Pitt Law Semester Report: Wide-ranging Lectures and Symposia Round Out Fall Semester Programming, While Faculty Continue to Receive National Accolades
On October 16, 2009, Pitt Law hosted The Past, Present, and Future of the SEC, a day-long symposium planned and hosted by Professors Douglas Branson and Peter Oh. Cosponsored by the University of Pittsburgh Law Review and the Securities and Exchange Commission Historical Society, the symposium attracted not only a full house of guests, but also many high-profile participants—including keynote speaker and current SEC Commissioner Troy Paredes, as well as three former chief economists of the SEC, the general counsel for NASDAQ, and a former secretary of the SEC. In addition to these distinguished guests, participating scholars came from Boston College, Georgetown University, Vanderbilt University, the University of Indiana, the College of William and Mary, and the University of Minnesota, among others.
The day’s programming consisted of panels on four topics—Corporation Finance, Investment Management, Trading and Markets, and Compliance and Enforcement—as well as a luncheon and keynote addresses by Paredes and Carla Rosati of the Securities and Exchange Commission Historical Society.
Pitt Chancellor Mark Nordenberg attended portions of the program and introduced Commissioner Paredes. Approximately 200 academics, area lawyers, and law students also attended the program.
The SEC Symposium was one of a host of varied Pitt Law events and lectures that took place during the fall 2009 semester. Law School Dean Mary Crossley emphasized the timely nature of the semester’s programming. “We were excited by our ability to bring to the Law School and the legal community in Pittsburgh some of the leading policymakers and scholars on issues of national and international importance,” she said. In addition to these programs, the Law School also enjoyed national recognition when several of its faculty members received prominent awards and high-profile media coverage.