Judge Green begins by discussing white collar criminal litigation, internal investigations, and the challenges that corporations face in preventing their employees from committing fraud. She then discusses prosecutorial discretion and the impact that her practice had on her perspective as a judge. Judge Green then shares an exciting and complex case that she was involved with. The interview concludes with a discussion about advancing the rule of law.

Judge Karen F. Green is an attorney with more than forty years of experience investigating, litigating and resolving civil and criminal disputes. From 2016 to 2022, she was an Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court, where she handled cases alleging serious felonies in criminal trial sessions and complex civil disputes in the Business Litigation Session. Prior to her judicial appointment, Green was a partner at WilmerHale, where her practice concentrated on complex business litigation, including the defense of government investigations and white-collar, criminal litigation. Judge Green co-chaired WilmerHale's Litigation Department, was a member of its Executive Committee, and chaired legacy Hale and Dorr’s Litigation Department. Earlier in her career, she was Deputy US Attorney for the federal District of Massachusetts, Chief of Staff to the Governor of Massachusetts, and an assistant US attorney. Judge Green has served as President of Litigation Counsel of America and on the boards of numerous other organizations, including the ABA’s Center for Human Rights, CareGroup, Inc., Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Justice Bridge, and Fiduciary Trust Company. A 2015 Fellow of Harvard University’s Advanced Leadership Initiative, she is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Harvard-Radcliffe.

We interview Sheila Heen on negotiation and difficult conversations. The talk includes practical advice, understanding the role of identity, discussions on the research behind "anchoring," analyzing a scenario, and more.

A bit about Sheila Heen:

Sheila Heen is the Thaddeus R. Beal Professor of Practice at Harvard Law School and serves as a Deputy Director of the Harvard Negotiation Project.

Prof. Heen specializes in particularly difficult negotiations – where emotions run high and relationships are strained. She is also a co-author of two New York Times bestsellers, "Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most" and "Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well." She has written for the Harvard Business Review, and the New York Times as a guest expert, and as a Modern Love columnist.

Prof. Heen is also a Founder of Triad Consulting Group, a corporate education and consulting firm that serves clients on six continents. Her corporate clients have included Pixar, the NBA, and Ford, to name a few. She often works with executive teams, helping them to work through conflict, repair working relationships and make sound decisions together. In the public sector she has also provided training for the New England Organ Bank, the Singapore Supreme Court, the Obama White House and theologians struggling with disagreement over the nature of truth and God.

Prof. Heen is a graduate of Occidental College and Harvard Law School. She was also my professor.

This episode is special and a bit different. Instead of interviewing a pioneer at the intersection of business and law more generally about their field of expertise, we have the opportunity to interview an incredible pioneer and professor about their recent article published with the Harvard Business Law Review. Specifically, I get to speak with Prof. Brian D. Feinstein about his article “Banking on a Curve: How to Restore the Community Reinvestment Act,” which he co-wrote with Prof. Peter Conti-Brown. The article is available online and went to print on Oct. 10th.

Brian D. Feinstein is an Assistant Professor of Legal Studies & Business Ethics at Wharton. Brian D. Feinstein examines how the structure of financial regulators and other government agencies that regulate business affect outcomes. A political scientist and lawyer by training, Dr. Feinstein’s research incorporates insights from administrative law and the social sciences. His scholarship has been published in the Columbia Law Review, Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, University of Chicago Law Review, and University of Pennsylvania Law Review, among other journals, and has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and other national publications. Brian D. Feinstein holds a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Brown, a Ph.D. in Government from Harvard, and a J.D. from Harvard.