Author Description

Gia Luisa Honnen, J.D., Ph.D., LL.M., M.B.A. Dr. Gia Luisa Honnen is a practicing transactional attorney and also serves as the Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary for a global biotechnology company. For over 20 years, she has taught business law as a Professor of Practice in Business Law for Pepperdine University’s Graziadio Business School. She also teaches as an adjunct professor at both Pepperdine Law School, in Securities Regulation, Communications Law, and Entrepreneurship, and at Loyola Law School in Business Planning/Startup Venture Finance and Securities Regulation. She has a Ph.D. in Political Science from Claremont Graduate University, is a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar honors graduate with an LL.M. from Columbia Law School, graduated Magna Cum Laude with a J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law, and holds an M.B.A. with a Finance concentration from Pepperdine University. In her spare time, she rides her horse and keeps Newfoundland dogs. She is married and lives in the Los Angeles area. T. L. Smith, J.D., LL.M. Professor Smith serves as in-house counsel for an international manufacturing corporation that operates around the world. She helps her company manage corporate compliance and governance, environmental and real estate matters, complex development projects and commercial transactions, data privacy, and ESG initiatives. She has an LL.M. from Columbia Law School (Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar) and has taught at Columbia Law School for over 20 years. She now teaches at the University of Minnesota Law School. She has done pro bono work for Major League Baseball, the New York Yankees, New York City, The Roberto Clemente Foundation, and The White House. She serves on the Board of Governors for the Dandie Dinmont Terrier Club of America. In her spare time, she raises Dandie Dinmont Terriers to help preserve, protect, and raise public awareness of this beloved and endangered breed.