Dear King Hall Community,


We are excited to share the inaugural newsletter for the new Center for Business Law and Society (CBLS) at UC Davis School of Law. CBLS seeks to address complex issues at the intersection of business, policy, and social impact.
 

CBLS had an active six months, with our launch symposium on January 29, 2006, and seven impactful events as part of our Experts in Business Law Lunch Speaker Series. Our inaugural symposium, “California and the Future of Business Law,” demonstrated CBLS’s promise as a convening hub for cutting-edge issues in business law, drawing on the expertise of our faculty, alumni, and broader community to examine California’s role in shaping markets, governance, and public policy. We thank the many distinguished alumni and friends of CBLS who participated in our programs or served on our Advisory Board. We especially thank the James T. Lim and So Yun Park Endowment Fund for its support of CBLS programming. 


CBLS prepares students to advance corporate responsibility and sound governance as tools for shaping a more equitable economy and society. We look forward to collaborating with our alumni, practitioners, and policymakers to drive the evolution of business law in California and beyond.


Warm regards,


Afra Afsharipour


CBLS Director and Ayer Endowed Chair in Business Law



On January 29, 2026, practitioners, policymakers, and faculty gathered at King Hall for the center's first symposium: California and the Future of Business Law. The symposium was supported by the James T. Lim and So Yun Park Endowment Fund.


Key Takeaways & Sessions:


• The Regulator's Perspective: Commissioner Khalil “KC” Mohseni '12 (California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation) discussed financial oversight with CBLS Director Professor Afra Afsharipour.
• California Dealmaking: A panel featuring CBLS Associate Director Professor Menesh Patel alongside prominent alumni practitioners explored the evolving dealmaking landscape in California.
• Tax Policy and Revenue: Professor Darien Shanske focused on California's power to influence state and national tax frameworks.
• Institutional Investors & The "California Effect" on Corporate Governance: UC Davis faculty, including CBLS Associate Director Professor Amelia Miazad, and experts from CalPERS and CalSTRS examined the impact of California's largest investors on corporate governance standards.
• Insights from General Counsels: King Hall alumni presented case studies on emerging legal issues, including cryptocurrency, AI-related liability, and the evolving role of in-house counsel.


If you did not have the opportunity to attend our symposium, you can view the recordings here.  

In Spring 2026, CBLS hosted legal experts to discuss current transactional, environmental, and corporate challenges. Our speakers included distinguished academics from leading universities in Asia, our own King Hall scholars, expert practitioners, and alumni, including our advisory board member, CalSTRS General Counsel Brian J. Bartow '89.

Click here for more on all of our events.

Professor Amelia Miazad ranks 74th among the nation’s most-cited legal scholars according to a new paper by George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School librarian Rob Willey and Associate Dean Melanie Knapp.

Professor David Horton ranks 81st on the same “Top 100 Legal Scholars of 2025” list.

Professor Menesh Patel presented his paper, “Shared Authority, Inadequate Enforcement: Antitrust Oversight of Wholesale Electricity Mergers,” at the Cambridge-USC Antitrust Workshop.

Professor Darien Shanske has been interviewed by multiple news outlets and co-wrote an op-ed in the San Francisco Chronicle about the state “billionaire tax” plan he co-authored.

Professor Sarah Polcz wrote an op-ed for The Hill, and her research into an AI tax was cited by Senator Bernie Sanders in the New York Times.

The American Lawyer quoted Professor Thomas Joo about insider trading.

Serving our students is at the core of the CBLS’s mission. This year, we collaborated closely with both the UC Davis Business Law Journal (BLJ) and the Business Law Society. In addition, our two CBLS Fellows worked directly with our faculty leadership to help advance the goals of the center. Learn more about our student leadership and initiatives.

In April 2026, CBLS held a certificate ceremony with our Business Law faculty and graduates who completed the Business Law Concentration. 

Have items for the CBLS Newsletter? Please send them to cbls@ucdavis.edu.
Visit law.ucdavis.edu/centers/business.

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