<div style="float: right; width: 33%; padding: 5px;"><img src="irl://2155//" alt="Pileggi Lecture Photos 2018" width="95%" /></div>
<p>The <em>Delaware Journal of Corporate Law</em>&nbsp;of Widener University Delaware Law School proudly sponsored the 34<sup>th</sup> Annual Francis G. Pileggi Distinguished Lecture in Corporate Law on Friday, November 2<sup>nd</sup>, at the Hotel Du Pont in Wilmington, DE.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The Distinguished Lecture was delivered by Professor David A. Skeel, Jr., the S. Samuel Arsht Professor of Corporate Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. &nbsp;</p>
<p>Professor Skeel is the author of numerous books and articles on bankruptcy and financial distress, corporate law, Christianity and law, law and literature, and other topics. &nbsp;Professor Skeel&rsquo;s commentary has appeared in the <em>New York Times</em>, <em>Wall Street Journal</em>, <em>Weekly Standard</em>, <em>Books &amp; Culture</em>, and elsewhere. &nbsp;</p>
<p>In August, 2016, Professor Skeel was appointed by President Obama to serve on the oversight board for Puerto Rico.</p>
<p>In his Pileggi presentation, titled &ldquo;Why Should You Care About Puerto Rico?&nbsp; A Bird&rsquo;s Eye View of the Financial Crisis and Restructuring,&rdquo; Professor Skeel talked about Puerto Rico's financial problems that began long before the arrival of &nbsp;Hurricanes Irma and Maria.&nbsp; Puerto Rico's&nbsp;political subdivisions, unlike those on the mainland, cannot file for bankruptcy under Chapter 9 of the Bankruptcy Code.&nbsp;&nbsp;In June 2016, a year before Hurricanes Irma and Maria, Congress responded to Puerto Rico&rsquo;s financial distress by enacting the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (&ldquo;PROMESA&rdquo;).&nbsp;</p>
<p>PROMESA created a seven person oversight board, and gave the board two major responsibilities: 1) certifying a five or more year fiscal plan for Puerto Rico; and 2) determining whether to file bankruptcy-like restructuring proceedings for Puerto Rico and/or its public entities.&nbsp; A year later the Hurricanes hit.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<p>In his lecture, Professor&nbsp;Skeel considered&nbsp;the origins of Puerto Rico's financial distress, the&nbsp;dynamics of the Oversight Board&rsquo;s governance and restructuring functions,&nbsp;the progress (and setbacks) to date, and&nbsp;the key challenges that&nbsp;the Oversight Board faces in achieving PROMESA&rsquo;s objective of helping put Puerto Rico back on a fiscally sustainable path.</p>
<p>Nearly 100 were in attendance for the lecture at the Hotel DuPont, including local lawyers, judges, and professors.&nbsp; An encore lecture was held at the Ruby R. Vale Moot Courtroom at Delaware Law School later in the day for the Delaware Law students, faculty, and staff.</p>
<p>Professor Skeel holds a J.D. from the University of Virginia and an undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina.</p>
<p>Professor Skeel has received the Harvey Levin award three times for outstanding teaching, as selected by a vote of the graduating class; the Robert A. Gorman award for excellence in upper level course teaching; and the University&rsquo;s Lindback Award for distinguished teaching.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>History of the Pileggi Distinguished Lecture in Corporate Law</strong></p>
<p>In 1985, Francis G.X. Pileggi, who was then the Internal Managing Editor for the <em>Delaware Journal of Corporate Law</em>, envisioned creating a forum where practitioners, judges, and academics, distinguished in the area of corporate law, could speak directly to those most responsible for setting policy on corporate law in the United States &ndash; the Delaware bench and bar.&nbsp; Through his efforts and the generosity of his father, the late Francis G. Pileggi, Esquire, the idea turned into reality.&nbsp; The lecture continues today through the members of the <em>Delaware Journal of Corporate Law</em> and the continued generosity of the Pileggi family.</p>