PracticePro

Date: Friday, March 31, 2023, 12 – 7:30 PM EST

Location: Allen & Overy, 1221 6th Avenue, New York, NY, 10020

Do you want to gain the knowledge and exact formula for securing a great summer associate position or post-graduate career? Master the substantive and soft skills and competencies you will need during your summer internships to deliver stellar work product, build a fantastic brand, and receive a permanent employment offer? Would you like to be part of an exclusive group of students participating in recruiting opportunities with PracticePro’s law firm partners?

TARGET AUDIENCE

The conference is best suited for 1Ls and 2Ls. Incoming 1Ls, 3Ls, and LLMs may also attend.

CONFERENCE STRUCTURE 

The Conference is a half-day event (12 – 5 pm EST) on March 31, 2023, taught by speakers and instructors from top law firms and corporate legal departments. The Conference concludes with a recruiting reception (5:30 – 7:30 pm EST).

Conference registrants will also be invited to participate in our:

• Live 4-part summer webinar series focused on business frameworks, professional branding, strategic career planning, advanced networking and interviewing techniques, and other topics in summer 2023. The webinars will also be available for on-demand viewing.
• Exclusive virtual job fair, resume collection, and networking receptions with our law firm partners in spring and summer 2023.
• Early registrants also receive a complimentary 50-minute customized career/OCI coaching session, valued at $350.

Tuition includes the Career Conference and Recruiting Reception, the summer webinar series, exclusive summer networking receptions with our partner firms, resume collection, and the virtual job fair. Early registrants also receive a complimentary 50-minute customized career/OCI coaching session, valued at $350.

$249 = Early Registration (ends January 17, 2023 at 11:59 PM PT, subject to availability)

$349 = Regular Registration 

Register on our website here or faster on the Eventbrite page here.

INSTRUCTORS & SPEAKERS

Niki Khoshzamir, PracticePro 

Niki Khoshzamir is the Chief Executive Officer of PracticePro, an EdTech social enterprise that provides skills training, coaching, and scholarships to empower the next generation of diverse attorneys. In her role, she leads all business and legal aspects of the company including corporate governance, IP portfolio, product development, and strategic partnerships.

Prior to founding PracticePro, Niki was an attorney at the global firms of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr, LLP, and Kirkland and Ellis, LLP. She focused her practice on intellectual property litigation, complex commercial disputes, and trade sanctions compliance. Niki successfully represented companies and individuals in federal and state courts, and in all stages of litigation including trial. She was the first recipient of the firm’s Pickering Fellowship on the West Coast through which she helped spearhead the Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus’ advocacy and community education project on U.S. sanctions on Iran.

Niki currently serves on the national advisory board of the Iranian American Bar Association (IABA), and is the former president of the Northern California Chapter, which she founded in 2006. She also serves on the Leadership Council of Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus. From 2011 to 2017, Niki was a Lecturer at Law at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law.

Niki received her B.S. in Biology, summa cum laude, from Texas Southern University, and a J.D. and Certificate in Law and Technology from Berkeley Law. Prior to her legal career, she was a research assistant at the MD Anderson Cancer Center and the Baylor College of Medicine Human Genome Sequencing Center. Niki grew up in Tehran, London, and Vienna and immigrated to the United States on her own at 19 to attend college. She is fluent in Farsi and English, and proficient in German.

Michelle Chan, Akin Gump

Michelle Chan is a partner at Akin Gump and is based in New York. She focuses on complex business transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts and divestitures for private equity clients and private companies across various industries.

She also represents private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies in related matters, including day-to-day corporate issues and corporate governance matters.

Michelle received her B.A. from Dartmouth College and earned her J.D. from Columbia Law School.

Judy Estes, Mastercard (KEYNOTE)

Judy Estes is Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Services & Strategic Growth at Mastercard. She is responsible for leading global legal teams that support Mastercard’s Data & Services, Cyber & Intelligence, and Strategic Growth business units, which collectively provide services including consulting, data analytics, cyber security, AI, fraud and authentication services, marketing and loyalty services, predictive analytics, insights, SaaS, and supports Mastercard’s engagement with government partners. Judy also serves on executive management teams in the business units and the law department to help set and deliver on the groups’ strategic initiatives as well as day-to-day operational goals.

