May 18, New York – Reed Smith LLP today announced that Ilene Froom has joined the firm’s Financial Industry Group (FIG) in New York. Prior to Reed Smith, Froom was a partner at Jones Day. From 2003 to 2012 she was an executive director and assistant general counsel at JPMorgan Chase Bank in New York, and prior to 2003 she was counsel at Bear Stearns.

“As one of the most respected lawyers in the area of derivatives, Ilene will be a great asset to our clients in both the United States and the UK,” said Peter S. Clark, II, Vice Chair of Reed Smith’s Financial Industry Group. “Her experience in transactional derivatives will be extremely valuable to our private funds and asset management clients, as well as to our bank clients. I am delighted she is bringing her experience and energy the firm.”

Froom represents both buyside and sellside clients. She advises on, negotiates, and structures derivative transactions and related documentation, including Master Confirmation Agreements, repos, account control agreements and ISDA Master Agreements. She analyzes contractual restrictions, securities law, accounting, tax, bankruptcy, re-characterization, local law, credit, and risk allocation issues. Froom has also drafted two Protocols for the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA): the ISDA 2014 Collateral Agreement Negative Interest Protocol and the ISDA 2013 Discontinued Rates Maturities Protocol.

Her work at JPMorgan focused on onshore and offshore equity derivatives transactions, including hedging and monetization strategies, such as collars, collar/loans, and prepaid variable forwards; total return, swaps volatility and variance swaps, dividend swaps, correlation, and dispersion trades; access products; and customized transactions.

“Reed Smith has one of the world’s strongest financial industry practices, and the firm is known for the solid support it provides partners for building dynamic global practices,” said Froom. “I look forward to taking advantage of the global platform to expand my client relationships and service Reed Smith’s clients as well as my own.”

Froom’s extensive experience extends to fixed-income products, including swaps, swaptions, straddles, caps, floors, collars, range accruals, deliverable and non-deliverable FX options and forwards, and bespoke interest rate and FX structures.

Froom is active in ISDA working groups and committees. She participated heavily in the ISDA working groups that developed the 2002 ISDA Equity Derivatives Definitions and the 2011 ISDA Equity Derivatives Definitions.

A 1993 graduate of New York University Law School, she is the chairperson of the New York State Bar Association's Derivatives and Structured Products Committee. She is on the Board of Women in Derivatives and is a member of the New York City Bar Association‘s Committee on Futures and Derivatives. Froom lectures extensively on derivatives and has presented at conferences for ISDA, PLI, New York City Bar, and ACI.

“Many of our New York attorneys know Ilene and admire her outstanding record in the area of derivatives,” said Doug Wood, Reed Smith’s New York Office Managing Partner. “Her high-profile work on the board of Women in Derivatives, providing mentoring and education to others, is well-aligned with the firm’s values and interests and overall commitment to the advancement of women in the legal profession.”

Froom is the second new financial services partner to join the firm’s New York office in the past two months; George Pavlenishvili joined the Corporate & Securities practice from Stoel Rives LLP in early April. In addition, a third financial services partner, Michele D. Ross, joined FIG in the firm’s D.C. office today.

Reed Smith’s Financial Industry Group of more than 240 lawyers is one of the largest practices dedicated to clients in the financial sector, advising domestic and global banks, insurance companies, credit card companies, mortgage bankers, investment banks, and investment management companies and advisors. It represents nine of the top 10 U.S. banks, the top 10 banks in Europe, and the top 10 banks in Asia, leveraging the skills of financial litigation, finance and lending, investment management, financial regulatory, commercial restructuring and bankruptcy, and M&A practices to serve clients in multiple jurisdictions.

About Reed Smith

Reed Smith is a global relationship law firm with more than 1,800 lawyers in 25 offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Founded in 1877, the firm represents leading international businesses, from Fortune 100 corporations to mid-market and emerging enterprises. Its lawyers provide litigation and other dispute resolution services in multi-jurisdictional and other high-stakes matters; deliver regulatory counsel; and execute the full range of strategic domestic and cross-border transactions. Reed Smith is a preeminent advisor to industries including financial services, life sciences, health care, advertising, entertainment and media, shipping and transport, energy and natural resources, real estate, manufacturing and technology, and education. For more information, visit reedsmith.com.

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