The William S. Richardson School of Law hosted the 5th annual Business Boot Camp (BBC V). Students attended ten sessions over two days to learn about business law, and the business of law, from a new high of 31 presenters, including academics and legal, financial, and business professionals. BBC V introduced basic financial and business concepts, laid the groundwork for Richardson’s commercial and business law courses, and improved students’ financial literacy. This year, IAPBL was especially pleased to offer BBC V to Richardson’s new Online JD Flex program students as well. Overall, 32 students attended in person on the first day and 21 on the second day and another 51 joined online on the first day and 38 on the second day.

Business Boot Camp is an initiative promoted by Dean Camille Nelson. Prof. Charles D. Booth, Director of the co-sponsoring Institute of Asian-Pacific Business Law (IAPBL), led the organization of the Boot Camp, assisted by Prof. Miyoko Pettit-Toledo and Prof. Garrett I. Halydier ’15, Deputy Director of IAPBL and visiting from Ohio Northern University Pettit College of Law, where he now teaches. Prof. Pettit-Toledo provided extensive administrative planning and fundraising support. Professors Booth and Halydier hosted and moderated the non-panel sessions, and Professors Pettit-Toledo and Halydier each moderated a professional panel.

Dean Nelson kicked off BBC V by welcoming students and emphasizing the importance of business law for legal practice and the value of the BBC for students, no matter what area of law they intend to practice. Even students interested in non-profits need to understand balance sheets!

Prof. 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.

Prof. Emile Loza de Siles and Mr. Matthew Stubenberg discussed AI issues that lawyers must be aware of and may expect to address in their business or government law careers. Attorneys have vital strategic, advocacy, and advising roles in responsible AI development, procurement, use, and compliance. This session covered these opportunities and challenges and introduced students to some of the most popular AI legal tech tools on the market.

The Honorable Robert J. Faris provided interactive presentations about credit card debt and financial literacy, and was joined by Prof. 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. 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, Richard Wallsgrove, Dean Mirkay and Mr. Matthew Stubenberg, who 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.

Prof. 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.  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.  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 networked at a 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 Melissa Korta, Director of Special Projects, who arranged parking for speakers and 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.

Another special thank you to IAPBL business law student Anthony Caliano ’26 for his assistance before and throughout BBC V and to law student John Park ’27, who assisted Anthony.

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:

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Mr. Holtzer discussed current industry trends in restructuring including health care, real estate, crypto, airlines, and mass torts. His talk covered:

• Cross-border matters
• “Toggle” plans
• DIP to reorganized equity conversions
• Enforceability of charter/operating agreement
  forfeiture provisions

Mr. Gary Holtzer (JD, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, 1990; BS, Cornell University, 1986) practices in all areas of domestic and international restructurings, crisis management, corporate governance, financings and acquisitions involving distressed situations. He is a fellow of the Heyman Center on Corporate Law and the American College of Bankruptcy.

He has lead company side restructurings for Cano Health, Inc., Catalina Marketing Corporation, Western Global Airlines, LLC, Scandinavian Airlines, All Year Holdings Limited, Brooks Brothers Group, Inc., Skillsoft Corporation, Briggs & Stratton Corporation, Speedcast International Limited, Halcón Resources Corporation, Insys Therapeutics, Inc., Fusion Connect, Inc., Catalina Marketing Corporation, Westinghouse Electric Company, and Waypoint Holdings Ltd.

On the creditor and distressed acquisition side, Mr. Holtzer has represented Digital Realty and Digital CR US REIT, Apollo Global Management, Monarch Alternative Capital in the case of Eagle Hospitality Trust, and Softbank in the chp. 11 cases of Katerra, Inc.

Mr. Holtzer is consistently ranked in the field of Bankruptcy/Restructuring in Chambers Global, Chambers USA, and Legal 500 US.

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Prof. Bishara provided an overview of corporate governance documents, structures, the role of general counsel in corporate governance and common legal issues. The class also gave students an opportunity to apply their legal and business knowledge to sort out a couple of public policy and ethical dilemmas to give a flavor of some things they might encounter in their careers.

The class used Hawaiian Airlines as the subject for discussion and through-line for examples of topics in ethics, public advocacy, and governance — wrapping up with Prof. Bishara’s specific experiences working in the area of restrictive covenants. He discussed how corporate attorney’s interact with their clients, legislatures, and regulators to not only apply the law, but to influence its creation and interpretation.

Professor Bishara earned his JD from Cornell University and subsequently spent three years in private practice in New York before pursuing a Master’s in Public Policy with a focus on legal reform and international development from the University of Michigan. After obtaining his MPP, Professor Bishara began his teaching career at the Ross School of Business, where he is now an Associate Professor of Business Law and Ethics. bIn his role as a professor, he teaches courses including “Business and Public Policy” and “Ethics of Corporate Management.” Professor Bishara’s research covers topics such as corporate governance, corruption as a constraint on business activity, and the impact of non-compete agreements on employee mobility. He has also been involved in international legal reform and business ethics, particularly in the Middle East. His extensive research has been featured in notable publications such as the Vanderbilt Law Review, Indiana Law Journal, and the Journal of Law and Economics. In addition to his academic work, Professor Bishara is currently a staff editor of the American Business Law Journal.

You can learn more about Prof. Bishara at: https://graham.umich.edu/users/nbishara

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Prof. Nydia Remolina

Assistant Professor of Law at the Singapore Management University Yong Pung How School of Law, Fintech Track Lead and Head of Industry Relations at the SMU Centre for AI and Data Governance

Prof. Loza de Silas

Assistant Professor of Law at William S. Richardson School of Law; IEEE-USA Artificial Intelligence Policy Committee; IEEE P2863 Working Group on the Organizational Governance of Artificial Intelligence

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Judge Robert J. Faris, Prof. Charles D. Booth

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