Paul Hastings' Carl Sanchez Joins ABL Organization

Santa Ana, CA — March 4, 2010 — Carl Sanchez, Chair of Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker's' San Diego office, as well as Chair of the firm’s Global Mergers & Acquisitions Practice and a Partner in its Corporate Practice, has joined the Adaptive Business Leaders Organization (ABL). As part of California’s leading vertical-industry Chief Executives’ Organization, ABL Members provide one another with executive leadership coaching through its confidential, professionally-facilitated, peer-CEO Advisory Board Round Tables, executive learning workshops, network of CEO peers, and expert resources.

Since joining Paul Hastings, in May 2003, Carl’s practice has focused on the area of mergers and acquisitions. He has represented public and private companies in a variety of M&A transactions, including stock acquisitions, divisional asset acquisitions and divestitures, tender offers and share exchange offers, restructurings, dissolutions, going-private transactions, joint ventures, distressed company acquisitions, cross-border acquisitions, and more.

Carl has represented numerous companies in the biotechnology, life sciences and medical device areas and a wide range of other technical and financial services industries. This includes representing: Aurora Biosciences, Inc. in the sale of the company to Vertex Pharmaceuticals - subsequent to Aurora's acquisition of Quorum Sciences; Medibuy.com in the acquisition of Premier Health Exchange and empactHealth; Alanex in its sale to Agouron Pharmaceuticals; SBIA Neurosciences in its sale to Merck; Gene Logic in the acquisition of Oncomed; Elitra Pharmaceuticals' acquisition of Mycota Biosciences; Arcturus' life sciences and reagents business sale to Molecular Devices Corp, and subsequent sale to SDL Ventures; Arcaris' and Xenopharm's sale to Deltagen; Cypress Bioscience acquisition of PRP; as well as Virotex' sale to Atrix Labs.

While in law school, Carl served as a summer law clerk for the Hon. Spencer J. Letts, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, and worked at the Pentagon as a legal extern with the Department of Defense’s General Counsel’s Office, Intelligence and International Division. Between 1988 and 1990, Carl was an auditor and consultant in Deloitte & Touche’s New York office, specializing in investment banking and broker-dealer activities. From 1980 to 1986, he served in the United States Air Force Intelligence Division as a Russian crypto-linguist, where he received numerous awards, including the Air Force Commendation Medal.

Carl was selected as one of the Best Lawyers in the area of Mergers and Acquisitions Law by San Diego Magazine (2009) and The Best Lawyers in America (2007). He was also cited in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business 2006-2007 in the area of Corporate/M&A, and was named one of the leading M&A attorneys by The Legal 500 US (2007). Carl is a frequent lecturer on M&A topics and has authored articles on related issues. He received his J.D. from the UCLA School of Law, and his BBA in Accounting from the University of Texas at San Antonio. He’s a member of the California Bar and the American Bar Association, as well as a Board Member of the UCSD Moores Cancer Center.

About the Adaptive Business Leaders (ABL) Organization
ABL supports the needs of its Member CEOs by providing a place for top-level executives to draw on the experience, knowledge and skill sets of their peers in a vertical industry, personal advisory board – “multi-coach approach” – setting.

The core component of the CEO Membership experience is the group Round Table meeting. Members meet once a month for a half-day with a group of peer CEOs, Presidents, COOs and Division General Managers from non-competing companies, all from the same industry (healthcare, technology or life sciences), in a trusted and confidential board room-like setting, which allows ABL Members to tackle topics and enhance their decision making and business performance. Topics include: developing and honing new business strategies and best practices, new lines of business, “A-players” on the management team, and an effective board of directors, as well as understanding trends in new markets, mergers and acquisitions, compensation, and other “hot” topics brought to the Round Tables by the Members themselves.

ABL Members also gather several times a year at workshops and conferences to exchange ideas and connect with other chief executives beyond their own CEO peer groups. In effect, ABL Members serve as one another’s business coaches within the Round Tables and are encouraged to connect and leverage their co-Member peers’ particular skills and expertise for additional leadership coaching, one-on-one, outside of their monthly group meeting. In addition, each Round Table’s facilitator also serves as an objective business advisor, offering executive and industry insights and advice.

 ABL's Chief Executive Leadership Development Round Table program is currently offered in California's Greater Los Angeles, Orange and San Francisco County areas. More information about the ABL Organization can be found at http://www.abl.org .