Alumni Showcase - Syracuse University College of Law

Mark Neporent L’82
COO, General Counsel, and Sr. Managing Director
Cerberus Capital Management LP
New York, N.Y.
Mark Neporent has been chief operating officer, general counsel,
and senior managing director of Cerberus Capital Management LP,
a multibillion-dollar investment management firm, since April 1998. Before
joining Cerberus, Mr. Neporent was a partner at Schulte Roth
& Zabel LLP in New York, in the Business Reorganization and Finance Group. Mr.
Neporent has more than 25 years of experience in the distressed securities, bankruptcy,
and high-yield finance business.
Mr. Neporent was the chairman of the Worldcom Creditors’ Committee during its epic
Chapter 11 case. Because of his work through this case, he was asked to be on the board
of the reorganized company and helped manage its sale to Verizon.
Mr. Neporent is also on the boards of GMAC and Chrysler Holdings LLC – where he is chair of
the Compensation Committee for each – and has been on the boards of several other public
companies including AMC Financial Corp, and SSA Global Technologies Inc.
Mr. Neporent earned a bachelor’s degree from Lehigh University in 1979 and a J.D. degree
cum laude from Syracuse University College of Law in 1982. He serves on the Syracuse
University College of Law Board of Advisors.
Susan K. Reardon L’76
Director of Federal Affairs
Johnson & Johnson
Washington, D.C.
Susan Reardon, as Director of Federal Affairs for Johnson & Johnson (J&J), is
responsible for federal and international advocacy in Washington, D.C. on
behalf of the medical device and diagnostics companies of J&J. She worked
previously at the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) in
senior positions responsible for addressing regulatory and reimbursement issues affecting
the medical technology industry.
Ms. Reardon’s federal government career included senior positions in the Office of General
Counsel at the Department of Health and Human Services, where she served as Acting
General Counsel among other positions; the Federal Housing Administration and the Office
of Fair Housing at the Department of Housing and Urban Development; and the Office of
Minority Small Business at the Small Business Administration. She practiced law in Oswego,
N.Y., and served as the counsel to the School District.
Ms. Reardon earned her bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, in international relations from
Syracuse University, and her J.D. degree from Syracuse University College of Law, where
she served on the Syracuse Law Review and was published. She is the recipient of several
awards including the W. Quinn Jordan Memorial Award for significant government affairs
accomplishments benefiting transfusion medicine, and the Food and Drug Administration
Commissioner’s Special Citation.
Christopher M. Placitella L’81
Partner
Cohen, Placitella & Roth, P.C.
Red Bank, N.J.
Christopher Placitella is a partner in the law firm of Cohen, Placitella & Roth,
P.C. He is chairman of the firm’s Toxic and Mass Torts Litigation department.
He concentrates his practice on product liability litigation, representing unions
and their members in occupational injury and disease cases. In addition, he
represents individuals injured by defective products, defective drugs, as well as through the
inhalation or ingestion of toxic substances. Mr. Placitella also advises numerous labor unions
and consumer organizations concerning issues relating to occupational safety and health.
Mr. Placitella also represents individuals, governmental entities and companies seeking to
recover for economic loss or property damage sustained as a result of wrongful conduct of
others.
Mr. Placitella earned his undergraduate degree from Fordham University, and his J.D. degree
from Syracuse University College of Law. He currently serves as a member on the College of
Law’s Board of Advisors.
Howard Siegel L’70
Senior Partner
Pryor Cashman LLP
New York, N.Y.
Howard Siegel is a senior partner in Pryor Cashman’s Entertainment
Group. He has more than 35 years experience in representing clients in
all aspects of the entertainment business, with a particular emphasis on
the music industry, during which time he has served as counsel to many
of the industry’s most prominent recording artists, songwriters, producers, managers, and
executives.
In 2007, 2008, and again this year, Mr. Siegel was selected as both one of New York’s
“Super Lawyers” (published by Law and Politics, limited to the top 5% of all attorneys in the
New York metropolitan area), and as one of the entertainment industry’s top 100 “Super
Lawyers” published by the Hollywood Reporter. Mr. Siegel is the former chair of the Section on
Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law of the New York State Bar Association and is an associate
member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. He is editor-in-chief of the
nationally distributed book Entertainment Law (currently in its 3rd edition) and is co-chair of
PLI’s national annual program on entertainment law.
Mr. Siegel is a summa cum laude graduate of Syracuse University College of Law where he
was Order of the Coif, editor-in-chief of the Syracuse Law Review (1970) and a member of
the Moot Court Board (1969-70). Upon his graduation, Mr. Siegel clerked for the NYS Court
of Appeals (1970-1972).
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