IBT Series Categories: IBT Roundtable

In March 2025, I had the privilege of co-hosting the Berle XVII Corporate Law Symposium at Seattle University School of Law, which I shaped around the theme International Business Transactions in a Fragmented World: National Security, Geopolitics and Corporate Governance. Bringing together 16 distinguished academics alongside industry executives and policy experts, the symposium was a truly global and multi-disciplinary gathering.

Over two days of conversation, we explored topics ranging from critical technologies, compliance, and global supply chains to corporate group structures, human rights litigation, critical minerals, and data privacy. What made the event so rewarding was not only the depth of the scholarship and insight shared but also the spirit of collaboration that emerged. By the end of the symposium, we had identified new directions for research, opportunities for partnership, and, most importantly, built a warm and supportive community committed to carrying this work forward together. I came away deeply inspired and grateful for what we accomplished as a group.

Read more here: Berle XVII – Kish Parella and Chuck OKelley Schedule Flyer (11)

The DC Roundtable on International Business and National Security, held on September 27, 2024, at Steptoe LLP’s Washington office, was co-hosted by Washington and Lee University School of Law’s Frances Lewis Law Center, Georgetown Law’s Center on National Security, and Steptoe LLP. The event was designed to bridge scholarship and practice by convening academics, practitioners, industry leaders, and policymakers for candid discussion of how national security priorities intersect with international business. Structured across four sessions, each panel featured an academic presentation paired with commentary from experts in practice, industry, or government, fostering an engaged and multidisciplinary exchange.

Discussion at the roundtable centered on some of the most pressing challenges at the nexus of commerce and security, including the role of economic sanctions in reshaping global markets, the persistence of piracy as a threat to international trade, the strategic importance of semiconductors in global supply chains, and the regulatory and compliance issues facing international banking. Together, these conversations underscored the ways in which national security concerns are increasingly embedded in the governance of international business.

Read more here: DC Roundtable Flyer – 8-13-24 and DC Roundtable Schedule_FINAL