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Judge Green begins by discussing white collar criminal litigation, internal investigations, and the challenges that corporations face in preventing their employees from committing fraud. She then discusses prosecutorial discretion and the impact that her practice had on her perspective as a judge. Judge Green then shares an exciting and complex case that she was involved with. The interview concludes with a discussion about advancing the rule of law. 

Judge Karen F. Green is an attorney with more than forty years of experience investigating, litigating and resolving civil and criminal disputes. From 2016 to 2022, she was an Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court, where she handled cases alleging serious felonies in criminal trial sessions and complex civil disputes in the Business Litigation Session. Prior to her judicial appointment, Green was a partner at WilmerHale, where her practice concentrated on complex business litigation, including the defense of government investigations and white-collar, criminal litigation. Judge  Green co-chaired WilmerHale's Litigation Department, was a member of its Executive Committee, and chaired legacy Hale and Dorr’s Litigation Department. Earlier in her career, she was Deputy US Attorney for the federal District of Massachusetts, Chief of Staff to the Governor of Massachusetts, and an assistant US attorney. Judge Green has served as President of Litigation Counsel of America and on the boards of numerous other organizations, including the ABA’s Center for Human Rights, CareGroup, Inc., Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Justice Bridge, and Fiduciary Trust Company. A 2015 Fellow of Harvard University’s Advanced Leadership Initiative, she is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Harvard-Radcliffe.

We interview Sheila Heen on negotiation and difficult conversations. The talk includes practical advice, understanding the role of identity, discussions on the research behind "anchoring," analyzing a scenario, and more. 

A bit about Sheila Heen:

Sheila Heen is the Thaddeus R. Beal Professor of Practice at Harvard Law School and serves as a Deputy Director of the Harvard Negotiation Project.
Prof. Heen specializes in particularly difficult negotiations – where emotions run high and relationships are strained.  She is also a co-author of two New York Times bestsellers, "Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most" and "Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well."  She has written for the Harvard Business Review, and the New York Times as a guest expert, and as a Modern Love columnist. 
Prof. Heen is also a Founder of Triad Consulting Group, a corporate education and consulting firm that serves clients on six continents.  Her corporate clients have included Pixar, the NBA, and Ford, to name a few. She often works with executive teams, helping them to work through conflict, repair working relationships and make sound decisions together. In the public sector she has also provided training for the New England Organ Bank, the Singapore Supreme Court, the Obama White House and theologians struggling with disagreement over the nature of truth and God.
Prof. Heen is a graduate of Occidental College and Harvard Law School. She was also my professor. 

This episode is special and a bit different. Instead of interviewing a pioneer at the intersection of business and law more generally about their field of expertise, we have the opportunity to interview an incredible pioneer and professor about their recent article published with the Harvard Business Law Review. Specifically, I get to speak with Prof. Brian D. Feinstein about his article “Banking on a Curve: How to Restore the Community Reinvestment Act,” which he co-wrote with Prof. Peter Conti-Brown. The article is available online and went to print on Oct. 10th. 


Brian D. Feinstein is an Assistant Professor of Legal Studies & Business Ethics at Wharton. Brian D. Feinstein examines how the structure of financial regulators and other government agencies that regulate business affect outcomes. A political scientist and lawyer by training, Dr. Feinstein’s research incorporates insights from administrative law and the social sciences. His scholarship has been published in the Columbia Law Review, Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, University of Chicago Law Review, and University of Pennsylvania Law Review, among other journals, and has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and other national publications. Brian D. Feinstein holds a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Brown, a Ph.D. in Government from Harvard, and a J.D. from Harvard. 

We interview Alison Stein and Cayman Mitchell on the intersection of intellectual property and media, entertainment, and technology. We begin with a brief overview of the key legal acts and statutes and the role of the attorney in the space. We then discuss common forms of piracy and the challenges and best practices for attorneys to protect and enforce IP. We continue by highlighting some of the biggest critiques of the governing statutes and different theories of property ownership in the metaverse. We discuss freedom of expression, AI, augmented reality and virtual reality. We conclude with an overview of the cases that the Supreme Court recently heard which may have a serious impact on the industry. 



