Note from the Executive Director

CBL Annual Report 2024-2025

The UC Center for Business Law San Francisco continued its growth and momentum in 2024-2025, building on our core programs and expanding our reach.

We hosted the second and third editions of the VC-Backed Board Academy (VCBA) in New York City (Nasdaq MarketSite, October 2024) and San Francisco (May 14, 2025), in partnership with Cooley, Nasdaq, Woodruff Sawyer, and a growing list of organizational partners. The program returns to NYC in October 2025.

The CBL Scholars Program welcomed its fifth cohort, advancing our mission to support the next generation of diverse business law leaders, thanks to the continued sponsorship of Orrick, Freshfields, Gunderson Dettmer, and Gibson Dunn.

Our Startup Litigation Digest transitioned to Substack and reached six editions this year, covering 28 cases involving private companies and regulatory investigations. Special thanks to student fellows Isaiah Zamora ’26 and Claudia Phillip ’26 for their contributions.

We convened two CBL Roundtables on Financial Policy & Regulation, co-directed with Flavia Naves, and partnered again with UCLA Anderson Forecast and the Bay Area Council Economic Institute for the 7th Annual Regional Economic Outlook, examining macroeconomic trends and the intersection of AI, governance, and business.

Additional programs included our CBL Lunch Speaker Series, with panels on corporate litigation, regulatory enforcement, fund formation, IPOs, and AI governance. We also added a two-session program called “Unlocking Silicon Valley” introducing how startups and Silicon Valley really works, based on the experiences of UC Law SF alumni and others working at leading Silicon Valley law firms. 

In addition, we co-sponsored the Law & Entrepreneurship Association annual retreat last fall, where UC Law SF welcomed scholars from leading institutions nationally and globally to present research on the role of law in promoting or impeding entrepreneurship.

As always, none of this would be possible without the commitment and partnership of our faculty, students, alumni, advisory board members, sponsors, and friends of the Center. Thank you for your continued support and engagement.

If you would like to stay informed, partner with us, or support our work, please don’t hesitate to reach out or visit our website. Thank you again for being part of the CBL community. If you are interested in supporting the Center, you can make a gift through this link.

Sincerely,

Evan Epstein
Executive Director
UC Center for Business Law SF
https://cbl.uclawsf.edu