Americas Women in Business Law Awards Recognize Successful Attorneys

A partner at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP, Deborah Festa ois a partner in the firm’s Los Angeles and New York offices. Excelling in her field, Deborah Festa was recently shortlisted for the 2015 Americas Women in Business Law Awards in the category of best in structured finance.

Americas Women in Business Law Awards, established by Euromoney Legal Media Group, was founded four years ago. The annual event celebrates women attorneys and their achievements that shape the future legal practices across North America and Latin America. Accolades are given within four sections: individual, regional, in-house, and firm. Each are comprised of different categories ranging from best corporate lawyer in Latin America to best firm for diversity.

The 2015 ceremony took place at the Essex House. Both in-house and private legal practitioners gathered to hear inspiring speeches by Susan Ervin of Davis Polk & Wardwell and Joan Wexler of Brooklyn Law School, the winners of the outstanding practitioner and lifetime achievement awards, respectively. The night ended with more than 80 accolades given, of which Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP took home two.

Opal CLO Summit Provides High-Level Networking

Since 2012, Deborah Festa has served as a partner in the Los Angeles and New York offices of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, LLP. Deborah Festa is also an accomplished author and frequent speaker at industry events such as the Opal CLO Summit.

An education forum that brings together industry leaders from across the United States, the Opal CLO Summit is open to professionals such as underwriters, investors, issuers, lawyers, and accountants. The summit aims to create meaningful dialogue and seek collaborative solutions to industry challenges, as well as to facilitate the sharing of techniques to increase returns in the area of asset-backed finance.

With smaller workshops than typical conferences, the intimate setting of Opal summits facilitates more focused sessions and allows each attendee to actively participate. Opal summits also provide ample opportunities for high-level networking and connection among peers. The 2015 Opal CLO Summit will take place December 2-4 in Carlsbad, California.

Scholarships from the Phi Beta Kappa Alpha Association

A partner in the Los Angeles and New York offices of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, LLP, Deborah Festa holds a bachelor of arts in French literature and philosophy from the University of California, Los Angeles, where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Deborah Festa is past president of the Alpha Association of Phi Beta Kappa Alumni in Southern California.

Founded in 1918, the Phi Beta Kappa Alpha Association has more than 1,200 members throughout Southern California. In addition to hosting a number of cultural events for its members, the association supports lifelong learning through several scholarships and sponsorships. International scholarships, for example, are available to qualifying foreign students pursuing graduate studies in Southern California, and are awarded based on need and academic record.

The Alpha Association also offers a Graduate Study Award that supports a recently initiated member of a Phi Beta Kappa Southern California chapter during her first year of graduate school.

FinCEN Proposes Implementation of an Anti-Money Laundering Program

Recognized by the Euromoney Legal Media Group for her expertise in structured finance, Deborah Festa is a partner at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP. Through the Los Angeles firm, Deborah Festa handles investment management practices and West Coast securitizations. She offers financial institutions guidance on business finance structure and banking regulations.

In an effort to reduce risk in a multitrillion-dollar industry, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) in August 2015 proposed that all Registered Investment Advisers must implement an anti-money laundering program into their practice. This requirement also impacts sub-advisers and select asset and hedge fund managers.

If passed, the FinCEN proposal stipulates that an anti-money laundering program must include written policies and controls that are governed by a compliance committee. Periodic testing and ongoing training should also be incorporated to ensure investment practices always take a risk-based approach. This approach involves evaluating the type of client, source of funds, and investment services sought to determine intended use.                            

Vegetarian French Foods

Los Angeles attorney Deborah Festa brings more than a decade of legal experience to Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP, where she leads as a partner. She provides counsel on regulatory and compliance matters to clients in the financial services industry. Away from work, Deborah Festa makes time to travel abroad, which has developed her passion for cooking French foods.

A French feast does not always include meat-based dishes. In fact, a spread of French lentils with walnuts and goat cheese, mushroom parmentier, and roasted beetroot and sauteed greens can make a great meal. The chef of Cooking Channel’s French Food at Home also suggests tomato and aubergine (eggplant) gratin.

The gratin consists of a sauce of onions, garlic, tomatoes, and pepperoncino cooked in olive oil. A bay leaf, various herbs, salt, and pepper season the sauce. Slices of eggplant are coated with olive oil and roasted in the oven until golden on each side. The sauce and eggplant slices are then layered into a dish, topped with a mixture of breadcrumbs and chili powder, and finished with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese. Baked in a hot oven for approximately half an hour, the vegetarian dish should be served straight from the oven.                            

The Five Mother Sauces of French Cooking

Deborah Festa, partner at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP, is a California lawyer who leads the firm’s West Coast securitization and investment management practices. Outside of her work with the firm, Deborah Festa enjoys spending her time cooking French cuisine. Correctly cooking French food requires knowledge of certain specialized cooking techniques, as well as knowledge of the following five “mother sauces” that serve as a base for all other French sauces.

1. Bechamel: This white sauce is traditionally created by combining a roux with dairy, such as milk or sour cream, along with nutmeg. It is commonly used as a base for creamy French sauces, such as Mornay sauce.

2. Espagnole: Made with a dark roux and beef or veal stock, espagnole is a brown blend of meat and vegetables that must be allowed to reduce slowly. It pairs well with red wines and hearty meats, such as filet mignon.

3. Veloute: Chicken, fish, or veal stock is mixed with a white roux in order to create veloute. It does not stand as a sauce on its own, but is a base for gravies in dishes such as chicken pot pie.

4. Tomato: In French cooking, this sauce is traditionally created by rendering salt pork and sauteing vegetables before combining the mixture with tomatoes and a roux. It is usually paired with pasta, but can also be served atop dishes such as poached fish.

5. Hollandaise: The only of the five sauces not prepared using a roux, this sauce thickens through an emulsification process. The addition of an egg yolk binds the butter and lemon juice. The combination of these ingredients give hollandaise a tangy, buttery taste.

About Southern California’s Phi Beta Kappa Alumni Alpha Association

A partner at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, LLP, since 2012, Deborah Festa is a member of its Alternative Investments Group. Additionally, Deborah Festa has served as a board member of the Phi Beta Kappa Alumni in Southern California’s Alpha Association for 10 years and is a past president of its board of councilors.

Established in 1918, the Alpha Association is dedicated to sponsoring student scholarships and lifelong learning opportunities for its members throughout the Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura counties. With its variety of special programs, speakers, and events during the year, the association helps its members stay connected to each other and show their commitment to liberal arts education. Recent events include a multimedia presentation on the life of Ella Fitzgerald and a discussion presented by five superior court judges.

The Alpha Association’s scholarship programs are open to both international students pursing graduate studies in Southern California and new area Phi Beta Kappa members who are attending graduate school. Since the association’s founding, the programs have awarded almost $1.5 million in scholarships.