Hosted by IAPBL, Director Charles D. Booth, Deputy Director Garrett I. Halydier
The William S. Richardson School of Law hosted the third annual Business Boot Camp.The event saw great attendance from forty-four students and seven CLE participants who attended nine sessions over two days to learn about business law, and the business of law, from twenty-six 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.
The Business Boot Camp, now in its third 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 ’15.
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.
The Honorable Robert J. Faris provided an interactive presentation 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 – Profs. Richard C. Chen, Garrett I. Halydier, Mark A. Levin, Justin Levinson, Emile Loza de Siles, Miyoko Pettit-Toledo, Victoria J. Szymczak, Richard Wallsgrove ’08, The Honorable Robert J. Faris, and Dean Nicholas Mirkay – talked about their business experiences and research interests, and previewed their upcoming business classes.
Prof. Miyoko Pettit-Toledo moderated the Business of Law panel. Panelists included: Ms. Sherry Broder (Sherry P. Broder, A Law Corporation); Ms. Christine Daleiden (Director of Compliance at American Savings Bank); Ms. Lea Hong ’91 (Hawaiian Islands State Director of The Trust for Public Land); Mr. Jordan Inafuku ’15 (McCorriston Miller Mukai MacKinnon LLP); 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.
On the second day: 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.
Ms. Lauren Sharkey showed students how to read balance sheets, cash flow statements, and financial statements.
Ms. Andrea K. Ushijima ’13 and Mr. Tod Tanaka discussed real estate finance from different perspectives.
Profs. Garrett I. Halydier and Miyoko Pettit-Toledo moderated the final panel: Non-Profit Law and Business Innovation, which included Mr. Trever Asam (Cades Schutte, LLP); Prof. Shirley Daniel (University of Hawaii Shidler College of Business); Ms. Melissa Miyashiro ’10 (Executive Director at Blue Planet Foundation); and Mr. Matthew Stubenberg (Innovator in Residence at Richardson School of Law). The panel will discussed the business necessities of non-profit law, the different roles for lawyers in that process, managing non-profit boards, new developments in business law, and the role of technology in the future of law practice.
On Friday night, the students, speakers, and guests practiced their networking skills at a Business Pau Hana. Special thanks to Victoria Szymczak and the William S. Richardson School of Law Library for hosting!
The event would not have been possible without the administrative and event support of law school staff members Benny Au, Kari Carolan, Keiraln Pease, Heather Smith-Lee, and Tracie Sur; law students Laura Essenberg ’23; Diamonte Chamberlin ’24; Anthony Jim ’23; Matt Gozun ’23; Mary Yanagihara ’24; Cong Nguyen ’24; student workers Daniella Miller and Scarlett Austin; and Prof. Garrett I. Halydier.
A final special thank you to our sponsors is also in order. Business Boot Camp III was only a success due to their generous support. Thank you!
- Cades Shutte, LLLP
- Case Lombardi, A Law Corporation
- The Institute for Asian Pacific Business Law
- Pettit Law Hawaii, LLLC
- Sherry P. Broder
- The Trust for Public Land
- William S. Richardson School of Law
Speaker bios can be found at this link. Further information and the presentation materials from the entire Boot Camp are available at this link.
2023-Business-Boot-Camp-III-Brochure
