.
Robert A. Ortiz, Jr.
Partner, Florio Perrucci Steinhardt & Fader, LLC
Robert A. Ortiz, Jr., a partner with Florio Perrucci Steinhardt & Fader, concentrates principally in corporate matters, including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, partnership formations and business start-ups. He has also been involved in representing companies and organizations of all sizes in governmental affairs.
Prior to joining the Florio Perrucci firm, Mr. Ortiz was Counsel at Porzio Bromberg & Newman and was formerly Of Counsel at Beattie Padovano and Partner at DeCotiis, FitzPatrick, Cole & Wisler. Mr. Ortiz is the former Chairman of the Bergen County Republican Organization and is a member of the National Hispanic Advisory Committee to the Republican National Committee. In 2008, the New Jersey Law Journal selected him to its list of “40 under 40.”
Mr. Ortiz received his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame and his law degree from Villanova University School of Law 1997.
Evelyn M. Tollinche
Senior Counsel, BALA (Digital), MTV Networks
Evelyn M. Tollinche is Senior Counsel in the Business and Legal Affairs group for MTV Networks in New York City. Previously, she was an associate in the Corporate Department of Kaye Scholer LLP. Prior to attending law school, she began her business career as a consultant and then fashion buyer at Neiman Marcus.
Ms. Tollinche received her undergraduate degree from Harvard University and her law degree from Northwestern University School of Law. She is admitted to the New York Bar.
