Overview
Joel Laub is a partner and member of the firm's Corporate and Securities Department and Investment Management Group, as well as the firm's National Public Finance Department.
Joel concentrates his practice in over-the-counter and exchange-traded derivatives, including all types of related financing and investment transactions such as accelerated share repurchase programs and public common share forward sales. He represents banks, broker-dealers, investment funds, insurance companies, municipalities, and end-user entities with respect to derivatives transactions and new product development. Joel has a wide range of experience drafting and negotiating various transactions, including credit default, equity, and commodity derivatives; power and energy transactions; synthetic investments; repurchase and securities lending agreements; guaranteed investment contracts; and custody, clearing, and prime brokerage arrangements. He advises financial institutions on the enforceability of bespoke closeout netting and collateral arrangements and on the capacity and authorization of state instrumentalities to enter into derivatives transactions. He also advises clients on the implications of Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act in relation to derivatives businesses.
Joel has been a frequent lecturer on derivatives and an industry participant through initiatives with the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA).
Prior to joining Chapman in 2014, Joel practiced law at Jones Day.
Representative Matters
Joel's prior experience includes the representation of clients in the following matters:
- Counsel to a US railroad in a $3.6 billion Common Stock accelerated share repurchase program
- Counsel to issuer in $130.6 million public offering of Common Shares in forward sale
- Counsel to issuer in $245.7 million public offering of Common Shares in forward sale
- Counsel to issuer in $470 million public offering of Common Shares in forward sale
- Counsel to issuer in $400 million repurchase of Common Stock in accelerated share repurchase program
- Counsel to issuer in $175 million private placement of cash convertible senior notes hedge
- Counsel to issuer in $900 million convertible senior notes Rule 144A offering hedge
- Counsel to issuer in $1 billion senior convertible notes public offering hedge
- Counsel to issuer in $250 million Rule 144A offering of senior cash convertible debentures hedge
Practice Focus
Honors & Awards
- Chapman and Cutler's 2016 Pro Bono and Volunteer Achievement Award
- Empire State Counsel Honoree for Pro Bono Service
- The Legal 500 United States, 2014
Admitted
New Jersey
New York
Education
Yeshiva University's Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, J.D., 1991
- Notes & Comments Editor, International Law Journal / New Europe Law Review
City University of New York, Bernard M. Baruch School of Business, M.B.A., Finance, 1988
- Baruch Fellow
Brooklyn College, B.A., Economics, 1985
Notable Engagements
Common Stock Accelerated Share Repurchase TransactionChapman represented a US railroad in a $3.6 billion common stock accelerated share repurchase transaction with two financial institutions. This was the first step of an expected three-year accelerated share repurchase program to repurchase an aggregate of $20 billion of the company’s common stock.
Insights
Publications
- Contributor, "Defaulted Securities: The Guide for Trustees and Bondholders," Chapman and Cutler LLP, 2018.
- Author, "Bank Regulators Approve Joint Final Rule on Uncleared Swap Margin Requirements," Client Alert. November 2, 2015.