Prior to joining Mastercard, Judy was a corporate associate with the law firm, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, and managed clients and handled various complex transactions in connection with mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, project finance, private and public financings and general corporate matters.

Judy graduated from Fordham University School of Law and received her Bachelor of Science degree from Binghamton University, School of Management, with a double concentration in Finance and Management Information Systems.

Brandon Fenn, Cooley

Brandon Fenn is a partner at Cooley and is based in New York. He represents venture capital funds and technology, biotechnology, medical device and other high-growth companies. His practice includes mergers and acquisitions, venture capital financings, public offerings and general corporate counseling.

Brandon received his B.A. from Dartmouth College and earned his J.D. from New York University School of Law.

William Hao, Alston & Bird

William Hao is counsel in Alston & Bird’s Financial Restructuring & Reorganization Group and is based in the New York office. William is experienced in a wide range of bankruptcy, litigation, and out-of-court restructuring matters. He represents secured creditors, hedge funds, trade creditors, lessors and lessees, and other parties-in-interest in distressed situations and in all aspects of bankruptcy proceedings such as avoidance actions, claims litigation, and the assumption and rejection of contracts and leases. William also has extensive experience representing parties in securitizations and other structured finance products in distressed situations and in commercial litigation. William regularly advises clients on bankruptcy issues in connection with finance and M&A transactions.

William is the treasurer of the Asian American Bar Association of New York and a co-chair of its Commercial Bankruptcy and Restructuring Committee. William also serves as a co-chair of the Bankruptcy, Restructuring, and Creditors’/Debtors’ Rights Committee of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association.

William earned his B.A. from the University of Michigan and received both his J.D. and LL.M from St. John’s University.

Michael Held, WilmerHale

Michael Held is a partner at WilmerHale and is based in New York. He is recognized as a leading authority on corporate governance, having spent 24 years at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (New York Fed). Michael joined the New York Fed as a staff attorney and rose through the ranks to become General Counsel and Executive Vice President. He has advised on matters involving access to Fed financial services and master accounts, as well as sanctions arising out of numerous international conflicts. Michael has extensive experience handling a variety of banking and financial services regulatory issues, corporate investigations, enforcement, and litigation, and was a senior advisor to numerous Reserve Bank presidents and senior policy makers.

Michael focuses his practice on the representation of financial institutions, providing strategic regulatory advice and crisis management guidance; advising on internal investigations and culture reviews; and supporting innovation within environmental, social, and corporate governance and fintech business segments, particularly with respect to the evolving regulatory perimeter.

Michael received his B.S. in Human Service Studies from Cornell University and earned his J.D. from New York University School of Law.

Sharon Jones, Haynes and Boone

Sharon Jones serves as the Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer at Haynes Boone, helping to strategize, lead, and implement the firm’s diversity plan. Sharon is a partner in the firm’s Labor and Employment Practice Group, leveraging her background as a federal prosecutor and as a litigator and counselor with Fortune 500 corporations and private law firms to help Haynes Boone clients with practical solutions to their diversity, equity, and inclusion goals. Sharon will be a member of the ESG cross- disciplinary group at the firm.

Before joining Haynes Boone, Sharon was the President/CEO of Jones Diversity, a consulting firm that worked with Am Law 100 firms nationwide on best practices. Additionally, she previously served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, based in Chicago, where she conducted federal grand jury investigations and trials in high profile white-collar criminal cases.

Sharon has practiced law and been a community leader over a 25-year career, including positions as a federal prosecutor, with major law firms and with Fortune 500 Corporations. She has served as the Chief Operating Officer for the Chicago Urban League, a not for profit focused on African American economic development.

Sharon has served in leadership roles on numerous not for profit boards as well as a past President of the Harvard Law School Alumni Association (2010-2012) and was responsible for the launch of the HLSA Global Women’s Alliance. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession and the Federal Defenders Program Board, among others. Sharon has received numerous awards including the Chicago Bar Association’s Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges Award) and the Black Women Lawyer’s Visionary Award for Women Making History for Making a Difference. She is the author of “Mastering the Game: Career Strategies for Success” which provides the unwritten rules for career success for women and diverse professionals.

