John Baumgardner has been and remains engaged in a wide variety of corporate and securities matters, primarily in the investment management area. He is also a member of the Firm’s Financial Services, Investment Management, Broker-Dealer and Commodities, Futures and Derivatives Groups.
Mr. Baumgardner has represented issuers, independent trustees, advisers and underwriters of dozens of U.S. registered, publicly offered open- and closed-end investment companies, and currently concentrates on independent trustee engagements. He has represented the Investment Company Institute, the principal trade association of the mutual funds industry, on some of its most important projects.
Mr. Baumgardner has been a speaker or panelist at conferences sponsored by the Practising Law Institute, Investment Company Institute and the New York City Bar Association. He was former chair of the Committee on Investment Management Regulation of the Association and is the Chair of the Association’s Committee on the Investment of Funds.
Mr. Baumgardner was recently named “Independent Counsel of the Year” at the 2019 Mutual Fund Industry and ETF Awards. He has been named in The Best Lawyers in America for more than 20 years and is regularly recognized as a leading lawyer by numerous publications.
Public ServiceMr. Baumgardner is a member of the Board of Advisors of the Yale School of Music and the National Opera Center. Mr. Baumgardner was a Director of Opera America (2016–2021) and was until August 2012 a director of New York City Opera.
Other DirectorshipsMr. Baumgardner is an independent trustee of Pioneer Funds and Chair of the Governance and Nominating Committee, as well as a member of the Governing Council of the Independent Directors Council.