PracticePro

Date: Friday, April 11, 2025, 10:30 AM – 7:30 PM ET

Location: Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, 125 Broad St, New York, NY 10004

Do you want to gain the knowledge and exact formula for securing a great summer associate position or post-graduate career? Master the substantive and soft skills and competencies you will need during your summer internships to deliver stellar work product, build a fantastic brand, and receive a permanent employment offer? Would you like to be part of an exclusive group of students participating in recruiting opportunities with PracticePro’s law firm partners?

TARGET AUDIENCE

The conference is best suited for 1Ls and 2Ls. Incoming 1Ls, 3Ls, and LLMs may also attend.

INSTRUCTORS & SPEAKERS

Niki Khoshzamir, PracticePro 

Niki Khoshzamir is the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of PracticePro, an EdTech social enterprise dedicated to providing skills training, coaching, and scholarships to empower the next generation of attorneys. In her role, she oversees all business and legal aspects of the company, including corporate governance, intellectual property, product development, and strategic partnerships.

Before founding PracticePro, Niki was an attorney at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr LLP, where she specialized in intellectual property litigation, complex commercial disputes, and trade sanctions compliance. Niki successfully represented companies and individuals in federal and state courts, at all stages of litigation, including trial. Niki was also the first recipient of the firm’s Pickering Fellowship on the West Coast, through which she led the Asian Law Caucus’ community education and advocacy work on U.S. sanctions on Iran.

Niki is the founder and former president of the Northern California Chapter of the Iranian American Bar Association (IABA). She served as the first chapter representative on the national IABA Board of Directors (2007), National IABA Vice President (2008), and a member of the chapter’s board of directors (2006-2012). She currently serves on the National IABA Advisory Board and the Leadership Council of Asian Law Caucus. From 2011 to 2017, she was a Lecturer at Law at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (Berkeley Law).

Niki earned her J.D. from Berkeley Law and her B.S. in Biology, summa cum laude, from Texas Southern University. Prior to her legal career, she was a researcher at the Baylor College of Medicine Human Genome Sequencing Center and MD Anderson Cancer Center. She also holds an Advanced Genetics and Genomics Certificate from Stanford School of Medicine.

Niki grew up in Tehran, London, and Vienna, and immigrated to the United States at age 19 to attend college. Attending the American International High School in Vienna shaped Niki’s passion for community and inclusion, which continues to guide her work today.

Prem Amarnani, McDermott, Will & Emery

Prem Amarnani is a partner of the New York office of McDermott, Will & Emery LLP who focuses his practice on corporate and transactional matters with respect to private investment funds. He represents investment managers and other financial institutions relating to the formation and operation of private investment funds and managed accounts. In addition, Mr. Amarnani represents sovereign wealth funds, businesses, and individuals in connection with their respective investments in a wide variety of private investment funds. 

Mr. Amarnani also advises on an array of other corporate matters, including investments in investment managers and secondary transactions. He has significant in-house legal experience with two of the world’s largest alternative asset managers. 

 Mr. Amarnani received his B.S. and M.S. from the Stevens Institute of Technology, and he graduated from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. 

Nischay Bhan, Baker Botts

Nischay Bhan is a Senior Associate in the New York office of Baker Botts LLP.  Mr. Bhan assists clients across various industries in navigating intricate civil litigation, dispute resolution, and arbitration matters, including those related to design and construction, energy, trade secrets, and insurance matters. Mr. Bhan possesses particular experience in construction law and has counseled owners and sponsors, as well as contractors, involved in a spectrum of major projects, including utility-scale power plants, industrial facilities, cryptocurrency centers, multifamily developments, office towers, and world-class museum and cultural spaces. Mr. Bhan also has notable experience representing clients in the energy space and adjacent industries (such as chemicals and manufacturing) in defending or prosecuting high-stakes commercial matters, including trade secret and confidential information claims, contract breaches, and insurance disputes. 

Mr. Bhan advocates for clients using skills honed in trials, arbitration hearings, and other contested matters involving an aggregate amount at stake in excess of $1 billion. Mr. Bhan also has significant appellate experience, arguing as lead counsel in proceedings before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.  

Mr. Bhan is actively involved in pro bono work, concentrating on immigration and constitutional matters. He annually presents on deportation defense at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. 

Mr. Bhan received his B.A. from Kenyon College and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. 

Michelle Chan, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld

Michelle Chan is a partner of the New York office of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. Ms. Chan focuses on complex business transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, and divestitures for private equity clients and private companies across various industries. She also represents private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies in related matters, including day-to-day corporate issues and corporate governance matters.  

