Annual Business Law Seminar 2024

Course Schedule

• Q&A will be handled via chat room for Webcast attendees.
• Q&A will be handled via e-mail for telephone seminar attendees.

Faculty

Patrick J. Austin, Woods Rogers / Richmond

Christopher Grobbel, Goodwin Proctor LLC / Washington, DC

Faisal Moghul, Fox & Moghul—Attorneys at Law / Fairfax

Bruce H. Russell, II, Bruce H. Russell II, PC / Lebanon

Roderick W. Simmons, Hirschler / Richmond

Beth Burgin Waller, Woods Rogers / Richmond

Moderator

Faisal Moghul, Fox & Moghul—Attorneys at Law / Fairfax

About the Speakers

Patrick J. Austin, Woods Rogers / Richmond

Patrick J. Austin focuses exclusively on cybersecurity and data privacy issues. His clients span industries such as banking, healthcare, manufacturing, high-tech, and energy. Mr. Austin helps clients navigate complex and novel regulatory compliance issues associated with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and other information technology laws and frameworks.

Mr. Austin’s credentials in the field of cybersecurity and data privacy law are extensive. He is a Certified Information Privacy Professional in both U.S. and European law (CIPP/US & CIPP/E) by International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), which is accredited by the American Bar Association.

Mr. Austin received his undergraduate degree from Old Dominion University and his law degree from George Mason University School of Law, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the National Security Law Journal.

Christopher Grobbel, Goodwin Proctor LLC / Washington, DC

Chris Grobbel counsels clients on broker-dealer and securities market regulation, including compliance and supervision. He represents clients in SEC and FINRA matters, including on broker-dealer formation and registration and ongoing compliance. He has a wide array of specialized experience at the SEC relating to broker-dealer compliance with SEC and FINRA regulations, SRO rules, market structure, Regulation NMS compliance, Regulation ATS, equity and options trading, AML compliance, Market Access Rule compliance, cybersecurity, financial technology and cryptocurrency, and communications with the public.

Mr. Grobbel’s unique experience gives him both breadth and depth of understanding of the securities laws and regulatory approach applicable to broker-dealers, SROs, ATSs, and other industry participants. Prior to joining Goodwin, Mr. Grobbel served at the SEC as counsel in both the Division of Trading and Markets and the Division of Examinations.

Faisal Moghul, Fox & Moghul-Attorneys at Law / Fairfax

Faisal Moghul’s accomplishments in the areas of business and commercial litigation are extensive and distinguished. He was selected into the elite group of America’s Top 100 Civil Defense Litigators (2021–2023), named among the Virginia Lawyers Weekly “Go-To” Business Litigation Lawyers (2023), and has been consistently featured on the prestigious Super Lawyers Rising Stars shortlist every year since 2016.

Mr. Moghul is a prolific author whose works have received critical acclaim in both state and national media. He is a regular contributor to several premier legal publications, including LexisNexis and the American Law Institute. He recently co-authored a notable publication with the American Law Institute on “Direct vs Derivative Claims: Permitting Direct Shareholder Actions for Closely Held Corporations” (July 2022), which explores and analyzes critical issues related to recovery of damages in derivative litigation.

Mr. Moghul has extensive experience in “business divorce” cases involving dissolution, valuation, and other disputes among co-owners of closely held business entities, such as limited liability companies, corporations, and partnerships. He represents both majority and minority shareholders/members/partners and frequently counsels business owners prior to litigation, assisting them in designing and negotiating complex buyouts, sales, and division of business assets.

As a former member of the American Bar Association’s Committee on LLCs, Partnerships, and Unincorporated Entities, Mr. Moghul has substantial experience in designing complex asset protection structures involving a combination of different business entities for high-net-worth individuals and executives in the real estate, technology, and retail industries.

In addition to his litigation and advisory roles, Mr. Moghul was the Moderator and Presenter at last year’s Business Law Institute seminar. His presentation, “Business Law Institute 2023: LLC Operating Agreements—Top 10 Clauses You Must Have,” was well-received and highlighted his deep expertise in LLC law.

