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Ilana T. Pearl is a Partner in the firm’s Corporate Department. Ilana represents start-ups, family offices and small and middle-market companies from a wide range of industries in mergers and acquisitions, corporate financing, corporate governance, securities law compliance and drafting of commercial contracts.  Ms. Pearl regularly advises clients on the formation and organization of their businesses, the acquisition and sale of business assets, and the structuring of joint ventures. She also counsels issuers and investors on federal securities compliance in private placements, represents companies in in all aspects of corporate borrowing and capital raising efforts, and drafts and negotiates a variety of commercial contracts.

Prior to joining Cullen and Dykman, Ms. Pearl worked for large multinational law firms in New York and New Jersey.  She also served as a law clerk to the Hon. Joseph M. McLaughlin on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the Hon. Paul A. Crotty on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and taught corporate law and intellectual property law in the law departments of two major European universities.

Areas of Concentration:

  • Mergers, Acquisitions and Divestitures
  • Joint Ventures
  • Entity Formation and Governance
  • Commercial Contracts
  • Corporate Financing and Private Placements
  • Business Reorganizations

Practice Areas

Admissions

  • New York
  • District of Columbia
  • New Jersey

Education

  • J.D., Cornell Law School, magna cum laude, 2005
  • L.L.M. in International and Comparative Law, Cornell Law School, magna cum laude, 2005
  • B.A., Cornell University, magna cum laude, 1998

Professional and Community Activities

  • Trustee, Cornell Club of Northern New Jersey (2015-2018, 2021-2022)
  • Member, Cornell Law School Curia Society Planning Committee (2015-2019)
  • Member, Cornell Law School New Jersey Alumni Dinner Planning Committee (2015-2020)
  • Member, Junior Women’s Club of Sparta (2020 – present)

Speaking Engagements

  • Legal and Financial Considerations when Buying or Selling an Architecture Firm (presentation to the Newark & Suburban chapter of the American Institute of Architects (September 2015))

Honors and Awards

  • Top Lawyer, (201) Magazine, 2019

Publications

  • When Corporate Cultures Collide, New Jersey Business Magazine 20 (January 2020)
  • Mitigating the Effects of Cultural Differences on Your Merger or Joint Venture, SPSK Legal Updates for Businesses (June 2019)
  • Why You Should Clean House Before You Sell Your Business, SPSK Legal Updates for Businesses (September 2018)
  • Note, The Viability of Class Action Lawsuits in a Globalized Economy: Permitting Foreign Claimants to be Members of Class Action Lawsuits in the U.S. Federal Courts, 90 Cornell L. Rev. 1563 (Sept. 2005)