Ms. Chan received her B.A. from Dartmouth College and graduated from Columbia Law School. 

Kyle Chow, Covington

Kyle W. Chow is an associate in the New York office of Covington & Burling LLP. He is a New York-based litigator with a focus on antitrust litigation and investigations. Mr. Chow is a member of the firm’s Cartel Defense Practice Group and the firm’s Civil Antitrust Litigation Practice Group. He has experience representing clients in complex, high-stakes litigation and investigations matters, including in federal district court and before the Federal Trade Commission and state antitrust regulators. 

Mr. Chow received his B.S.F.S. from Georgetown University, School of Foreign Service, and he graduated from New York University School of Law. 

Kyra Laursen, Sullivan & Cromwell 

Kyra is a Director in Sullivan & Cromwell LLP’s Legal Talent Office. Ms. Laursen has broad experience across talent management and core business functions, including recruiting, diversity, professional development and training, human resources, business development, and community outreach. She also is a Certified Lawyer Coach through Volta Talent Strategies. 

Ms. Laursen received her B.A. from Barnard College in American Studies.

Jeffrey Dennhardt, WilmerHale

Jeffrey A. Dennhardt is a partner of the New York office of WilmerHale. Mr. Dennhardt’s practice focuses on complex and high-stakes intellectual property and patent litigation matters, representing technology-focused and life science clients. Mr. Dennhardt has represented clients in US district courts, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the US International Trade Commission as well as in multinational litigations. Mr. Dennhardt has also counseled clients and assisted with matters before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, including inter partes review proceedings. His cases have involved a wide array of technologies including microprocessors, mobile telecommunications, computer software and smartphone applications, medical devices and pharmaceuticals, and genomics. Mr. Dennhardt advises clients on emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence and generative AI, blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies, and next-gen computing devices.  

Previously, Mr. Dennhardt was a legal intern with New York Attorney General, where he worked on fraudulent inducement and tortious interference matters. He also assisted in several litigation matters involving prisoners’ administrative review claims.  

Mr. Dennhardt is a co-founder and former full-stack developer for Spotella, a social network that enables individuals to share their favorite ‘spots’ through a visual and location-based service. 

Mr. Dennhardt received his B.S. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and graduated from Cornell Law School. 

Shin Hahn, Sheppard Mullin

Shin Hahn is a distinguished litigation partner at Sheppard Mullin’s New York office and a key member of the firm’s International Arbitration group. Ms. Hahn currently serves as the Co-Chair of the firm’s New York Recruiting Committee and the New York Office Diversity and Inclusion Attorney Network lead. 

Ms. Hahn has extensive experience in representing domestic and foreign clients in general commercial litigation, cross-border disputes, international arbitrations, white collar investigations, and regulatory proceedings. Ms. Hahn’s practice also focuses on international arbitration proceedings held under the rules of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the American Arbitration Association (AAA), and the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR). Ms. Hahn regularly advises clients in the energy, life sciences, information technology, and financial sectors on contract disputes, tort litigation, enforcement actions, and other various disputes in the United States. Ms. Hahn also has experience in advising financial institutions on bank regulatory inquiries from banking regulators such as the Federal Reserve Bank and the New York State Department of Financial Services. 

Ms. Hahn is a native speaker in Korean and frequently represents Korean companies in a wide variety of legal matters in the U.S. 

Ms. Hahn received her B.A. from Sogang University, her M.A. from Yonsei University, and her J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law. 

Claire James, Freshfields

Claire James is a partner in the New York office of Freshfields LLP and the head of the New York Private Equity group. Ms. James advises clients across different industries and asset classes, including on matters related to corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, and minority investments. Ms. James was a David Rockefeller Fellow in 2024, teaches at NYU Law and Cardozo and sits on the board of the Center for Family Representation.  

 Ms. James received her B.A. and M.A. from The Johns Hopkins University. She earned her J.D. and LL.M. from New York University School of Law and lives in the city with her husband and three small children.   

Patricia Li, American Express

Ms. Patricia Li is Vice President and Senior Counsel, US Cobrands and Strategic Partnerships, at American Express. Ms. Li’s work focuses on structuring, negotiating, and executing complex cobrand and partnership transactions in Amex’s consumer and commercial businesses and advising on portfolio RFPs, acquisitions, and exits. She was previously Vice President and Senior M&A Counsel and Lead Counsel for American Express Ventures, Amex’s in-house strategic investment group. She led legal support for M&A, joint venture, and venture investment transactions globally across Amex’s consumer, commercial, and network businesses, including transactions in Japan, the UK, and Spain. 

