Trevor Morrison
About Trevor W. Morrison
Trevor W. Morrison (born 1971) is an Independent Director of Lazard Global Total Return and Income Fund, Inc. (LGI) serving since April 2014; he is currently the Eric M. and Laurie B. Roth Professor of Law at NYU School of Law and previously served as its Dean (2013–2022) . His background includes service as associate counsel to President Obama, clerkship with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and appointments to the Public Interest Declassification Board (Obama) and the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States (Biden) . He is Of Counsel at Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP; education: BA (hons.) in history, University of British Columbia (1994); JD, Columbia Law School (1998) .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| NYU School of Law | Dean; Professor of Law | Dean 2013–2022; Professor 2013–present | Led academic and governance functions; expertise in constitutional law |
| Columbia Law School | Liviu Librescu Professor of Law | Prior to 2013 | Faculty leadership; constitutional governance focus |
| The White House | Associate Counsel to President Obama | 2009 (earlier-career role) | Executive branch legal counsel |
| U.S. Supreme Court | Law Clerk to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Earlier-career role | High court clerkship |
| Public Interest Declassification Board | Appointee (Obama) | Not disclosed | National security and transparency advisory |
| Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the U.S. | Appointee (Biden) | Not disclosed | Governance/constitutional analysis |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP | Of Counsel | Current | Litigation and governance advisory |
| Brennan Center for Justice | Trustee | Since 2013 | Non-profit governance |
| Abraham Joshua Heschel School | Trustee | Since 2014 | Education board governance |
| Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America (LEDA) | Trustee | Since 2024 | Diversity-focused non-profit |
| American Academy of Arts and Sciences | Fellow | Current | Recognition of scholarly contribution |
| American Law Institute | Member | Current | Legal standards and scholarship |
| Council on Foreign Relations | Member | Current | Policy community membership |
Board Governance
- Independence and tenure: Independent Director; Director since April 2014; Class II nominee in 2025 for term expiring at 2028 Annual Meeting .
- Committee assignments: Audit Committee member; Nominating Committee member (both committees are comprised of all Independent Directors) .
- Board structure: 75% of LGI’s Directors are Independent; Board uses a Lead Independent Director structure (Lead Independent Director: Richard Reiss, Jr.) .
- Engagement and attendance: In FY2024 the Board met seven times; Audit Committee met four times; Nominating Committee met once; each Director attended at least 75% of Board and committee meetings; Directors did not attend last year’s annual meeting (at least one Director will be available upon request for the next meeting) .
| Committee | Composition | Morrison Role | Meetings (FY2024) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audit Committee | All Independent Directors | Member | 4 |
| Nominating Committee | All Independent Directors | Member | 1 |
Fixed Compensation
Year-over-year aggregate director fees (LGI and Lazard Fund Complex). Note: LGI pays per-fund fees; the Lazard Fund Complex amount reflects compensation across affiliated registered funds; no equity grants or meeting fee breakdowns are disclosed in LGI’s proxy statements.
| Metric | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aggregate Compensation from LGI ($) | $1,662 | $1,700 | $1,926 | $2,306 | $2,902 | $3,569 | $3,153 | $4,053 |
| Aggregate Compensation from Lazard Fund Complex ($) | $200,000 | $210,000 | $232,000 | $237,000 | $237,000 | $245,000 | $245,000 | $252,500 |
Performance Compensation
- No performance-based compensation (e.g., PSUs, options, TSR-linked awards, ESG metrics) is disclosed for LGI Directors in the proxy statements reviewed; LGI does not have a standing Compensation Committee for the Board .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company/Organization | Public Company? | Role | Tenure |
|---|---|---|---|
| None reported (past five years) | — | — | — |
| Basis: Director biography lists principal occupation and other public company directorships; Morrison’s entry lists academic/legal roles, no public boards . |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Legal/governance expertise: constitutional law scholar; former dean; high-level government legal roles; appointments to federal commissions and national security advisory bodies .
- Professional affiliations and recognition: Of Counsel at Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP; fellow/member of leading legal and policy institutions (AAAS, ALI, CFR) .
- Education: BA (UBC, 1994); JD (Columbia, 1998) .
Equity Ownership
| Metric | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dollar Range of LGI Common Stock | None | None | None |
| Aggregate Dollar Range of Lazard Fund Complex Shares | $50,001–$100,000 | $50,001–$100,000 | Over $100,000 |
- Directors and officers as a group owned less than 1% of LGI’s outstanding Common Stock as of December 31, 2024 .
- No pledging/hedging disclosures specific to Morrison were identified in LGI’s proxies reviewed .
Insider Trades
| Period | Section 16(a) Compliance Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| FY2023 | Compliant (all required filings made per Fund’s knowledge) | Proxy does not enumerate individual Form 4 transactions. |
| FY2024 | Compliant (all required filings made per Fund’s knowledge) | Proxy does not enumerate individual Form 4 transactions. |
Governance Assessment
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Strengths
- Independent director with deep legal and governance credentials; active Audit and Nominating Committee participation supports board effectiveness .
- Board structure includes strong independence (75%) and a Lead Independent Director framework to mitigate potential conflicts from LAM affiliates .
- Audit oversight appears robust with four meetings in FY2024 and an independent chair (Eckl) .
-
Watch items
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Board engagement: Directors did not attend the prior annual meeting; while permissible and mitigated by availability-on-request, this is a soft signal on stockholder engagement .
-
Ownership alignment: Morrison reported “None” for LGI share ownership in 2022–2024; while not unusual for registered fund directors compensated via complex-wide fees, it reduces “skin in the game” optics for LGI specifically .
-
RED FLAGS
- No LGI share ownership as of December 31, 2024; potential alignment concern for some investors .
- Directors did not attend last year’s annual meeting; may be viewed as limited direct investor engagement .
Additional context
- LGI board has no standing Compensation Committee (for director pay), and compensation is disclosed only as aggregate fees (Fund and Lazard Fund Complex) without performance metrics or equity grants; this structure typically limits pay-for-performance alignment analysis for directors .
- Morrison is up for re-election (Class II nominee) in 2025 with term to 2028, signaling continued board involvement and committee continuity .