As leading business lawyers grappled with regulatory reforms in the wake of the financial crisis, 14 students attended the annual fall meeting of the American Bar Association's Business Law Section in Washington, D.C.

Members of the Drexel Business Law Organization took part in workshops where seismic changes in federal law were on the minds of regulators and the members of the corporate bar.

Traveling with Professor Karl Okamoto, who directs the school's Business and Entrepreneurship Law Program, the students also met with federal regulators who acquired sharper teeth through the Dodd—Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which President Obama signed in the wake of the 2008 financial collapse.

The students visited the Securities and Exchange Commission and learned about the newly created Division of Risk Strategy and Financial Innovation during a dinner with Bruce Kraus, co-chief counsel for the division.

Dining with Kraus — former partner with Willkie Farr & Gallagher — gave students an uncommon opportunity to meet and learn from a highly accomplished and skilled practitioner who recently traded a lucrative Wall Street practice for public service at a time of extraordinary upheaval.

"It was awesome to learn about the new division and to see the changes in regulations," said student Claudia Hage, a 2L who is concentrating in Business and Entrepreneurship Law. "It was also really interesting to attend a workshop at the fall meeting on business cases before the Supreme Court. There were lots of practical techniques offered."

The whole trip allowed students both to learn about hot topics in the law and to observe interactions among the elite of the nation's business bar. Such experiences are valuable, Okamoto said, since students often view business lawyers as technicians rather than as engaging professionals who are passionate about their craft and the issues that define it. Meeting high-powered attorneys outside of boardrooms and courtrooms also helps familiarize students with the culture surrounding the profession, he added.

Student Daniel Popkave, who completed a co-op placement with the general counsel's office of WaWa, said the trip broadened his understanding about the breadth of practice and professional opportunities within business law.

Aristotel Moumas, president of the Drexel Business Law Organization, said it was eye-opening to learn about the impact of new federal regulations on the financial industry.

"IPOs (Initial Public Offerings) are now going to be happening overseas, instead of in New York," Moumas noted. This was the third time the law school took part in the Business Law Section's annual fall meeting and the largest delegation to date.

"Each year the Drexel delegation is by far the largest of all the student groups, including those from DC-based law schools," Okamoto noted. "That says something about the school's commitment to making our students part of the legal community from the first day."