Sharon is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Harvard College.

Cynthia Urda Kassis, Shearman & Sterling

Cynthia Urda Kassis is a partner at Shearman & Sterling and Global Project Development & Finance Practice Group Leader and a Lead Industry Coordinator for Metals & Mining. She focuses on project finance, joint venture transactions and restructuring in the mining, energy, and infrastructure industries. Cynthia’s clients include corporations, traditional and alternative financiers, government agencies, and development institutions.

Cynthia earned her B.A. from University of Virginia and her J.D. from American University Washington College of Law.

Sriram Krishnamurthy, Wilson Sonsini

Sriram Krishnamurthy is a partner in the New York office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and the leader of the firm’s employee benefits and compensation practice. His practice focuses on the representation of private and public high-technology and growth companies in regard to executive compensation and employee benefits matters, with a particular emphasis on private company secondary liquidity transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and capital markets transactions.

Sriram advises clients on the design, drafting, and administration of equity-based compensation programs (including stock option, restricted stock unit, and other equity arrangements) and employment, consulting, retention, severance, change-in-control, and deferred compensation arrangements, as well as the associated tax (including Section 409A), accounting, and securities law implications of such programs. He also regularly assists public and private companies with corporate governance and compliance matters, including compensation disclosures for proxy filings and other applicable securities filings, employee communications, and public announcements.

Sriram received his B.A. in Molecular & Cellular Biology from the University of California, Berkeley, his LL.M. in Taxation from New York University School of Law, and his J.D., cum laude, from the University of San Diego School of Law.

Pia Naib, Latham & Watkins

Pia Naib is counsel in the New York office of Latham & Watkins. Pia is a member of the Financial Institutions Group and focuses on advising domestic and foreign financial institutions on US bank regulatory issues.

Pia advises domestic and foreign financial institutions, such as banks, broker dealers, and investment funds, on US bank regulatory and related issues. She advises on matters related to the US Bank Holding Company Act, aspects of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, including the Volcker Rule, the Bank Secrecy Act and related anti-money laundering issues, bank regulatory issues relating to asset management groups, US financial regulatory reform, and US state commercial lending licensing and regulation.

Pia received her B.A., magna cum laude, from Columbia University and her J.D. from Duke University School of Law.

Sapna Palla, Allen & Overy

Sapna Palla is a partner in the firm’s Intellectual Property Litigation Department and is based in New York. She has spent over two decades representing clients in patent, trademark, copyright, trade secrets and complex commercial matters, including successfully litigating disputes in a range of jurisdictions. She also has extensive experience with alternative dispute resolution, including arbitration and mediation.

Sapna counsels and represents a variety of U.S. and international clients regarding U.S. intellectual property by providing them with infringement, validity, enforceability, and clearance opinions and by advising them in licensing and antitrust matters. She has conducted intellectual property due diligence investigations in connection with acquisitions and licensing deals. Sapna also counsels clients about patent law in Asia, including China and India.

Sapna’s patent experience covers a broad array of technologies, including pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices, drug delivery systems, software, mechanical devices, batteries, and agrochemicals. Outside the patent area, she has represented clients in trademark, trade dress, and copyright litigation as well as in counseling clients on trademark and copyright registration, strategy, and licensing. Sapna has also handled a number of complex commercial disputes involving complex contractual matters in the oil, renewable energy, construction, and food services industries.

Sapna was selected by the New York City Bar Association as their 2021 Diversity & Inclusion Champion Award winner for her commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. She has been honored by the City and State of New York (NY) as “one of the most influential Asian Americans in New York politics and policy” in 2020.

She is an adjunct professor at Pace University School of Law, addressing antitrust and patent topics. She clerked for the Honorable Judge Robert J. Hurley of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Sapna received her B.B.A., magna cum laude, from Pace University. She earned her J.D., summa cum laude, from Pace University.

