Hosted by IAPBL, Director Charles D. Booth, Deputy Director Garrett I. Halydier
The William S. Richardson School of Law hosted the fourth annual Business Boot Camp. Student attendance grew by 48% to sixty-five attendees who attended nine sessions over two days to learn about business law, and the business of law, from twenty-nine fantastic presenters. The Boot Camp introduced basic financial and business concepts, laid the groundwork for Richardson’s commercial and business courses, and improved students’ financial literacy. This year, IAPBL was especially pleased to offer the Business Boot Camp to Richardson’s new Online JD Flex program students as well.
The Business Boot Camp, now in its fourth iteration, is an initiative promoted by Dean Camille Nelson. Prof. Charles D. Booth, Director of the sponsoring Institute of Asian-Pacific Business Law, led the organization of the Boot Camp, assisted by Prof. Garrett I. Halydier ’15, Deputy Director of the Institute of Asian-Pacific Business Law. Prof. Miyoko Pettit-Toledo provided extensive fundraising support.
Dean Camille A. Nelson kicked off the Business Boot Camp by welcoming students and emphasizing the importance of business law for legal practice and the value of the Business Boot Camp.
Prof. Charles D. Booth introduced basic financial concepts and discussed how students can develop financial and business literacy and basic commercial skill sets.
Dean Nicholas A. Mirkay and Prof. Justin D. Levinson discussed basic taxation and basic business association concepts that lawyers should consider when advising new businesses.
The Honorable Robert J. Faris provided interactive presentations about credit card debt and financial literacy, and was joined by Prof. Charles D. Booth to discuss basic bankruptcy concepts under Chapters 7, 11, and 13 of the US Bankruptcy Code; the effect of COVID-19 on filing rates; and difficulties of discharging student loans in bankruptcy.
Prof. Charles D. Booth provided an overview of the business law curriculum and introduced the Richardson Business Law professors – Richard C. Chen, Garrett I. Halydier, Mark A. Levin, Justin D. Levinson, Emile Loza de Siles, Miyoko Pettit-Toledo, Victoria J. Szymczak, Melissa Stewart, and Richard Wallsgrove; and The Honorable Robert J. Faris, Dean Nicholas A. Mirkay and Mr. Matthew Stubenberg – talked about their business experiences and research interests, and previewed their upcoming business classes. Prof. Daniel Blackaby previewed the library’s business law resources and Richardson’s new Bloomberg subscription
Prof. Miyoko Pettit-Toledo moderated the Business of Law panel. Panelists included: Ms. Sherry Broder (Sherry P. Broder, A Law Corporation); Ms. Lea Hong ’91 (Hawaiian Islands State Director of The Trust for Public Land); Ms. Lauren Kagawa ’18 (Starn O’Toole Marcus & Fisher); Mr. William Kaneko (Dentons US LLP); and Mr. Ted N. Pettit ’86 (Pettit Law Hawai‘i LLLC). The panel discussed the business of law: How firms operate and grow, what makes a good associate, legal jobs beyond the law firm (like compliance work), and the importance of business law for public interest work.
Dr. Jacquie Carroll, an Accredited Financial Counselor® from AccessLex Institute®,walked the students through a credit and debt checklist that includes when and how to review credit scores and reports, how to dispute errors and build your credit profile over time, and how to check Character and Fitness requirements for your jurisdiction. She also talked discussed making lifestyle choices with debt-to-income ratios in mind, keeping credit usage under control, building a cash cushion, and automatically investing a percentage of each paycheck as key habits that legal professionals can develop to manage money and build wealth over time.
Ms. Lauren Sharkey & Prof. Garrett I. Halydier showed students how to read balance sheets, cash flow statements, and financial statements.
Ms. Andrea K. Ushijima ’13 and Mr. Tod Tanaka discussed commercial real estate acquisitions and financing from the perspective of the acquiring borrower and lenders. They reviewed the process involved in the acquisition of a property for development into a mixed-use condominium project and the financing of the property acquisition and construction of the project
Profs. Garrett I. Halydier moderated the Corporate Counsel – Inside and Out Panel, with guests Mr. David F. Asmus (Sidley Austin LLP (ret.)), Ms. Tracey Lesetar-Smith (TLSK Advisory), Prof. Rob Robinson (Shidler College of Business; Hawaii Angels), and Mr. Eric M. Van Horn (Spencer Fane LLP). The panel provided the broader business context of legal decision-making and the role of lawyers in advising corporations big and small throughout their life cycle. These topics are valuable for any lawyer that will interact with businesses in the course of practice, whether during corporate representation, civil litigation, non-profit management, or government regulatory interactions
On Friday night, the students, speakers, and guests practiced their networking skills at a Business Pau Hana. Special thanks to Prof. Victoria Szymczak, Lynette Rudolfo and the William S. Richardson School of Law Library for hosting!
The event would not have been possible without the event organization expertise of Richardson’s Events Office: Anne Sumangil and Daniella Miller. Thank you also to the administrative and event support of law school staff members Benny Au, Keiralyn Pease, Heather Smith-Lee, and Tracie Sur. Special thank you to Director Kari Carolan for facilitating the inclusion of Richardson’s new Online JD Flex program participants.
Richardson Law and Business Organization Students provided support for the event, including Kimi Andrews ’25, Cara Rozzi ’25, Cambrie Motooka ’25, and Alexys Delgado ’25.
Thank you to our vendors: Holoholo Grill, Cafe 1132, Da Spot, and Stortos Subs.
A final special thank you to our sponsors is also in order. Business Boot Camp IVwas only a success due to their generous support. Thank you!
- Lea Hong, Hawaiian Trust for Public Land
- Dentons
- Pettit Law Hawaii
- Cades Shutte
- Starn O’Toole Marcus & Fisher
- Spencer Fane
Speaker Bios and the full program are available here:
BBC-IV-final-brochure
