Presented by the Business and Entrepreneurship Law Program at the Earle Mack School of Law and the Laurence A. Baiada Center for Entrepreneurship in Technology at the LeBow College of Business


Held: Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Drexel University Earl Mack School of Law

In 2009, more than two dozen new lawyers will graduate from Drexel Law after completing a unique program in transactional lawyering. These new business lawyers joined scores of students who are completing Drexel’s nationally ranked business programs in entrepreneurship. Many of these new professionals expect to start and build careers here in our city and its environs. So it was timely to ask where their greatest opportunities lie and how they may best capture them.

The panel discussion featured a group of prominent members of Philadelphia’s business community who understand the region’s economy and the role investors and their lawyers play. We asked each to predict where the greatest growth in business activity in our region will be five to 10 years from now. Will it be biotechnology, healthcare, higher education, finance, clean technology, retail or other? Or, is Philadelphia just a nice place to live or go to college? Where do our strengths lie, and what obstacles stand in our way? How do legal and business professionals contribute to that growth? What skills will they need to add value?

The panelists answered two overriding questions for those poised to graduate with a law or business degree and an interest in doing “transactional” work as a business lawyer, financier or entrepreneur in the Philadelphia area:

  • Where would you invest your human capital?
  • What makes that human capital the most valuable, and how do you enhance its worth?

The panel included:

  • Tom Balderston, President & CEO of the Mid-Atlantic Capital Alliance
  • Paul Halpern, Partner & General Counsel at Versa Capital
  • Lisa Jacobs, Partner at Pepper Hamilton LLP
  • Henry Nassau, Chair of the Corporate Group at Dechert LLP and former COO and GC at Internet Capital Group
  • Todd C. Peterson, Operating Partner at Element Partners
  • Tim Schiller, Sr. Economic Analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
  • Chris Starr, Founder and Executive Director at Mid-Atlantic Angel Group Fund

The discussion was moderated by Thomas Kennedy, Adjunct Professor of Law and Counsel at Versa Capital, and Professor Karl Okamoto.

For more information, please contact Karl Okamoto at ko54@drexel.edu.