Alison Stein is a Co-Chair of the Content, Media, and Entertainment and Technology practices at Jenner & Block. Alison represents a who’s who of media organizations, technology companies, video game companies, and authors and artists and is repeatedly recognized in legal and entertainment industry publications as among the best in her field. Her cases often are so significant that national media outlets publish their outcomes. Alison also serves as a Co-Chair of the Media Law Resource Center’s Internet & Technology Law Committee, on the Board of Directors for Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, and on the Management Committee of the law firm. Alison graduated Summa from University of Pennsylvania undergrad and Magna from University of Pennsylvania’s law school. 


Cayman Mitchell represents content creators in a variety of media, including video games, software, music and theatre at Jenner and Block. Cayman has extensive knowledge and experience in anti-piracy litigation and enforcement, as well as in advising and litigating on all things tech, from cloud computing and telecommunications systems to new technologies such as cryptocurrencies and the metaverse. At Jenner & Block, Cayman is a co-chair of the firm’s Associates Committee. Cayman graduated Summa from Pace undergrad and has a JD from Harvard Law School with a Dean's Scholars Award in Copyright Law.


A quick note: this episode was recorded at the end of April. Since then some of the supreme court cases discussed at the end of the interview, such as the Warhol case, have been decided. 

We interview SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce on the regulation of cryptocurrency and digital asset exchanges. We begin by discussing the balance of powers that underlie the SEC’s ability to regulate and the interplay between regulation and freedom of speech. We then discuss the differences between centralized and decentralized digital assets and the impact that it may have on regulation. Comm. Peirce then challenges the SEC’s “regulation by enforcement” approach, discusses the definition of a “security,” and raises the potentially insurmountable issue of registering crypto exchanges.


A bit about Comm. Hester Peirce:


Hester M. Peirce was appointed by President Donald J. Trump to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and was sworn in on January 11, 2018.
Prior to joining the SEC, Commissioner Peirce conducted research on the regulation of financial markets at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. She was a Senior Counsel on the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, where she advised Ranking Member Richard Shelby and other members of the Committee on securities issues. Commissioner Peirce served as counsel to SEC Commissioner Paul S. Atkins. She also worked as a Staff Attorney in the SEC’s Division of Investment Management. Commissioner Peirce was an associate at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering (now WilmerHale) and clerked for Judge Roger Andewelt on the Court of Federal Claims.
Commissioner Peirce earned her bachelor’s degree in Economics from Case Western Reserve University and her JD from Yale Law School.

We interview David Hornik on the intersection of venture capital and law. We discuss the role of the attorney in venture capital, the importance of early legal decision making, corporate governance and ESG, the power of giving, liberalizing the trading of private securities, and SPACs.

A bit about David Hornik:

David Hornik is an American venture capitalist, lawyer, educator, art collector, and philanthropist. David has an eclectic educational background. He received a BA from Stanford in Computer Music, an MPhil in Criminology from Cambridge University, and a JD from Harvard Law School.
In his early career, David worked in public defense, at Cravath, and then at Perkins, as an attorney representing startups. David then transitioned into the venture capital world. For more than 25 years, David has helped technology entrepreneurs build transformative businesses. Prior to founding Lobby Capital, he was a General Partner at August Capital for 20 years. David has sat on the board of countless companies, including multiple which had gone public. In 2013, Deloitte named Hornik the “Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist Of The Year.”
David served as the Tech Curator for the TED Conference in Vancouver and co-created and hosted TEDxStanford. His investing stories have been featured in American author Adam Grant's New York Times Bestseller, Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success. In addition to his investing career, David teaches entrepreneurship at Harvard Law School, and business management at Stanford Graduate School of Business.