Brief Encounters

Enlightening insights from following a non-traditional path toward becoming an energy and environmental lawyer.

In this fourth episode of Season 2, A. Valerie Mirko, Partner at Armstrong Teasdale LLP and Leader of the firm’s Securities Regulation and Litigation Practice, and William Nelson, Director of Public Policy and Associate General Counsel at the Investment Adviser Association, discuss the Senate confirmation of Paul Atkins and what priorities Atkins will be focusing on. Valerie and William also discu...

Episode 3 of Season 2 picks up where the kickoff episode https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/dcbar/episodes/Securities-Regulation-and-Enforcement-Series-Insights-on-SEC-Transition-and-Policy-Priorities-with-Pete-Driscoll-e2tps9i/a-abo6453 with Pete Driscoll left off. A few weeks after the Presidential Transition A. Valerie Mirko, Partner at Armstrong Teasdale LLP and Leader of the firm’s Securit...

Join D.C. Affairs Community Co-Chair Angela Parsons and Kathryn Ray, librarian, historian, and past president of the League of Women Voters of the District of Columbia, as they discuss the early 20th century leadup to the passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which abolished voting discrimination on the basis of sex. The conversation highlights luminaries of the American Womens’...

In celebration of International Women’s Day, the Human Rights and Immigration Subcommittee of the International Law Community is spotlighting exciting recent developments in international women’s rights. Among other topics, our conversation will explore historic efforts to hold the Taliban, the de facto authorities in Afghanistan, accountable under international law in connection with the extreme...

In Season 2 Episode 2 of this series, A. Valerie Mirko, Partner at Armstrong Teasdale and Leader of the firm's Securities Regulation and Litigation Practice, and William Nelson, Director of Public Policy and Associate General Counsel at the Investment Adviser Association, speak with veteran securities litigator, Daniel Sommers, Partner at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, about the Priva...

Join D.C. Affairs Community Co-Chair Austin A.B. Ownbey and D.C. Public Service Commissioner Ted Trabue as they discuss the history of Fort Reno Park and the Chevy Chase neighborhood. Built on ground that was once farmland, briefly a Civil War military fort, and then a thriving predominantly Black, working-class community, today Fort Reno Park is an expanse of open grass, sports fields and the Ali...

In the exciting kickoff to Season 2, A. Valerie Mirko, Partner at Armstrong Teasdale LLP and Leader of the firm’s Securities Regulation and Litigation Practice, and William Nelson, Director of Public Policy and Associate General Counsel at the Investment Adviser Association, chat with Pete Driscoll, Partner at PwC and former Director of the SEC’s Division of Examinations. Drawing on Pete’s unique...

In the fourth episode of the Intersections in Law and Tech series, Cathy Pagano of the Board of the Women's Bar of Association of D.C. (WBA) and D.C. Bar EENR Community member Kathryn Caballero interview Sadina Montani, President-Elect of the DC Bar, Past President of the WBA, and Partner at Crowell. Sadina discusses the impact of new technologies in legal practice, with a focus on the hot topic o...

Arthur Wilmarth argues that we must revive the wisdom of the New Deal era Glass-Steagall Act and again separate banks from the securities markets and commercial ventures. Federal bailouts of failing entities must be limited in the future to banks conducting a traditional banking business, rather than bailouts that extend broadly to protect securities activities and commercial ventures. Continuing...

As part of the D.C. Bar International Law Community’s historic year of elections* initiative focusing on global principles and standards for national elections, Brief Encounters hosted Thomas Garrett and Tova Wang, global democracy experts to discuss how this historic year of elections is now transitioning into a historic year of governance in the United States and around the world. We considered...

In episode 8 of Season 1 of the Securities Regulation and Enforcement Series, A. Valerie Mirko, a Partner at Armstrong Teasdale LLP and Leader of the firm’s Securities Regulation and Litigation Practice, and William Nelson, Director of Public Policy and Associate General Counsel at the Investment Adviser Association, continue to chat about the 2025 Presidential Transition and discuss the nominatio...

In episode 7 of this series, A. Valerie Mirko, a Partner at Armstrong Teasdale LLP and Leader of the firm’s Securities Regulation and Litigation Practice, and William Nelson, Director of Public Policy and Associate General Counsel at the Investment Adviser Association, chat about the 2025 Presidential Transition with Sara Crovitz, a Partner at Stradley Ronon and Co-Chair of the firm’s Investment M...

