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Brief Encounters

Brief Encounters

Written by: D.C. Bar Communities Office
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 Listen in for exclusive interviews and conversations with D.C. Bar members and guests about hot topics! To learn more about D.C. Bar Communities, join a community, and/or register for upcoming programs, visit www.dcbar.org/communities Presented by the D.C. Bar Communities Podcast Network. Other network channels include "The Tea on International Arbitration" with the D.C. Bar International Law Community (anchor.fm/DCBarTea) and "Let's Brief It" with the D.C. Bar Law Student Community (anchor.fm/DCLSC). Theme Music: "If" by Broke for FreeD.C. Bar Communities Office
Episodes
  • A “Humanitarian” Gesture?: Deserving and Undeserving Migrants Under India’s Amended Citizenship Law

    A “Humanitarian” Gesture?: Deserving and Undeserving Migrants Under India’s Amended Citizenship Law
    Mar 25 2026
    Join the leadership of the Subcommittee on Human Rights and Immigration (part of the D.C. Bar International Law Community) for a timely discussion of India’s Citizenship Amendment Act (the CAA), a law that expressly conditions migrants’ access to citizenship rights on their religious affiliation. Implemented in March 2024, the CAA threatens the country’s longstanding commitment to secularism and equality under the Indian Constitution. The law also magnifies existing tensions between religious communities through rendering certain individuals (primarily Muslims) legal and societal outsiders, or--to quote the law’s architects and supporters--“infiltrators.” To date, more than 200 constitutional challenges to the law are pending before India’s Supreme Court. Our guests are Aashish Yadav, a legal scholar who has published widely on citizenship and the related topic of statelessness in India, and Ankita M. Kumar, a journalist and documentary filmmaker whose short documentary, Far From Home, centers on an Afghan Muslim woman and her family who fled Afghanistan in early 2021 only to find themselves ineligible to naturalize in India or obtain resettlement in a third country. Resources: "A new immigration law reflects India’s rising paranoia over the ‘undesirable outsider”’, Aashish Yadav with Angshuman Choudhury (The Indian Express, 23 May 2025)"CAA will not help persecuted Hindus, Sikhs from neighbouring countries", Aashish Yadav with Mohsin Alam Bhat (The Indian Express, 22 March 2024)"On the verge: Revocation and denial of citizenship in India", Aashish Yadav with Mohsin Alam Bhat (Emilien Fargues and Iseult Honohan (eds), Revocation of Citizenship: The New Policies of Conditional Membership, EUI Working Papers) ‘Seeking Refuge: The Story of Two Women I Know’, Ankita Kumar (Winner of the AFPC's Professional Excellence Award)Afghan Refugee Doc ‘Far From Home’ Adds Indian Thespian Naseeruddin Shah as Executive Producer in Oscar Push (Variety) Director Ankita Kumar on new documentary 'Far From Home' (The Afghanistan Project Podcast) "The Story Behind Far From Home Will Surprise You!" (American Documentary Film Festival) Far From Home: Shedding Light On The Unseen Lives Of Afghan Refugees In India (Outlook India)Aashish Yadav is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Australia at the Melbourne Law School’s Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness focusing on nationality in the context of displacement caused by climate change disasters. Aashish previously served as an Assistant Professor and Assistant Director of the Centre for Public Interest Law at the Jindal Global Law School in India, where he led India’s first clinic on statelessness. Ankita M. Kumar is an Indian-origin journalist and documentary filmmaker based in the U.S. She is the recipient of the SF Press Club award and the Professional Excellence Award from the Association of Foreign Press Correspondents (AFPC-USA). Her first film, Far from Home, a short documentary about Afghan refugees in India, has screened at the Academy award-qualifying American Documentary and Animation Film Festival and the Tasveer Film Festival. Ankita is the founder of Akiray Pictures, a San Francisco-based production company. Please note, the positions and opinions expressed by the speakers are strictly their own, and do not necessarily represent the views of their employers, nor those of the D.C. Bar, its Board of Governors or co-sponsoring Communities and organizations.
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    44 mins
  • Securities Regulation and Enforcement Series – Congress Puts the SROs Under the Microscope: SEC Oversight, Transparency, and Reform

