NEW YORK, Feb. 05, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- King & Spalding announced today that Richard Fields has joined the firm’s corporate practice group in New York as Director of Corporate Stakeholder Engagement. Fields will advise public company boards of directors, c-suite executives, and in-house counsel on current and emerging corporate governance, board leadership, and stakeholder engagement issues. He will coordinate the firm’s corporate governance advisory practice, as well as thought leadership and client/director initiatives. 

Fields was most recently a partner at Tapestry Networks, where he worked closely with the chairs of public company compensation and audit committees, independent board chairs and lead directors, as well as the stewardship leaders of the world’s largest asset managers. For over eight years at Tapestry, he led more than 100 roundtable dialogues for board leaders, senior governance professionals, regulators, political leaders and other key players in the corporate governance and shareholder landscape.

“We are extremely pleased that a lawyer as well credentialed and respected in corporate governance as Rich is joining our public company group,” said James C. Woolery, head of King & Spalding’s M&A and Corporate Governance team. “The evolution of the corporate governance and shareholder landscape and the underlying structural factors driving this change requires us to adapt to meet the increasingly sophisticated needs of our clients. The depth and breadth of Rich’s expertise, insights and connections make him an outstanding addition to our corporate practice.”

Since Woolery’s arrival in May 2017, King & Spalding has significantly grown its public company team, adding financial analysts alongside lawyers skilled in M&A, securities, regulatory, and governance matters. In the past year, King & Spalding has advised public companies in high-profile shareholder engagement matters. Corporate Board Member magazine referred to the firm as a “powerhouse” among corporate governance legal advisers.

“King & Spalding is a firm I’ve long admired, and I’m thrilled to be joining at a time when the importance of corporate governance has never been greater,” said Fields. “Boards and management teams need strategic advice and counseling in navigating this rapidly evolving area, which now affects nearly every aspect of business. While activism often grabs the headlines, board oversight and effectiveness, ESG issues, and executive compensation are just a few of the topics currently demanding the time of directors and c-suite executives. I’m looking forward to working with Jim and the other extraordinary lawyers across the firm to help our clients address these concerns and stay ahead of the curve.”

Fields also co-chaired the Shareholder-Director Exchange Working Group and was a principal architect of the SDX Protocol, a guide for shareholder engagement supported by investors representing more than $15 trillion in assets under management. He is a sought-out author and speaker, regularly appears in Agenda, Ethical Boardroom, Governance Minutes, and C-Suite Insight, has lectured at a corporate governance course at Harvard University, and presented at events for NYSE Governance, Equilar, and Skytop Strategies. Fields was one of four global winners of the Millstein Center for Global Markets and received Corporate Ownership’s Rising Star of Corporate Governance Award in 2015.

He received his BA magna cum laude from Clark University and his JD with honors from The University of Chicago Law School.

About King & Spalding
Celebrating more than 130 years of service, King & Spalding is an international law firm that represents a broad array of clients, including half of the Fortune Global 100, with over 1000 lawyers in 20 offices in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The firm has handled matters in over 160 countries on six continents and is consistently recognized for the results it obtains, uncompromising commitment to quality, and dedication to understanding the business and culture of its clients. More information is available at www.kslaw.com.

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