David Batty is a Partner in the Commercial Lending Group and General Counsel with Chapman and Cutler LLP in Charlotte, North Carolina. He also serves as Chapman’s General Counsel. Batty concentrates his practice on representing commercial and investment banks in leveraged finance transactions. He has also written and lectured on capital markets topics and has served as an adjunct professor teaching secured transactions at UNC School of Law, in addition to frequently serving as faculty for the school’s annual Banking Institute conference. Prior roles include serving as lead bank counsel and borrower’s counsel on complex financing matters. Batty has a BA from George Washington University and a JD from Boston College Law School.

Sarah Cansler is Principal Privacy Counsel for Blackbaud, Inc., where she advises on data privacy and artificial intelligence governance for the company’s global cloud‑software operations in the fundraising and social‑good sectors. She also teaches Advanced Legal Writing and Data Privacy at Campbell Law. Previously, Cansler was an associate at Womble Bond Dickinson and Alston & Bird and served as a law clerk to Judge Gregory P. McGuire in the North Carolina Business Court. Cansler has a BA from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and a JD from UNC School of Law.

Annie Datesh is Chief Innovation Officer with Wilson Sonsini in San Francisco, California. In this role, Datesh helps guide the firm’s approach to technology adoption and collaborates across practice groups on innovation initiatives. Previously, she was a corporate and securities attorney in the firm’s Palo Alto office. She also gained in‑house experience through a secondment to Square, Inc. during its IPO and through serving on the leadership team of a venture‑backed legal tech start‑up. Datesh has a BA from Stanford University and a JD from The George Washington University Law School.

Rob Duggins is Partner and co‑leader of the Mergers & Acquisitions group at Smith Anderson LLP in Raleigh, North Carolina. Duggins handles domestic and cross‑border acquisitions, divestitures, and joint ventures, and also advises sell‑side clients on strategic planning and buy‑side clients on developing systematic acquisition programs and integrating execution between in‑house legal teams and firm counsel. Duggins also leads Smith Anderson’s Knowledge Management program and serves as the firm’s Corporate partner responsible for pricing and client service. Previously, he was an adjunct professor at UNC School of Law. Duggins has a BA from North Carolina State University and a JD from UNC School of Law.

Beth Ising is Partner and Co‑Chair of the Securities Regulation and Corporate Governance Practice Group with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP in Washington, DC. She also advises nonprofit organizations on governance matters and has contributed to national discussions on proxy advisor regulation, including testifying before the U.S. Congress and authoring publications on corporate governance and securities law. Previously, she served on the Advisory Board of Northwestern University’s Securities Regulation Institute and the Advisory Board of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware. Ising has a BS from James Madison University and a JD from UNC School of Law.

Kris Pickler is General Counsel, Global ISC, Procurement and Real Estate at Honeywell Technologies in Charlotte, North Carolina. Pickler oversees legal strategy for global supply chain, procurement, and real estate matters and works closely with business leadership across Honeywell’s worldwide footprint. Previously, Pickler held roles at Lowe’s Companies, Troutman Sanders, Buist Moore Smythe McGee, the US Senate, and the South Carolina Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management. Pickler has a BS from Francis Marion University, a Master of Environmental Management from Duke University, and a JD from UNC School of Law.

John Sieman is Principal Counsel in IP & Emerging Technology at SAS Institute, a global analytics and AI software company in Cary, North Carolina. Sieman has a lead role advising the company on intellectual property, artificial intelligence, open source, and cybersecurity. He also manages litigation and supports SAS’ public policy efforts in those areas. Previously, Sieman held roles at Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP and as an adjunct professor at UNC School of Law. Sieman has a BS from UNC, an MS in Computer Science from the University of Maryland, and a JD from UNC School of Law.

Lissa Broome is the Burton Craige Distinguished Professor, director of the school’s Center for Banking and Finance, faculty adviser to the North Carolina Banking Institute journal, and head of the school’s Director Development Initiative (DDI), which provides training for those interested in corporate board service and works with for-profit and non-profit companies to help match aspiring board members with board opportunities. Broome serves as the University’s Faculty Athletics Representative to the Atlantic Coast Conference and the NCAA. She teaches Banking Law and Secured Transactions. Broome has a BS degree from the University of Illinois and earned a JD from Harvard Law School.

Caleb Griffin is an Associate Professor at UNC School of Law. Griffin’s research focuses on corporate law, corporate governance, and technology policy & regulation. He teaches courses including Contracts, Business Organizations, Mergers & Acquisitions, and related business law courses. Before joining the University of North Carolina, Griffin served as a professor at law schools in Arkansas, Tennessee, and Virginia. Prior to teaching, Griffin practiced corporate law at Vinson & Elkins LLP in Houston, Texas. He earned his BBA from Oklahoma Christian University and JD from Harvard Law School.

Thomas Hazen is the Cary C. Boshamer Distinguished Professor of Law. He teaches Business Associations and Securities Regulation and is the author or co-author of casebooks in corporations, corporate finance, broker-dealer regulation, mergers and acquisitions, and securities regulation. Tom is also the author of a widely regarded six-volume treatise on Securities Regulation, a three-volume treatise on derivatives regulation, and a two-volume treatise on broker-dealer law. He has served as an expert witness in a number of high-profile securities cases. Tom received his undergraduate and law degrees from Columbia.

Andy Hessick serves as Judge John J. Parker Distinguished Professor of Law and Dean at UNC School of Law. Previously, Hessick clerked for Judge Reena Raggi on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and Judge A. Raymond Randolph on the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. He then held roles in the U.S. Solicitor General’s office and at Kellogg Huber Hansen Todd Evans & Figel PLLC in Washington, D.C. He previously taught at the University of Utah and Arizona State University and was a visiting assistant professor at Boston University. Hessick has a BA from Dartmouth College and a JD from Yale Law School.