Edward J. O'Connell, Partner of Jones Day to Speak at KC’s Event on Mitigating the Impact of Risky Investments (CDOs, Credit Default Swaps, and Others) on 06/29/2009

Jersey City, NJ, December 18, 2008 --(PR.com)-- The Knowledge Congress is a series of live webcast produced by The Knowledge Group, LLC, which examine trends, regulatory and tecchnology changes across a variety of industries announced today that Edward J. O'Connell, Partner of Jones Day will speak at the Knowledge Congress’ upcoming webinar entitled: “Mitigating the Impact of Risky Investments (CDOs, Credit Default Swaps, and others): a Practical Guide for Municipalities and other public works companies”. This 2-hour event is scheduled on June 29, 2009, Monday, at 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM ET. (For further details of the event and an updated list of panelists, please visit: http://knowledgecongress.org/event_2008_cdo.html)

Over the last few years, many municipalities were unwittingly sold exotic investments. Targeted by investment advisors, municipalities were persuaded into buying investments which showcased the upside while greatly downplaying the risks. Many of these investments were in fact extremely risky and very fragile. Making matters worse, many of these investment products were purchased with money borrowed from banks a half a world away. With the market turmoil, municipalities are holding investments whose values are highly uncertain.

While there are no quick fixes to this problem, there are ways to mitigate risk and reduce the impact of these bad investments on your portfolio. The Knowledge Congress has assembled a team of key thought leaders to help your municipality minimize the impact of exotic investments. The panel will present their findings, which include “Best Practices” in a two-hour LIVE webcast.

About Edward J. O'Connel

Ed O'Connell has an extensive practice in the structured finance and derivatives area, concentrating particularly in collateralized debt obligations, both cash and synthetic. He is experienced in the representation of issuers, underwriters, servicers, investors, credit enhancers, trustees, and rating agencies in connection with assetbacked and mortgage-backed securities. Most recently, he has been actively involved in restructurings of entities engaged in structured finance as well as advising parties in connection with rights and obligations in structured finance transactions.

Ed is a frequent speaker and writer on the subjects of structured finance and derivatives. Recent articles include "An Overview of CDO Transactions," The Review of Securities and Commodities Regulation (April 2, 2008); "ABCs of Synthetics ABS," Journal of Structured Finance (Spring 2006); "Tracking the Growing Popularity of CDOs of ABS," Capital Markets (June/July 2005); and "Understanding ISDA's Credit Derivative Rules," International Financial Law Review (August 2003).

About Jones Day

Jones Day is an international law firm with 30 locations in centers of business and finance throughout the world. With more than 2,200 lawyers, including more than 400 in Europe, and 175 in Asia, it ranks among the world's largest law firms.

For more information about Edward J. O'Connell, and Jones Day, please visit: www.jonesday.com

About The Knowledge Congress

The Knowledge Congress is a series of live webcast produced by The Knowledge Group, LLC, which examine trends, regulatory, and technology changes acros avariety of industries. “We bring together the world's leading authorities and industry participants through informative two-hour Live webcasts to study the impact of changing regulations.” To contact or to register for an event, please visit: www.knowledgecongress.org.

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