Latham & Watkins Dean's Panel: Inside the Mind of a Client

Gillian Lester

Dean and Lucy G. Moses Professor of Law

Columbia Law School

Gillian Lester is Dean and Lucy G. Moses Professor of Law at Columbia Law School.

As Columbia Law’s 15th dean, she has led the faculty in recruiting nearly two dozen full-time professors, establishing six new law clinics, and strengthening and expanding the Law School’s intellectual and scholarly depth.

Through landmark investments in student financial aid and loan repayment assistance—and initiatives such as the Max Berger ’71 Public Interest/Public Service Fellows Program—Dean Lester has dramatically expanded access to a Columbia legal education, as well as students’ ability to choose a career in the public interest. Under Dean Lester’s leadership, the Law School created a new Executive LL.M. in Global Business Law degree program and has undergone a transformation of its physical and digital campus infrastructure. In addition, she has spearheaded programs dedicated to lawyer-leadership, organizational character, science and technology policy, and constitutional democracy. Dean Lester has also guided the Law School in its successful five-year campaign to raise $300 million, which she launched in 2017.

Prior to joining Columbia in 2015, Dean Lester served on the faculty of the University of California, first at UCLA and later at Berkeley Law School, where she was interim dean from 2012 to 2014. Her scholarship focuses on income inequality, public finance policy, workplace law, and the design of social insurance laws and regulations. Dean Lester obtained a B.Sc. from the University of British Columbia, an LL.B. from the University of Toronto, and a J.S.D. from Stanford Law School.

Dean Lester is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Law Institute. She served on the executive committee of the Association of American Law Schools from 2017 to 2020 and is a founding board member of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. For her service on the COVID-19 Task Force established by Columbia President Lee C. Bollinger ’71, Dean Lester was recognized in 2022 with Columbia’s Nicholas Murray Butler Gold Medal for distinguished contributions in academic administration.

Fabio Bertoni '96

General Counsel

The New Yorker

Fabio Bertoni is general counsel of The New Yorker magazine, where he is responsible for legal issues, including pre-publication review of all articles, website posts, videos and other content published by The New Yorker, as well as supervising matters surrounding The New Yorker Festival and other events. Prior to working at The New Yorker, Fabio was assistant general counsel at HarperCollins Publishers, where he conducted pre-publication review of non-fiction books, and handled legal issues for the Children’s Division, negotiated author-publisher agreements, and advised on licensing, copyright and trademark issues. Prior to that, Fabio was vice president and deputy general counsel for ALM Media, publisher of The American Lawyer, the New York Law Journal, and dozens of other newspapers and magazines across the United States.

Fabio also serves as an adjunct professor at Fordham Law School, where he teaches a seminar on Media Law Drafting. He began his legal career at the firm of Hughes Hubbard & Reed, after graduating from Columbia Law School and from the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism.

Kara Bhatia '93

Global Head, Government Affairs & Public Policy

Google

Karan Bhatia leads the global public policy function at Google – a 450-person team based in more than 50 countries around the world. In this role, he serves as principal advisor to Google’s CEO, board and senior management on government affairs issues and leads the company’s work with policymakers and key political stakeholders in the US and around the world.

Before joining Google in 2018, Bhatia served as President of GE’s Government Affairs & Policy function. Earlier in his career, Bhatia served in senior positions in the US Government, including at the US Trade Representative's Office, and Departments of Commerce and Transportation, shaping US international economic policy. Prior to his government service, he was a partner in the Washington, D.C. law firm Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering.

Bhatia has written and spoken widely on international economic policy, taught at Georgetown University Law Center, and testified on many occasions before Congress. He currently sits on the boards of the Urban Institute, the US Global Leadership Coalition, and the Partnership for Public Service.

Bhatia holds a bachelor’s degree from Princeton, a master’s from the London School of Economics, and a law degree from Columbia University.

Susy Clark '96

Senior Managing Director, General Counsel and Chief Sustainability Officer

Centerbridge Partners

Susy joined Centerbridge in 2009 and is the Firm’s General Counsel and Chief Sustainability Officer.  Susy also serves as a member of the Firm’s Management Committee.

Prior to joining Centerbridge, Susy was the General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of Basso Capital Management, L.P., an SEC-registered investment adviser managing multi-strategy, convertibles and credit funds. Prior to joining Basso, Susy was the Deputy General Counsel of Amaranth Group Inc., an investment adviser for multi-strategy and long/short equity funds.

Prior to that, Susy served as Vice President and Assistant General Counsel at Goldman, Sachs & Co., where she was responsible for finance and corporate legal matters involving The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and, prior to that, for legal matters involving the investment banking business of Goldman Sachs. Susy began her career as an Associate in the New York office of Shearman & Sterling LLP.

Susy serves on the Boards of Directors of KIK Custom Products, Inc. (and affiliated entities) and TriMark USA, LLC. Susy also serves on the Board of Directors of the Columbia Law School Association.