MACON – The 2018 Mercer Law Review Symposium, to be held Oct. 5, will focus on “Corporate Law in the Trump Era.” The symposium, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Law Review, Mercer School of Law and the Southeastern Association of Law Schools, and will take place from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. in the Law School’s first-floor courtroom.
The symposium has been approved for 6 CLE hours, including 1 ethics hour. Registration for the CLE will begin at 8:30 a.m. The cost is $125 and must be paid by check or money order at the door. Preregistration is encouraged. Participants are encouraged to arrive early and park in the upper lot. Breakfast and lunch will be provided for CLE attendees.
The election of President Donald J. Trump, whose campaign was premised on his business acumen, has had significant implications for the financial industry. This year’s Mercer Law Review Symposium will bring together several experts to consider the state of corporate and financial regulation so far under President Trump and the prospects for the remainder of his term.
Gary Simson, the Law School’s Macon Chair in Law and the faculty liaison for the event, observes that: “For the second year in a row, the Mercer Law Review is co-hosting its annual symposium with the Southeastern Association of Law Schools. This year’s symposium on corporate and financial regulation during the Trump presidency promises to be every bit as successful as last year’s on possible innovations in criminal defense. Like last year’s, this one features a cutting-edge topic and a group of speakers who are leading experts in the field. It is sure to provide plenty of food for thought for students and faculty across the university, as well as attorneys practicing in the field.”
The symposium will begin with introductions and a program overview by Dean Cathy Cox, Law Review editors and Professor Simson.
The first panel discussion, from 9:15 a.m.-10:30 a.m., features Joan MacLeod Heminway, “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride: Business Attorney’s Deregulation in the Trump Era,” and Eric C. Chaffee, “The Heavy Burden of Thin Regulation: Lesson’s Learned From The SEC’s Regulation of Cryptocurrencies.” Heminway is Rick Rose Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Tennessee- Knoxville, and Chaffee is a professor of law at the University of Toledo’s College of Law in Ohio.
The second panel, from 10:45 a.m.-noon, includes Darren Bush on “Trump The Liberator Or Trump The Mercy Killer? Antitrust In The Age Of ‘Neopopulism,’” and Matthew Lyon on “The Trump Administration’s Response to the Blockchain Era.” Bush is a professor of law at the University of Houston Law Center, and Lyon is an associate dean for academic affairs and associate professor of law at Duncan School of Law at Lincoln Memorial University.
Following a break for lunch, the final session, from 1:30 p.m.-2:45 p.m, features Brian Krumm on “Regulatory Reform and Innovation in the Trump Era,” and Ciara Torres-Spelliscy on “From a Mint on a Hotel Pillow to an Emolument Empirical.” Krumm is an associate professor of law at the University of Tennessee–Knoxville. Torres-Spelliscy is Leroy Highbaugh Senior Research Chair and Professor of Law at Stetson University School of Law in Florida.
Mercer Law Professors Linda Jellum and Jeremy Kidd and Mercer Law alumna Billie Pritchard ’12 of King and Spalding will serve as commentators.
