Education
J.D., Columbia
University School of Law
B.A., magna cum laude, Columbia University
Karl Okamoto is an expert in corporate, venture capital, private equity and
securities law and corporate finance. He has deep experience as both an attorney and as
an investor.
Professor Okamoto earned his J.D. at Columbia University School
of Law, where he was the Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, managing
editor of the Columbia Journal of Law & Social Problems and
served on the Jessup International Moot Court Team.
He was an associate
at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
and a partner at Kirkland & Ellis and at Dechert before working
as a consultant for Soros Fund Management and becoming senior
managing director for Atticus Capital LP. He served as executive
officer and board member of Harvest Book Company LLC and on the
board of Champps Entertainment Inc. He currently serves on the
board of Cosi Inc.
Professor Okamoto’s
previous teaching experience includes full-time faculty posts
at the Rutgers School of Law in Camden
and the University of Alabama School of Law.
His research focuses on securities and corporate law. His articles include "After
the Bailout: Regulating Systemic Moral Hazard" in the UCLA Law Review,
"Reputation and the Value of Lawyers," in the Oregon Law Review, and
"Oversimplification and the SEC’s Treatment of Derivative Securities Trading by
Corporate Insiders," in the Wisconsin Law Review. Two of Professor Okamoto’s
articles have been chosen for republication in the prestigious Corporate Practice
Commentator.
Professor Okamoto is a frequent presenter to both professional and academic audiences.
His opinion pieces have appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Legal Times. He has
been a guest blogger on The Conglomerate. Professor Okamoto has served as an expert on
various corporate and securities law issues.
He has served on the
Executive Committee of the Association of American Law Schools
Section on Minority Groups and co-organized
the First Annual Asian Pacific American Law Professors’ Conference.
He is a member of the Advisory Board for the Center for Corporate
Governance at Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business.
Read Karl Okamoto’s ongoing analysis of the unfolding financial
crisis at "The Conglomerate," where he is guest blogging "http://www.theconglomerate.org/."