Power, Governance, and Contemporary Finance
2026 Chicago-Kent Law Review Online Live Symposium
Symposium Editor
James Fallows Tierney, Chicago-Kent College of Law
Chicago–Kent College of Law
February 20, 2026 | 10:00 am – 12:45 pm (CST)
Contact: Colleen Christensen | cchristensen@hawk.illinoistech.edu
This symposium examines how law structures power, wealth creation, and accountability in modern financial markets. Rather than treating markets as neutral sites of exchange, the contributions interrogate the legal, institutional, and political arrangements that determine who captures value, who bears risk, and whose interests are prioritized when market norms collide with democratic governance and the rule of law. Across securities regulation, corporate governance, venture finance, and accounting and audit regimes, the symposium foregrounds law’s constitutive role in shaping financial capitalism itself. Several contributions revisit foundational questions in securities law and property theory, including whether existing regulatory frameworks legitimize wealth extraction under the guise of neutrality, efficiency, or innovation. Others explore the concentration of economic and political power—from venture-backed wealth accumulation to corporatized populism and the challenges posed by charismatic firm leadership—to ask how legal institutions respond when market actors test the limits of legal constraint. The symposium also addresses the fragility of regulatory independence and professional gatekeeping in financial markets, highlighting the stakes of political influence over enforcement, disclosure, and materiality standards. Taken together, these essays reveal finance as a contested governance project rather than a technical domain, raising urgent questions about institutional design, democratic legitimacy, and the capacity of law to discipline markets that increasingly shape social and political life. By situating contemporary financial practices within broader debates about power, ideology, and institutional integrity, the symposium aims to advance a richer account of how law can—and should—respond to the realities of twenty-first-century capitalism.
The Symposium is free. Please register here.
You may self-apply for CLE credit in a state of your choice; however, please note that approval is not guaranteed.
Schedule
Friday, February 20, 2026 | 10:00 am – 12:45 pm | On Zoom
10:00 am – 10:10 am: Welcome Remarks
| 10:10 am – 10:30 am | James Fallows Tierney |
| 10:30 am – 10:50 am | Jayme Herschkopf |
| 10:50 am – 11:10 am | Benjamin Edwards |
| 11:10 am – 11:20 am | Open Discussion and Q&A |
11:20 am – 11:30 am: Break
| 11:30 am – 11:50 am | Katharine Jackson |
| 11:50 am – 12:10 pm | Todd Phillips |
| 12:10 pm – 12:30 pm | Open Discussion and Q&A |
| 12:30 pm – 12:45 pm | Concluding remarks and Thanks |