UGA Law School to Present Symposium on Financial Regulation

Lona Panter

Monday, March 16th, 2015

The University of Georgia School of Law’s student-edited legal journal, the Georgia Law Review, will present “Financial Regulation: Reflections and Projections” on March 20 in the Larry Walker Room of Dean Rusk Hall on North Campus. Registration is required at http://georgialawreview.org/symposium-2015/.

During this daylong symposium, which begins at 8:30 a.m., scholars from across the country will discuss the recent financial crisis and the resulting evolution of financial regulation. There will be three panel discussions focusing on: the political economy of financial regulation, risk management and regulatory oversight, and the theory and structure of financial regulatory agencies.

The symposium’s two keynote presentations will be given by Luis A. Aguilar, a commissioner at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and Dennis P. Lockhart, the president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

Speaking at 10:15 a.m., Lockhart is responsible for all of the bank’s activities and serves on the Federal Reserve’s chief monetary policy body, the Federal Open Market Committee. Previously, he served on the faculty of the Georgetown University School of Foreign Science and was an adjunct professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. He was also managing partner at the private equity firm Zephyr Management, based in New York. 

Beginning at 1 p.m., Aguilar will deliver the second keynote. Aguilar was appointed to his position by President George W. Bush in 2008 and was reappointed by President Barack Obama in 2011. Aguilar is an alumnus of the UGA School of Law and, prior to his appointment as commissioner, was a partner at the international law firm McKenna Long & Aldridge. He also served as general counsel, executive vice president and corporate secretary of Invesco. During his career, Aguilar has focused on issues relating to corporate governance, public and private offerings, mergers and acquisitions, mutual funds, investment advisers, broker-dealers and other areas of federal and state securities law and regulations. 

“Financial regulation, and the relationship between regulators and firms, is constantly changing,” said Amanda M. McDowell, conference organizer and third-year law student. “This year’s symposium will examine where financial regulation has been, where it is going and how the recent crisis has been an impetus for reform and has raised unexpected questions. We are very pleased to have both Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Lockhart and SEC Commissioner Aguilar contributing to our discussions.”

The conference is free to attend. For attorneys, seven continuing legal education credits are available at a total cost of $80.

For more information and to see a full schedule of the symposium, see http://georgialawreview.org/symposium-2015/ or contact McDowell at [email protected].

The symposium is being held in conjunction with the inaugural Alumni Weekend at Georgia Law, which will feature a “State of the Law School” address delivered by the school’s new dean Peter B. “Bo” Rutledge. Other weekend activities include the Distinguished Service Scroll Awards Breakfast recognizing alumni Joey M. Loudermilk, Charles A. “Charlie” Hunnicutt and former law school Dean Rebecca Hanner White; as well as “Classes without Quizzes” taught by popular law school professors Dan T. Coenen, Thomas A. “Tom” Eaton and Lori A. Ringhand.