ArbJournal was founded and launched in the summer of 2004 by Raymond J. Murphy, Jr, Esquire. Prior to developing ArbJournal, Mr. Murphy pioneered the web-based delivery of risk arbitrage research in 1996 by creating The Takeover Stock Report. That business was sold to The Thomson Corporation in February, 1999, and Mr. Murphy continued to serve as Editor-in-Chief of the publication until June, 2003.

Mr. Murphy has 14 years of experience in risk arbitrage research and consulting, following and researching literally thousands of transactions. During this 14-year tenure in the field, Mr. Murphy has worked in numerous capacities: economist, research analyst, attorney, consultant, entrepreneurial publisher and editor. This multifaceted background has provided Mr. Murphy with a deep, broad and historical perspective on the legal and regulatory issues germane to the practice of risk arbitrage. A 14-year grounding in the business provides not only a provable track record of success, but also credibility, seasoning, instincts and self-assurance.

Mr. Murphy began his career as an Economist with the U.S. Department of Commerce (Bureau of Economic Analysis), where he worked on GDP statistics and the Input/Output table of the U.S. economy. He spent three years as an economic analyst and research assistant to the antitrust and federal regulatory group at Squire, Sanders & Dempsey in its Washington, DC office, concentrating on risk arbitrage research and analysis. Mr. Murphy worked for two years as a trial lawyer in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where his practice included antitrust litigation and counseling, federal and state regulatory matters and civil and criminal litigation, including several jury trials. Prior to founding Takeover Stock Report in 1996, Mr. Murphy worked for two years as an attorney with a boutique consultancy in Washington, DC, advising arbitrage and distress-investment funds on legal and regulatory matters. ArbJournal represents the next chapter of his career in this industry.

Mr. Murphy received a B.A. in Economics from Marquette University and a J.D. from Duquesne University, where he was a member of the Duquesne Law Review for two years and won the law school's annual trial moot court competition (Gourley Cup). He also holds an LL.M. in Securities Regulation from Georgetown University.

Joining Mr. Murphy on the ArbJournal editorial team is Karl Betz, Esquire, who has spent the last two years as an Editor at Takeover Stock Report, where he researched and reported on both U.S. and European merger arbitrage situations. While at the Takeover Stock Report, he spearheaded the Report’s coverage of banking and insurance deals and was the lead editor on many other deals, including PeopleSoft, Concord EFS, GulfTerra, and many others. Mr. Betz is an attorney with more than six years of combined practice and consulting experience. He began his career as a staff attorney with the Treasury Department's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in Washington, DC, where he helped draft a number of the OCC’s regulations implementing the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and worked on a number of the agency’s Y2K and electronic banking initiatives. He then spent two years as an associate with Clifford Chance in New York, advising major U.S. and international financial institution clients on complex bank and broker-dealer legal and regulatory issues, and derivatives and structured finance transactions. At Clifford Chance, his practice ranged from analyzing the implications of the proposed Basel II bank regulatory capital rules to drafting and negotiating securities lending and repurchase agreements. Mr. Betz earned a B.A. from the University of Virginia and a J.D. from the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at the College of William and Mary.

Executive Editor Christopher J. Hagert, Esquire, is also a veteran of the Takeover Stock Report, where he was engaged in the coverage of both U.S. and European merger arbitrage situations for almost two years. While Mr. Hagert's focus at Takeover Stock Report was primarily on banking and oil deals, he researched and reported on a number of deals in a wide range of industries, and was the lead editor on such deals as Premcor/Valero, Southtrust/Wachovia, Riggs Bank/PNC and Caesars/Harrahs. Before joining Takeover Stock Report, Mr. Hagert spent two years as in-house corporate counsel for the First North American National Bank, the wholly owned subsidiary credit card bank of Circuit City, in Richmond, Virginia. While at FNANB, Mr. Hagert helped facilitate numerous regulatory examinations of the bank, was involved in the development and implementation of the bank's compliance program, and managed a wide variety of commercial litigation. Prior to going in-house, Mr. Hagert spent three years as a law clerk and associate attorney in the Washington, DC area law firm, Fossett & Brugger, where he was engaged in various aspects of the firm's diverse corporate practice. Mr. Hagert received his undergraduate degree in History and English from the University of Delaware, and his law degree from the University of Baltimore School of Law.

Katherine B. Bain, Esquire, is an ArbJournal Contributing Editor. Prior to joining us, Ms. Bain spent four years with the Richmond law firm BrownGreer PLC as counsel for a Fortune 200 Company and its litigation and settlement liability in a complex national class action settlement. While at BrownGreer, Ms. Bain monitored and reported on the status of the claims in the settlement trust, developed and implemented a national opt-out program in compliance with a $1.5 billion amendment to the settlement agreement, and helped develop and manage a national program to settle outstanding litigation against the company. Prior to her time at BrownGreer, Ms. Bain spent 3 years as a law clerk and associate attorney in the Richmond law firm, Crews & Hancock, where she practiced with the firm's professional liability insurance team, and in addition to a general corporate and insurance coverage practice, worked with insurance and other regulators on licensing and merger issues. Immediately following law school, Ms. Bain was a law clerk to United States Magistrate Judge James E. Bradberry in Norfolk, Virginia. Ms. Bain received her B.A. in Spanish from the University of Virginia, and her J.D. from the University of Richmond School of Law.

Brian C. Burgess, Esquire , Contributing Editor on antitrust matters, has spent the last three years as a staff attorney with the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, DC, where he has been a member of the Mergers II legal team. Of particular note is his recent participation in the FTC investigation into the proposed merger of RJ Reynolds Tobacco Holdings, Inc. (RJR) and British American Tobacco p.l.c.’s U.S. subsidiary Brown & Williamson (B&W). In that investigation, Mr. Burgess interfaced with economic consultants, participated in FTC discussions with other governmental entities, led depositions of key executives and participated in all aspects of the development of the staff-level antitrust theory. His litigation experience includes FTC v. Libbey, et al., 211 F. Supp. 2d 34 (D.D.C. 2002), which resulted in a preliminary injunction and subsequent abandonment of a proposed acquisition. Mr. Burgess was awarded an Official Commendation by the Commission for his performance in the Libbey litigation. During his three years at the FTC, Mr. Burgess drafted legal memoranda, pleadings and witness declarations, negotiated nondispositive motions and discovery requests, developed witness testimony, and coordinated document production. His practice also included high-level participation in identifying and developing remedial solutions for transactions presenting antitrust concerns in the view of the FTC. Mr. Burgess earned his J.D. from Emory University School of Law. During law school, he served as a legal intern in the Atlanta office of the Federal Trade Commission. Mr. Burgess has a B.S. in Finance from Birmingham-Southern College, which he attended on a four-year Presidential Scholarship.