Hosted by IAPBL, Director Charles D. Booth, Deputy Director Garrett I. Halydier, & Prof. Miyoko Pettit-Toledo.
The William S. Richardson School of Law hosted the fourth annual Business Boot Camp. Students attended ten sessions over two days to learn about business law, and the business of law, from a new high of thirty-one 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 fifth 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, and Prof. Miyoko Pettit-Toledo who also 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 for students, no matter what area of law they intend to practice. Even non-profits need to read balance sheets!
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 – Alina Ng Boyte, Eduardo Capulong, Richard C. Chen, The Honorable Robert J. Faris, Mark A. Levin, Justin D. Levinson, Emile Loza de Siles, Miyoko Pettit-Toledo, Melissa Stewart, and Richard Wallsgrove; and Dean Nicholas A. Mirkay and Mr. Matthew Stubenberg –who introduced themselves, talked about their business experiences and research interests, and previewed their upcoming business classes. Prof. Brian Huffman previewed the library’s business law resources and Richardson’s Bloomberg subscription and relevant cutting-edge AI resources.
In a panel that is always a hit, Prof. Miyoko Pettit-Toledo moderated the Business of Law panel. Panelists included: Ms. Sherry Broder (Sherry P. Broder, A Law Corporation); Mr. Alex Chun (Associate General Counsel, Hawai‘i Gas); Ms. Lea Hong (Vice-President & Hawaiian Islands State Director, Trust for Public Land); Mr. Jordan Inafuku (McCorriston Miller Mukai MacKinnon LLP); Ms. Lauren Kagawa (Starn O’Toole Marcus & Fisher); Mr. William Kaneko (Dentons US LLP);and Mr. Ted N. Pettit (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.
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
Prof. Garrett I. Halydier moderated the Corporate Counsel – Inside and Out Panel, with guests Ms. Nicole Kalajian (Rimon Law); Ms. Tracey Lesetar-Smith (TLSK Advisory); Mr. Brandon H.P. Lin (SPQ Asia Capital); Prof. Rob Robinson (Shidler College of Business; Hawaii Angels);and Mr. Eric M. Van Horn (Spencer Fane LLP). The panel helped law students better appreciate the broader business context of legal decision-making, the role of lawyers in advising corporations on complex transactions, and some of the crunchier details of investment finance. These topics are valuable for lawyers who will interact with businesses in the course of practice, whether during corporate representation, civil litigation, non-profit management, or government regulatory work.
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 Lauren Masquida. Thank you also to the administrative and event support of law school staff members Kevin Nguyen and Keiralyn Pease. Special thank you to Director Kari Carolan for facilitating the inclusion of Richardson’s new Online JD Flex program participants.
Institute for Asian-Pacific Business Law students provided support for the event, with a special thank you to Anthony Caliano ’26 for a tremendous amount around almost every facet of the event.
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 V was only a success due to their generous support. Thank you!
- Cades Shutte, LLLP
- Lea Hong, Hawaiian Trust for Public Land
- Pettit Law Hawaii
- Sherry P. Broder, Esq.
- Dentons
- Rimon Law
- Starn O’Toole Marcus & Fisher, A Law Corporation
- Case Lombardi, A Law Corporation
- Spencer Fane
Speaker Bios and the full program are available here:
2025-Business-Boot-Camp-V-Brochure-w_Bios-clean