As part of the D.C. Bar International Law Community’s historic year of elections* initiative focusing on global principles and standards for national elections, Brief Encounters hosted Dr. Beata Martin-Rozumilowicz and Julia Brothers, experts in the democratic elections and governance sector, to discuss international standards and leading-edge European legislation on democratic elections, includin...

D.C. Bar Environment Energy and Natural Resources Community co-chair, Lisa Anne Hamilton, interviews Julius M. Redd, Principal and co-founder of the Environmental Justice Practice Group at Beveridge & Diamond. Julius shares his insights about the rapidly evolving legal developments driving the enforcement of state and federal environmental justice law.  The conversation addresses the recent pe...

As part of the DC Bar International Law Community’s historic year of elections* initiative focusing on global principles and standards for national elections, Tzili Mor interviews Patrick (Pat) Merloe, renowned global elections expert and DC Bar member, who elucidated the evolution, progress, and current concerns about elections and human rights globally and in the United States. In addition to ex...

In episode 6 of this series, A. Valerie Mirko, a Partner at Armstrong Teasdale LLP and Leader of the firm’s Securities Regulation and Litigation Practice, and William Nelson, Director of Public Policy and Associate General Counsel at the Investment Adviser Association, chat about the SEC’s recent off-channel communications settlements. The episode focuses on the history of these settlements, recen...

In the third episode of the series, "Intersections: Energy and Environmental Issues in Law and Tech," D.C. Bar EENR Community member Kathryn Caballero and Cathy Pagano of the Board of the Women's Bar of Association of D.C. (WBA) interview Nichole Saunders, Director and Senior Attorney in the Energy Transition Program of the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). Nichole shares how she is...

In episode 5 of this series, A. Valerie Mirko, a Partner at Armstrong Teasdale LLP and Leader of the firm’s Securities Regulation and Litigation Practice, and William Nelson, an Associate General Counsel at the Investment Adviser Association, sit down with SEC Investor Advocate Cristina Martin Firvida. The conversation delves into the crucial role of this statutorily mandated position in safeguard...

In episode 4 of this series, A. Valerie Mirko, a Partner at Armstrong Teasdale LLP and Leader of the firm’s Securities Regulation and Litigation Practice, and William Nelson, an Associate General Counsel at the Investment Adviser Association, discuss recent development in private funds regulation with Karl Egbert, Partner at Baker McKenzie and Co-Chair of the Firm’s Global Private Funds Group. The...

Angela Zhang, previously of the University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law, and currently of the USC Gould School of Law, is the author of High Wire: How China Regulates Big Tech and Governs its Economy (Oxford Press, 2024). She provides important and nuanced insights into China's hierarchical regulatory style.  Don Resnikoff moderates. Please note, the positions and opinions expressed by the spea...

Kimberly Wood, 2023-24 law student fellow with the D.C. Bar Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Community, interviews Elizabeth Klein, Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). Klein discusses BOEM's role in overseeing offshore wind energy development in the US, outlining their process from identifying potential lease areas to conducting environmental assessments and enga...

In episode 3 of this series, A.Valerie Mirko, a Partner at Armstrong Teasdale LLP and Leader of the firm’s Securities Regulation and Litigation Practice, and William Nelson, an Associate General Counsel at the Investment Adviser Association, discuss recent developments in insider trading with Deborah Meshulam (Partner and a leader of DLA Piper's Securities Enforcement practice). The conversati...

Panelists Bob Hosea with the DC Superior Court’s Multi-Door Dispute Resolution Division and volunteer mediator Stephen Fennell discuss how the Civil Court mediation process can help the parties communicate with each other and expedite resolution of the litigation dispute. Volunteer mediator Fennell focuses on the rewards and challenges of being a mediator. Moderated by Don Resnikoff. Please note,...

Celebrate the 100th episode of Brief Encounters as we talk about the evolution of leadership within the D.C. Bar. Join the past, present, and future D.C. Bar Presidents—Charles Lowery, Jr., Ellen Jakovic, and Shaun Snyder— for a candid discussion reflecting on their legacies, visions, and the defining moments that have shaped the D.C. Bar. Tune in to hear about the challenges and triumphs of bar l...