Heine to study legal side of the financial market
When the stock market crashed and financial markets began crumbling nearly three years ago, USC Law’s 2010 Rothman Scholar Jamie Heine wanted to know why the markets failed and what financial stability policies could be implemented to handle future crises.
As a senior at the University of California at Berkeley, Heine began research on systemic financial risk and financial stability policies. She traveled to London, Washington, D.C., and Boston to interview top economists, scholars and governmental officials, including a former Federal Reserve Board member, for her thesis.
Heine decided to attend law school so she could understand the legal side of the financial market. She sought out schools with a strong emphasis in both law and economics.
“USC’s emphasis on interdisciplinary studies was really attractive to me,” Heine said. “I have a strong interest in law and financial markets, and I wanted a school that would let me explore both interests. USC provided a range of opportunities for me to pursue my goals in both these areas.”
Heine, a native of Redlands, Calif., applied for and won the prestigious Frank Rothman Scholarship last year.
In addition to a full scholarship to USC Law, Frank Rothman Scholars receive a Summer Fellowship, which includes a guaranteed job with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom during the summer after their first year of law school.
“It’s a huge honor. When I found out I won the scholarship, there was no question, I would attend USC Law,” she said.
“I was also really impressed by the close-knit community at USC. I knew this was a school where I could find my niche.”
Heine is hoping her fellowship at Skadden this summer will lead to work with finance and law issues.
“Next year, I plan to continue the research on systemic financial risk I started at Berkeley, hopefully with a law professor or at the Center on Law, Economics, and Organization,” she said.
Heine is especially interested in researching how the bankruptcy process can be reformed to better manage the failure of systemically significant non-depository financial institutions. “I’ll also be looking into the certificate in business that the law school recently introduced,” she said.
Heine is enjoying her first-year classes, especially Civil Procedure with Prof. Stephen Rich and Law, Language and Values, taught by Prof. Dan Klerman.
“We’re really forced to think about our arguments and back them up,” Heine said. “You definitely have to be prepared for this class because Professor Klerman asks us a lot of open ended, thoughtful questions.”
In her free time, Heine is an avid golfer, and recently joined the USC Club Golf Team. “I also love country music and go to my fair share of country concerts,” she said.
Previous Article