    Securities Regulation and Enforcement Series – Congress Puts the SROs Under the Microscope: SEC Oversight, Transparency, and Reform
    Mar 18 2026
    In this Season 3 episode, co-hosts Valerie Mirko, Partner at Armstrong Teasdale LLP and leader of the firm’s Securities Regulation and Litigation Practice, and William Nelson, Director of Public Policy and Associate General Counsel at the Investment Adviser Association, break down a timely set of regulatory and legislative developments shaping today’s securities landscape.The episode celebrates Valerie recently testifying before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets at the March 5, 2026 hearing titled The Role of Self-Regulatory Organizations in U.S. Markets: Examining FINRA and the MSRB. The hearing explored the governance, accountability, and enforcement practices of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB), as well as broader questions about the effectiveness of the self-regulatory organization (SRO) framework. In her written testimony, Valerie outlined ten recommendations for reform, including strengthening SEC and board oversight of SRO governance, addressing fairness and due process concerns, eliminating inefficiencies and regulatory duplication, improving the SRO rulemaking process, and correcting weaknesses in FINRA’s arbitration system. Because SROs exercise significant delegated regulatory authority from the SEC, strong Commission oversight is essential to ensure accountability, transparency, and fairness in how that authority is exercised. In her oral testimony, Valerie specifically emphasized the importance of this delegated authority framework and the need for robust SEC oversight to ensure SROs remain accountable to the public interest. Valerie also spoke at length about due process and enforcement issues, as well as delegated authority in the securities industry. Valerie’s testimony builds on earlier thought leadership, including a white paper and supplemental letter she co-authored with Peter Chan on behalf of the Financial Services Institute recommending steps the SEC could take to prevent regulation by enforcement. Valerie and William also chat about some of the nuances of Congressional testimony generally and this hearing in particular. This episode is a must-listen for securities lawyers, compliance professionals, regulators, and anyone navigating today’s rapidly evolving regulatory landscape.Recent Past Episodes of this Series:Congress Puts the SEC Under the Microscope: Accountability, Due Process, and Reform (2/11/2026)⁠A Study in Contrasts: Innovation and Crypto versus the Crypto Fraud Landscape⁠ (1/21/2026)⁠⁠A Year of Change, Challenges, and What Comes Next⁠⁠ (12/17/2025)⁠⁠⁠When Washington Stops: What the 2025 Shutdown Means for the SEC and Congress Going Forward⁠⁠⁠ (11/19/2025)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The SEC’s New Direction: Enforcement and Governance in Focus⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (10/22/25) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠From Memecoins to Custody: What Firms Need to Know About Crypto⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (9/24/25)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Corp Fin in Flux: What the SEC’s Latest Moves Mean for Issuers and Investors⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (8/13/25)Please note, the positions and opinions expressed by the speakers are strictly their own, and do not necessarily represent the views of their employers, nor those of the D.C. Bar, its Board of Governors or co-sponsoring Communities and organizations.
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    25 mins
  • Building AI Fluency with the ABA’s 21 Days of AI Grit and Growth Mindset Challenge

    Building AI Fluency with the ABA’s 21 Days of AI Grit and Growth Mindset Challenge
    Mar 4 2026

    Join Gabrielle Kohlmeier—ABA Commissioner on Women, ex-Verizon Global Head of Legal Innovation & Emerging Solutions, and a leading voice on responsible AI governance and adoption—and Tamara Kraljic, Counsel at Hughes Hubbard & Reed and a leader with the Women’s Bar Association of DC, for an International Women’s Day conversation on why we all need to be AI literate and how the ABA’s 21 Days of AI: A Grit and Growth Mindset Challenge helps move us forward.

    This episode explores why AI fluency is becoming essential for legal professionals (and everyone!), and how the ABA’s bite-sized daily practice Challenge helps lawyers build confidence using AI safely and thoughtfully—even in cautious or regulated environments. We also discuss why closing the gender gap in AI adoption matters: women need to be in that conversation not as a matter of symbolic inclusion but because the quality and equity of the outcomes depend on it.


    Please note, the positions and opinions expressed by the speakers are strictly their own, and do not necessarily represent the views of their employers, nor those of the D.C. Bar, its Board of Governors or co-sponsoring Communities and organizations.
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    44 mins
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