Prior to joining American Express, Ms. Li worked in the Mergers and Acquisitions group at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP in London and New York, where her practice included a wide variety of cross-border strategic transactions in numerous industries, including acquisitions, joint ventures, financings, and securities offerings.

Ms. Li received her J.D. from New York University School of Law and her A.B. in Chemistry from Harvard University.

Meenu Mathews, Davis Polk

Meenu Mathews is an associate in the Litigation Department of the New York office of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, where she works on cross-border and federal white-collar investigations and litigation.

Prior to joining Davis Polk, Ms. Mathews served as Co-Director of PracticePro’s Law School Mastery® program and was a PracticePro 1L Diversity Scholar, Class of 2023. During law school, she interned with the Department of Justice, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and two global law firms in Washington, D.C. and New York.  Ms. Mathews also served as the Executive Articles Editor of the Columbia Human Rights Law Review, Mentorship Chair for Empowering Women of Color, and an Academic Coach/Teaching Fellow for first-year students.   

Ms. Mathews graduated from Columbia Law School and received her B.A. from the George Washington University. 

James McDonald, Sullivan & Cromwell

James M. McDonald is a litigation partner in the New York office of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, and he is a member of the firm’s Securities & Commodities Investigations Practice and its Commodities, Futures and Derivatives Group. His practice focuses on advising clients on regulatory enforcement matters, white-collar criminal matters, and internal investigations, as well as on regulatory and corporate governance matters related to the securities and commodities laws. In addition, he has represented entities and individuals across the cryptocurrency ecosystem in government investigations, civil litigation, and regulatory matters. 

From 2017 to 2020, Mr. McDonald served as Director of Enforcement at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, where he had overall responsibility for all aspects of the CFTC’s enforcement program, including its investigations and litigations, market surveillance, and whistleblower office. Prior to joining the CFTC in 2017, Mr. McDonald served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York, where he investigated and prosecuted white-collar criminal offenses, as well as cases involving international narcotics trafficking and violent crime, and tried numerous jury cases. Additionally, Mr. McDonald served as a law clerk to John G. Roberts, Jr., Chief Justice of the United States, and Jeffrey S. Sutton, Jr., Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and as a Deputy Associate Counsel, in the Office of the White House Counsel, under President George W. Bush. 

Mr. McDonald received his A.B. from Harvard and graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law. 

Mary Otoo, Gibson Dunn

Mary Otoo is a litigation associate in the New York office of Gibson Dunn. She is a member of the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice Group. 

Ms. Otoo received her Juris Doctor in 2022 from Columbia Law School, where she served as Executive Editor of the Columbia Journal of Law and Social Problems. She graduated with honors from the University of Chicago in 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History. 

Thomas Pearce, Latham & Watkins

Thomas Pearce is a member of the Environment, Land & Resources Practice and the Litigation & Trial Department of the New York Office of Latham & Watkins LLP. He represents clients in environmental, commercial, products liability, and toxic tort litigations. He also advises clients on environmental regulatory and transactional issues relating to federal environmental laws, including the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Clean Air Act (CAA), and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), as well as their state equivalents. He has represented clients across a variety of sectors, including manufacturing, chemicals, paint and coatings, and oil and gas. 

Mr. Pearce is also an active member of the firm’s pro bono program and is a recipient of the firm’s 2020 Robert M. Dell Prize for Extraordinary Pro Bono Service as part of a team successfully litigating Voting Rights Act claims in New York. 

Mr. Pearce received his B.A. from the University of North Carolina and graduated from New York University School of Law. 

Derrick Rowe, Wilson Sonsini

Dr. Derrick Rowe is a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where his practice focuses on patent prosecution and counseling designed to help clients protect their intellectual property rights both domestically and internationally in the life sciences, biotechnology, molecular biology, pharmaceutical, diagnostic, and medical device fields. 

Dr. Rowe has extensive experience and has developed his practice in view of his experience in private practice as well as an in-house counsel at a large pharmaceutical company where he provided patent, contract, regulatory, and strategic counseling for pharmaceuticals and vaccines (including for multiple marketed products and related strategic partnerships). 

Dr. Rowe is the author or co-author of eight peer-reviewed scientific articles and several published legal articles. He has also served as speaker/panelist/moderator in multiple life science settings and has guest lectured at a U.S. law school on the topic of Intellectual Property Licensing Law. 

Dr. Rowe received his B.S. from the University of Florida, his M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of South Florida, and his J.D. from The George Washington University Law School.