Chad Peterman, Paul Hastings

Chad Peterman is a partner in the Intellectual Property practice at Paul Hastings and based in the firm’s New York office. Chad is a skilled trial attorney with a practice that focuses on patent and antitrust litigation with an emphasis on the electrical engineering and pharmaceutical arts. He has been involved in all phases of litigation from pre-suit investigation/strategy through appeal. Chad has represented major software, telecommunications, semiconductor, and medical equipment companies in patent litigations. He has also represented major pharmaceutical companies in complex ANDA litigations, antitrust litigations, arbitrations, and mediations. In addition to litigation, Chad also represents companies in intellectual property transactional matters, including rendering patent opinions and negotiating a variety of intellectual property agreements.

Chad earned his B.S.E from Princeton University, and received his J.D.  from Georgetown University Law Center.

Karin Portlock, Gibson Dunn 

Karin Portlock is a partner in the New York office of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher and is a member of the White Collar Defense and Investigations, Labor and Employment, Crisis Management, and Litigation Practice Groups. Karin has a broad-based government enforcement and investigations practice, focusing on the full spectrum of internal corporate investigations, including highly sensitive workplace investigations and independent inquiries, as well as regulatory enforcement matters and criminal defense. Karin has conducted numerous confidential investigations into #MeToo, discrimination, harassment, and related allegations of misconduct, including executive misconduct, for companies in a variety of industries, including the media, technology, financial services, and entertainment sectors.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Karin served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York from 2015 to 2020. Prior to her government service, she practiced for several years at another major international law firm, where she litigated complex civil cases and appeals before state and federal appellate courts.

Karin is an advocate for diversity in the profession and has written on the advantages of diverse investigative teams. She is consistently cognizant of the benefits that diverse legal teams bring to her clients and is committed to developing diverse talent and mentoring junior lawyers of color. She is a member of the 2022 fellowship class for the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity.

Karin received her undergraduate degree from Stanford University and is a graduate of Columbia Law School where she was the Editor-in-Chief of the Columbia Law Review—the first Black student to hold that position.

Jennifer Uren, Covington

Jennifer Uren is an associate at Covington and is based in New York. Jennifer advises private investment funds, private equity firms and private and public companies in a variety of finance transactions, including direct, club and syndicated financings, many of which involve cross-border components. She also has experience in acquisition financing (for public and private companies and private equity firms), second lien financing, asset-based facilities, debt capital market transactions and the monetization of pharmaceutical royalty streams.

 Jennifer received her B.A. from the University of California, San Diego and earned her J.D., magna cum laude, from Cornell Law School where she was Order of the Coif.

Daniel Vatanaviggun, Allen & Overy

Daniel Vatanaviggun is the U.S. Senior Manager of Law Student Recruitment at Allen & Overy LLP. Dan does direct outreach in collaboration with law schools’ student organizations & career services offices, as well as individualized counseling and mentoring.  Dan lends firm-side hiring and professional development insights, in the advisement of prospective associates during the early stages of their careers.

A self-described “ESL, third culture kid,” Dan’s personal emphasis lies in working with FirstGen attorneys and students of color. Dan previously practiced as an IP litigation associate in the San Francisco office of the global firm Coudert Brothers, having summered in their Bangkok and New York offices. Dan has also served as Recruiting Attorney and Global Director for firms on both the East and West coasts.  

Dan received his B.A. from Stanford University and his J.D. from Boston College Law School.

Rachel Yu, Sullivan & Cromwell

Rachel Yu is a partner in Sullivan & Cromwell’s General Practice Group and is based in New York. Rachel’s practice concentrates on transactional work involving complex technology, intellectual property, and cybersecurity issues, including mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, licenses and transfers of intellectual property, joint ventures, research and development agreements, collaborations, data agreements, financings, settlements and strategic advice. She counsels clients in a wide range of industries, including healthcare and life sciences, software and other technology, consumer and retail, financial services, and media and telecommunications. Rachel was named by The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch for Intellectual Property Law (2022).

A thought-leader in the field, Rachel is a Lecturer in Law at Columbia Law School, where she teaches a course on IP transactions. She also regularly speaks on topics involving intellectual property and trademark law and artificial intelligence.

Rachel is also committed to pro bono. For many years, she has co-led the Legal Aid Society’s Associates’ Campaign in its annual fundraising efforts at the firm. Most recently, she has also represented clients in transgender name changes, in an uncontested divorce case and through the Clemency Project.

Rachel received her A.B. from Princeton University and both her M.S. and J.D. from Stanford University.