Stephen C. Neal is an American attorney currently serving as the

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

and former

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

(CEO) of

Cooley LLP Cooley LLP is an American international law firm, headquartered in Palo Alto, California, with offices worldwide. The firm's practice areas include corporate, litigation, intellectual property, fund formation, public markets, employment, life ...

, and the chairman of the

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

of Levi Strauss & Co.

Career

Neal graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

with an AB in 1970 and from

Stanford Law School Stanford Law School (Stanford Law or SLS) is the law school of Stanford University, a private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, it is regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world. Stanford La ...

with a JD in 1973. In 1988, Neal successfully argued ''Grobow v. Perot'', in which the

Delaware Supreme Court The Delaware Supreme Court is the sole appellate court in the United States state of Delaware. Because Delaware is a popular haven for corporations, the Court has developed a worldwide reputation as a respected source of corporate law decisions, ...

upheld

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

' buy-out of

Ross Perot Henry Ross Perot (; June 27, 1930 – July 9, 2019) was an American business magnate, billionaire, politician and philanthropist. He was the founder and chief executive officer of Electronic Data Systems and Perot Systems. He ran an inde ...

under the

business judgment rule The business judgment rule is a case law-derived doctrine in corporations law that courts defer to the business judgment of corporate executives. It is rooted in the principle that the "directors of a corporation... are clothed with hepresumptio ...

. Neal joined Cooley in 1995, having previously been a partner at Kirkland and Ellis in Chicago. He was named chairman and CEO in 2001; he stepped down as CEO in 2007, but continues to hold the chairman position. In 1998, Neal joined the

board of trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

of the

Monterey Bay Aquarium Monterey Bay Aquarium is a nonprofit public aquarium in Monterey, California. Known for its regional focus on the marine habitats of Monterey Bay, it was the first to exhibit a living kelp forest when it opened in October 1984. Its biologists ...

. He became vice chairman in 2005 and chairman in 2013. In 2006 Stephen Neal was named by ''

The National Law Journal ''The National Law Journal'' (NLJ) is an American legal periodical founded in 1978. The NLJ was created by Jerry Finkelstein, who envisioned it as a "sibling newspaper" of the ''New York Law Journal''. Originally a tabloid-sized weekly newspape ...

'' as one of "The 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America". In September 2009, he was named in The ''

Los Angeles Daily Journal Daily Journal Corporation is an American publishing company and technology company headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The company has offices in Corona, Oakland, Riverside, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, and Santa Ana i ...

s Top 100 Lawyers in California list. In 2006, Neal joined the

William and Flora Hewlett Foundation The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, commonly known as the Hewlett Foundation, is a private foundation, established by Hewlett-Packard cofounder William Redington Hewlett and his wife Flora Lamson Hewlett in 1966. The Hewlett Foundation aw ...

as a member of the board, and became its chairman in 2015. Neal joined the

for Levi Strauss & Co. in 2007, and was named chairman of the board in September 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neal, Stephen American law firm executives American corporate directors Levi Strauss & Co. people California lawyers Hewlett Foundation Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Stanford Law School alumni Harvard College alumni People associated with Kirkland & Ellis