Mr Lona Nallengara > A&O Shearman > New York, United States > Lawyer Profile

A&O Shearman
599 LEXINGTON AVENUE
NEW YORK, NY 10022-6069
NEW YORK
United States

Work Department

Corporate Business Unit and Capital Markets

Position

Partner and Global Head of the Corporate Business Unit

Career

Lona Nallengara is the Global Head of the Corporate Business Unit and a partner in the Capital Markets practice.

He focuses on advising companies, financial institutions and their boards on corporate governance, disclosure, and securities law compliance matters and on the financial regulatory process. He also advises companies and financial institutions on all aspects of public and private offerings of equity, equity-linked, high yield debt and investment grade debt securities.

Prior to returning to the firm in 2017, Lona served in senior positions at the Securities and Exchange Commission for over four years. From 2013 to 2015, he served as Chief of Staff to SEC Chair Mary Jo White, where he was the top advisor to the Chair on all issues, including policy development, rulemaking, strategy and management. During this time, he led the rulemaking and implementation efforts related to all mandates under the Dodd-Frank and JOBS Acts and directed the SEC’s asset management, market structure, public company disclosure effectiveness and private offering reform programs. He also served as the SEC deputy to the Financial Stability Oversight Council and was the primary SEC liaison with other financial regulators. Lona joined the SEC in 2011 as Deputy Director of the Division of Corporation Finance and later became its Acting Director. In this role, he was responsible for the division’s overall activities and operations, including rulemaking, interpretive guidance and the public company filing review program. Following his SEC tenure, Lona joined Bridgewater Associates, LP, where he was the Chief Governance Officer and a senior advisor to founder Ray Dalio.

Lona first joined the firm in 1998 and became a partner in 2007.

Memberships

New York

Education

Osgoode Hall Law School, York University
LL.B.
University of Western Ontario
B.A.

Lawyer Rankings

United States > Finance > Capital markets: debt offerings

A&O Shearman has an outstanding reputation in investment grade debt offerings, especially for underwriters, though with an established record in issuer-side engagements too. It continues to advise issuers and underwriters in headline and big-ticket debt offerings, including those in the financial services and asset management, energy and power, telecoms, healthcare and biotechnology sectors. With Canada-focused lawyers in New York and an office in Toronto, it is at the forefront of representing clients in bond offerings by Canadian financial institutions and other issuers. Lona Nallengara leads many of the firm’s top engagements and previously held senior positions at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Ilir Mujalovic and Richard Alsop  are also key partners, alongside Jason Lehner , who splits his time between New York and Toronto. Alejandro Gordano has joined from Linklaters LLP, while Grissel Mercado has left the firm. All other named partners are based in New York.