Manatt will sponsor the California Capital Summit Breakfast on Friday, April 19 from 7:00 - 9:00 a.m. in the Los Angeles office. John Chiang, California State Controller, will speak on California economy showing signs of strength, with businesses starting to invest, manufacturing rebounding, real estate prices rising and consumer confidence firming.

First elected in November of 2006 to serve as California's Chief Fiscal Officer, Controller John Chiang was elected to a second term in November 2010. Upon taking office he took a strong stance against waste, fraud and abuse of public funds, and in favor of more transparency and accountability. He has also proposed reforms to the state's public pension systems.

He is currently sponsoring legislation that would close the "revolving door" of CalPERS and CalSTRS employees and board members leaving the multi-billion-dollar pension funds and immediately going to work for companies or investors that do business with the public employee retirement plans.

He also created California Strong, a program that provides local officials, small businesses and non-profits with tools and guidance to protect their funds while complying with state business and tax laws and regulations.