Law permeates all aspects of our world

In both my personal and business life,  I am constantly reminded that Law permeates every aspect of our world.    

Don Southerton

 

My career has taken me from small town life in rural Pennsylvania to serving as an instructor at the U.S, Military Academy at West Point, to managing scores of global project with a focus on South Korea. Time and time again my work as a cross-cultural business consultant has and continues to cultivate my interest in Law and has inspired me to study on a professional level.   

 

My interest in deepening my understanding of business law first became apparent in the mid-2000s when I was engaged by law firms as a South Korea business specialist to provide expert witness opinions. The role required liaising and advising law professionals in a variety of cases from IP, Labor Law, Commercial Law, to Wrongful Injury and Death. I reviewed depositions, prepared briefs, and participated in pre-trial courtroom reviews. 

 

This is also when I began to look deeper at the work of legal professionals. I came to respect their expertise and ability to advise on matters with precision that appealed to my analytical and methodical nature. 

 

Frankly, in my daily business work when others shy away from legal matters and find a document’s legalese notoriously difficult to understand, I embrace. This has required that I develop skills not only for reviewing commercial and government contracts, NDAs, and LOIs, but also for crafting these documents.

 

My unique experiences as an international business consultant have given me the benefit of seeing the law in diverse contextual, cultural, and practical applications and have culminated in my decision in the Fall of 2022 to apply for USC Gould School of Law- and with great joy was accepted in the January 2023 term.

 

I am motivated to deepen and further hone these business law skills with much of my work now in emerging technologies and Green energy projects. 

 

Why USC? 

As a mature student returning to academia in 2000 and completing my BA and MA at CU Denver, I relocated to Santa Monica, CA to further my post-Grad studies in Korean history, language, and culture at USC, one of the  few Universities with such programs. 

 

While attending, I researched archival content for my second book Intrepid Americans: Bold Koreans—Early Korean Trade, Concessions, and Entrepreneurship and mentored Koreans in USC’s PH.D. studies and students in the professional study abroad programs. 

 

I have fond memories of the campus, libraries, students, and staff, especially on an Autumn Saturday during Trojan football season.