Fall 2008 Speaker Series
Fall ’08 Luncheon Speaker Series
This series features practitioners and academics exploring issues at the intersections of law, business and economics.
All talks are from 12:40 to 1:40 pm (unless noted otherwise). Lunchwill be provided; CLE credit is available.
Tuesday, August 26
Zenichi Shishido, Seikei University School of Law, Japan
“Why Japanese Entrepreneurs Don't Give Up Control to VCs”
Boalt Hall, Room 170 (new Koret Room)
The biggest difference between U.S. and Japanese startups is that American entrepreneurs are willing to abandon control to VCs while Japanese entrepreneurs are not. This, in turn, fundamentally affects the venture capital cycle. While differences in social norms and market conditions are part of the explanation, Professor Shishido will explain how legal differences play an important role. Professor Shishido, a corporate law specialist, is a regular visiting professor at Berkeley Law where he teaches a course on Japanese Business Law. Co-sponsored by the Sho Sato Program in Japanese and US Law.
Monday, September 8, 2008
You-tien Hsing, University of California, Berkeley
“The Great Urban Transformation: Politics of Land Development in Post Mao China”
Boalt Hall, Room 105
This is a great opportunity to preview Professor Hsing's upcoming Oxford University book of the same title. Radical changes have taken place in the socialist regime of land rights as Chinese cities have expanded dramatically since the 1980s. Professor Hsing will talk about the players--socialist land masters, municipal governments and mobilized citizens. She will also talk about the connection between urban expansion and local state building.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Justin O’Brien, Australian National University
“Barriers to Entry: Foreign Direct Investment and the Regulation of Sovereign Wealth”
2240 Piedmont, located behind Boalt Hall
Special Event co-sponsored with the Center for the Study of Law & Society
[Note location below and special time: 12:30 – 1:45. Lunch available at 12:00-12:30]
Effective and efficient capital markets depend on confidence in the integrity of financial institutions, the regulatory apparatus and, ultimately, trust between market participants and financial intermediaries. The ongoing crisis in global commercial debt markets has exposed glaring deficiencies in operational and strategic risk management systems. Self-evidently, trust like liquidity and solvency is now in very short supply, and confidence has evaporated. This seminar will evaluate whether the credit crisis has falsified the underpinning premise of financial regulation, and, if so, as argued, the implications for regulatory design. Space is limited; advance registration is required! CLE not available.
Tuesday, October 7
Seagull Song, King & Wood (presently Arnold & Porter)
“The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games: A Springboard to a New Era of Entertainment Deal-Making in China?”
Boalt Hall, Room 110
Watch Video (Quicktime Required)
The Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee (BOCOG) made a decision to use "international standards" in approaching entertainment and media contracts for the Beijing 2008 Games. Seagull Song, who was with King & Wood’s China office during the planning years, will discuss what this meant and the possible ramification to the development of the entertainment and professional sports industries in China. Specifically, how will the concepts of "chain of title" and the complexities of music royalties be dealt with in the post-Olympic world in China? How did the domestic and local legal firms address ambush marketing and unauthorized retransmission? Join us for this fascinating behind-the-scenes discussion.
Monday, November 3
Lenny Stein, Jackson Family Enterprises
“The 21st Century Wine Business: Where Farming Meets Facebook”
Boalt Hall, Room 100
Co-sponsored with the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology
Watch Video (Quicktime Required)
As Americans increase their knowledge about fine wine and drink more of it, the wine industry is undergoing tremendous change: consumers trading up and down, supplier and wholesaler tiers consolidating, family wine companies selling out, private equity buying in, new global wine regions emerging, and the environment taking central stage. Efforts to undo the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark 2005 victory for consumers gain speed and traction. As the internet transforms how people discover, discuss, and buy wine, a future of enormous potential collides with an antiquated patchwork of prohibition era legislation. In short, fertile ground for lawyers. Lenny Stein will take us on a breakneck tour of the business and legal vineyard that is today's rapidly changing wine industry.
Tuesday, November 18
Richard Roeder '73, Vance Street Capital
“Capital Market Turmoil: Career Opportunities and Pitfalls”
Boalt Hall, Room 105
Watch Video (Quicktime Required)
Private Equity Fund manager and former corporate law partner, Richard Roeder, will discuss the state of the capital markets and how they may affect career opportunities for law and business students. Richard Roeder is a Berkeley Law alum who has founded and managed private equity funds since 1991. Prior to that he was a partner at Paul Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, where from 1987 to 1991 he served as Chairman of the firm's corporate law department. Richard will provide a valuable career perspective on the world of business and finance and entertain questions from students about how the current market turmoil may impact their futures.
The Berkeley Center for Law, Business and the Economy is the hub of Berkeley Law's research and teaching on the impact of law on business and the U.S. and global economies.