Bruce H. Russell, II, Bruce H. Russell II, PC / Lebanon

Bruce H. Russell, II, has practiced law for more than twenty years, mainly in the courts of his native Southwest Virginia. In that time, he has been a prosecutor, law professor, member of a small firm, and solo practitioner, and is proud of his service to his Commonwealth and community in each of these roles. Currently, Mr. Russell has a large and diverse general practice, and represents both individuals and businesses in numerous matters, from business formation to contract disputes and beyond. In recognition of his extensive and continuing service to the bench, bar, and public, he was named the 2023 Virginia State Bar Local Bar Leader of the Year.

Mr. Russell graduated from Richlands High School, the University of Virginia (where he served on the Honor Committee and its Executive Committee as Chairman of the Bad Check Committee), and the University of Richmond’s T.C. Williams School of Law. He began his legal career in Charlottesville at the turn of the century with the boutique firm of Thompson & Hagy, focusing on representing small high-tech companies, primarily start-ups. He soon returned to the hills of his youth in Southwest Virginia, pursuing an opportunity to join the Buchanan County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office as that office’s only full-time assistant. While there, he prosecuted everything from murder to the theft of fighting roosters. Shortly after arriving in Grundy, the Appalachian School of Law brought him onboard as an adjunct faculty member at the then-fledgling school.

Returning to private practice in 2003, Mr. Russell joined the law firm of Bolling & Hearl (eventually Bolling Hearl Russell), working out of Abingdon and Richlands, plus parts in-between. He established his own firm in 2009, sharing space in Lebanon with the Hall-of-Fame attorney Steve Quillen. Currently, he serves as President of the Russell County Bar, the 28th Circuit Criminal Defense Bar, and the Patrick Henry American Inn of Court. He is also Chairman of the Southwest Virginia Law Foundation and serves on the Board of Southwest Virginia Legal Aid. He is a member of the Virginia State Bar Council, as well as that body’s Executive Committee. Additionally, he serves on the VSB Special Committee on Bench-Bar Relations and is a faculty member of the Harry L. Carrico Professionalism Course. He is a member of the Boyd-Graves Conference.

Mr. Russell has been named a Fellow of the Virginia Law Foundation, and a Virginia Lawyers Weekly Leader in the Law. He is rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell.

Roderick W. Simmons, Esq., Hirschler / Richmond

Roderick (Rod) W. Simmons is a partner in the Richmond office at Hirschler. For nearly 30 years, he has counseled businesses on a wide array of legal issues, principally involving mergers and acquisition (M&A) transactions as well as ongoing day-to-day business operations.

Beth Burgin Waller, Woods Rogers / Richmond

As chair of the Cybersecurity & Data Privacy practice at Woods Rogers, Beth Waller’s practice is fully devoted to cybersecurity, data privacy, and artificial intelligence (AI). Clients ranging from local government and state agencies to mid-market firms and Fortune 200 companies depend on Ms. Waller for advice and counsel. Her clients span industries such as banking, healthcare, manufacturing, high-tech, and energy. She has deep experience counseling clients pioneering new technologies, including in the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) with privacy regulatory concerns.

Ms. Waller’s credentials in the field are extensive. She is a certified Privacy Law Specialist by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), which is accredited by the American Bar Association. In addition, she is a Certified Information Privacy Professional with expertise in both U.S. and European law (CIPP/US & CIPP/E) and a Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM), also from the IAPP.

In addition to client work, Ms. Waller contributes thought leadership across the cybersecurity and data privacy communities. In 2022, she was appointed by the Governor of Virginia to the Commonwealth’s first Cybersecurity Planning Committee for local and state governmental entities. In 2024, she was named one of Virginia Business magazine’s “100 People to Meet” and was featured as an innovator in the Commonwealth. She writes extensively for OneTrust Data Guidance on the nuances of Virginia’s new data privacy law as a OneTrust Data Privacy Expert. She is also a frequent contributor to the national cybersecurity journal Dark Reading, where she writes about the intersection of law, privacy, cybersecurity, and technology.

Ms. Waller has been recognized repeatedly in lawyer-ranking publications including Best Lawyers in America, Virginia Super Lawyers, and Virginia Business. Virginia Lawyers Weekly has named her among its “Up & Coming Lawyers” and “Influential Women in Law.” She has been featured as a data privacy expert by OneTrust Data Guidance in their international magazine spotlighting global privacy professionals. Most recently, Ms. Waller was named among the 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Cyber Lawyers list.