TheCorporateCounsel.net

I am very sad to note the passing of my dear friend and mentor Cathy Dixon. Cathy was a wonderful person who accomplished so much during her time at the SEC and in private practice, and who taught me a great deal about the securities laws and the profession.

Following judicial clerkships, Cathy started her legal career as a trial attorney in the DOJ’s Antitrust Division and then joined the SEC in the appellate litigation section of the Office of the General Counsel. Cathy also served as counsel to Commissioner Steven M.H. Wallman. In the Division of Corporation Finance, Cathy served as Chief of the Office of Mergers & Acquisitions and the Office of Disclosure Policy, and then as Chief Counsel of the Division.

Cathy served as co-author of the well-known treatise on the federal proxy rules, Aranow and Einhorn on Proxy Contests for Corporate Control, a book that I refer to often! Cathy also taught a course on mergers & acquisitions at Georgetown University Law Center for a number of years. I had the opportunity to work closely with Cathy when she served as chair of the ABA Business Law Section’s Federal Regulation of Securities Committee, particularly when I served as her vice-chair. Cathy was a partner at Weil for the past 25 years, acting as a true thought leader in our profession and as a trusted counsel to public companies, boards and financial intermediaries.

As Liz and I have been exploring in our podcast series “Mentorship Matters with Dave & Liz,” mentorship is so critical to us as professionals at any stage of our career. I greatly appreciate Cathy’s mentorship at various stages of my career, including at the SEC and when making the leap to private practice. In many ways, I have modeled my career trajectory after Cathy’s, whether consciously or subconsciously. In fact, I always credit Cathy with providing me with the advice that has guided me for the past 18 years of my post-SEC career. She advised me that you can leave the SEC and five years later no one will recall that you were the Chief Counsel of Corp Fin, or you can instead do everything that you can to distinguish yourself as a leader in the profession, and people will recognize your SEC experience and all of your contributions since that time. I feel like I have been faithful to Cathy’s advice and it has truly made me the lawyer that I am today.

So it is with great sadness that I bid farewell to Cathy, who was truly a legend in everything that she did. My condolences go out to her family, friends and colleagues. Her life will be celebrated in Washington, DC next Thursday, May 8.

– Dave Lynn