Selected Counsel

Below are professional profiles of some of the members on our team.

Dag Wilkinson, Esq.

With over twenty-five years of experience as a large law firm attorney and general counsel, Dag Wilkinson brings to CorpGen Counsel a wealth of corporate finance, securities, transactional, and executive expertise. Mr. Wilkinson´s practice includes general corporate, workout, securities law, mergers and acquisitions, major contracts, real estate finance and development, employment, risk management, litigation management, intellectual property, and corporate governance.

Mr. Wilkinson was most recently the Chief Legal Officer and Secretary of Capital Pacific Holdings, Inc., a publicly-traded $600 million real estate company based in Newport Beach with operations in multiple states. As the CLO of Capital Pacific from 2001 to 2008, Mr. Wilkinson was a member of the executive management committee and was responsible for all legal activities, including general corporate matters, securities law compliance, corporate finance, and risk management. He was responsible for over $500 million in senior, subordinated, and project level financing, an annual average of $300 million in land acquisitions, and led the company successfully through a complex “going private” transaction in 2006. He was intimately involved in significant loan workout activity, both as outside counsel in the in the early 1990s and as CLO in the current real estate downturn.

Prior to Capital Pacific, Mr. Wilkinson was a partner at Wiley Rein LLP, one of the most prominent law firms in Washington, D.C., where he led the firm´s corporate practice and loss mitigation program. Previously, he practiced corporate law as a partner in his own law firm and as an associate in the Washington D.C. office of the international law firm of Willkie Farr & Gallagher, LLP.

Mr. Wilkinson holds a B.A., summa cum laude from the University of Maryland, an M.P.A. from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University, and a J.D. from Yale Law School, where he was a member of the Yale Journal of International Law.

He is member of the bar of the State of California and the District of Columbia.

Mr. Wilkinson is a long-time member of The New Majority, is active in various charitable activities, and resides with his family in Orange County, California.

 

Jasmina T. Boulanger, Esq.

Ms. Boulanger was most recently Vice President, Legal and Compliance, of Conexant Systems, Inc., where she was responsible for all securities law matters and oversaw the company’s equity plans and stock administration team.  Prior to this role, Ms. Boulanger was responsible for legal oversight of Conexant’s merger, acquisition, divestiture, and financing activities. Her responsibilities also included board of directors and governance issues, as well as oversight of material litigation and compliance investigation
matters.

Prior to Conexant, Ms. Boulanger was Vice President Legal, Europe Russia, for Valeant Pharmaceuticals.  At Valeant, she managed a team of 30 attorneys located in five countries, oversaw international contractual negotiations, and worked on financial reporting and currency translation issues.

From 1983 through 1997, Ms. Boulanger held a variety of positions of increasing responsibility in the legal department of the Unocal Corporation.  Her activities there included working on a variety of complex litigation matters, culminating in managing all of the litigation related to Unocal’s well-known and successful defense to a hostile takeover attempt.  Subsequently, she became counsel to the Corporate Secretary, and responsible for Unocal’s SEC filings and securities law compliance.  Thereafter she headed the Tax Controversy Group, a 25-person team responsible for the company’s federal, state, and local tax disputes and litigation.  During this time, Ms. Boulanger successfully resolved the tax issues that arose from the takeover attempt, and helped close eight open tax years on terms favorable to Unocal.

Prior to Unocal, Ms. Boulanger was an associate attorney in the Los Angeles office of the international law firm of Latham & Watkins LLP, where she worked on a variety of corporate and litigation matters, including private placements and antitrust litigation.

Ms. Boulanger was previously the Associate Editor of the ABA Litigation News, a member of the Judicial Evaluation Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, and Commissioner on each of the Planning and Utility Commissions of the City of Pasadena, California.  She has lectured on law and economics and securities law at The University of Southern California, Claremont McKenna College, and the Practicing Law Institute, and is currently on the Board of Directors of IOCC, an international humanitarian organization, and Assumption College.

Ms. Boulanger holds B.A. and M.S. degrees in Economics from the University of Wisconsin, and at the time of her graduation was the youngest graduate in the University’s history at the age of 17.  She holds a J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School, and resides with her family in Orange County, California.

 

Michael L. Annis, Esq.

With over twenty years of experience as a general counsel of well-known and successful Orange County-based companies, Michael L. Annis brings considerable legal expertise to CorpGen Counsel on a wide variety of legal matters, including mergers and acquisitions, material contracts, real estate, employment, litigation management, intellectual property, regulatory and compliance, corporate governance, and business structures. He has a proven track record of forging long-term working relationships with executive management teams at companies of all sizes.

Mr. Annis was previously Director, Senior Vice President, and General Counsel of Del Taco, Inc., one of the most successful fast-rood restaurant companies in North America, and was Vice President of Real Estate and General Counsel of Red Robin, International, Inc. and Director of Real Estate Services for the Taco Bell Corporation. He has also held executive and general counsel positions with Quaker State Minit-Lube, Inc. (a subsidiary of Quaker State Corporation) and Daphne´s Greek Cafe.

As General Counsel of Del Taco — a company with 8,000 employees spread over hundreds of locations — Mr. Annis designed, implemented, and led the company´s in-house legal department for 13 years, culminating in the successful negotiation and sale of the company to Sagittarius Brands, Inc. for over $500 million.

Mr. Annis has been a guest lecturer at legal symposiums hosted by the International Franchise Association, and is known industry-wide for his detail, expertise, and management skills.

Mr. Annis holds a B.A. from California State University, Long Beach, and a J.D. from Whittier College School of Law. Mr. Annis is admitted to practice law in the State of California, and is a member of the American Bar Association, the Association of Corporate Counsel (formerly ACCA), the International Council of Shopping Centers, and the International Franchise Association.

A California native, Mr. Annis resides with his family in Orange County, California.

 

Mark L. Cortegiano, Esq.

Mark L. Cortegiano brings to CorpGen Counsel broad litigation experience in federal, state, and local courts. Mr. Cortegiano’s clients have included public and private companies of all sizes, including Trans World International, Inc. (a subsidiary of IMG), Cendant Corporation, Medallion Financial Corp., Biolase Technology, Inc., Maspeth Federal Savings and Loan Association, Aames Investment Corporation, Pier59 Studios, and several large general contractors in the New York construction industry.

His expertise lies in handling the most complex and threatening of matters, and he has achieved victories through using cutting-edge and ground-breaking litigation, arbitration, and settlement strategies. To each matter or client crisis, Mr. Cortegiano brings a sure grasp of the underlying substantive issues and the forensic skills and strategic insights necessary to produce outstanding results.

As we are primarily an in-house counsel practice, we recognize the critical importance of evaluating our client’s options, from both cost-benefit and “franchise” perspectives. Mr. Cortegiano’s expertise lies in collaborating with our clients, in weighing the pros, cons, and alternatives, to reach the right decision.

Mr. Cortegiano is a member of the bars of the States of New York and New Jersey.

 

Claudia L. Crocker, Esq.

Claudia L. Crocker is an accomplished attorney with over twenty-five years experience in real estate and corporate law, with extensive expertise in commercial and multi-family real estate transactions and defeasance transactions, including acquisitions, dispositions, and refinancings of income producing properties.  Previously, Ms. Crocker practiced at Grossman & David, a boutique real estate law firm located in Dallas, Texas, where she was lead counsel on major commercial real estate transactions for real estate developers, owners, and investors on projects including hotels, resorts, office buildings, and multi-family communities, and served as corporate counsel to a large private lending institution.  Earlier in her career, Ms. Crocker was a legal assistant with the law firm of Hughes & Luce before its acquisition by K&L Gates LLP, where she worked directly with Thomas W. Luce III, a former Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Education and Chairman of the Texas National Research Laboratory Commission, who encouraged her to attend law school.

Ms. Crocker has worked on complex finance transactions involving institutions including Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse Group, Bank of America, Sun America Life Insurance Company, Aetna Life Insurance, New York Life, GMAC, Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and LNR.

Ms. Crocker is admitted to practice law in the States of California and Texas, and is a former Municipal Judge for the City of Lago Vista, Texas.  She is a member of the State Bar of Texas Pro Bono College, an organization of the State Bar of Texas that recognizes attorneys who have helped address the vast unmet legal needs of the poor, a member of the Austin, Texas-based Volunteer Legal Services Organization, and is the recipient of the Judge Suzanne Covington Pro Bono Service Award.

Ms. Crocker holds a B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin, and a J.D. from Loyola Law School, where she was a member of the Law Review.

 

Employment Expert

Jodie A. Saunderson, SPHR

Jodie A. Saunderson has over twenty years of Human Resources experience, fifteen of which have been in a senior leadership role.  Ms. Saunderson is a true human resources generalist with expertise in recruitment, employee relations, safety and compliance, and leadership, as well as employee development, training, compensation, benefits, and workers’ compensation.  She has provided human resources services to both publicly-traded and privately-held companies in a variety of industries.

Ms. Saunderson’s role as a human resources executive included a successful multi-year restructuring of a human resources department and its goals and practices, which resulted in the proper alignment of the department with goals and objectives of the business.  She is astute in identifying problem areas in need of improvement and implements solutions with action plans that reflect a common vision that results in success across the enterprise.

Ms. Saunderson is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and has a professional certification in Human Resources Management from the University of California, Irvine.  She is a member of Society of Human Resources Management and a member of the Orange County chapter of the National Human Resources Association.