University of St. Thomas Law Journal Editor-in-Chief Lecture
The Impact of Web3 on Law & Society
October 23, 2023
Description:
The University of St. Thomas Law Journal and the Minnesota Blockchain Initiative are teaming up to host a one-day conference examining how decentralizing technologies are restructuring societies.
Modern computing and internet technologies are disrupting the foundational institutions of society—governance, property, commerce, and the structure and practice of law itself. These same technologies are also being used to recreate these foundations of tomorrow.
This day-long conference will feature a blend of big-picture theory about what’s possible as well as ground-level analysis of what’s happening right now—featuring a host of industry experts and an audience of students and professionals in law and business. Held at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in downtown Minneapolis, this event will lay the foundation for such discourse and exploration.
AGENDA
MORNING
A Look at the Big Picture
8:00 Arrival, Check-in, and Light Breakfast
8:45 Introduction: Welcome and Introductory Remarks
Brandon Ferdig, President, Minnesota Blockchain initiative
9:00 Keynote Address: The War on Consensus: Why Corruption is Inevitable in Corporate Governance and What To Do About It
Robert Tercek, Author, Co-Founder of The Futurists Network
9:30 Panel 1: Rewriting the Rules
Web3 Remedies for Legacy Systems
Panelists:
Craig Calcaterra, Professor of Applied Mathematics, Metropolitan State University
Tony Greenberg, Founder/CEO, RampRate and Syzygy
Ladd Hoffman, Co-Founder/CTO, Decentralized Governance Framework
Jonathan Kung, Co-Founder, DAO Governance Framework
Robert Tercek, Author, Co-Founder of The Futurists Network
Moderator: Prof. Wulf Kaal
10:15 Break
10:45 Breakout Sessions
Business Considerations in Web3 Technology
Tony Greenberg, Founder/CEO, RampRate and Syzygy
MSL 302
Mathematical Impossibility Theorem vs. Engineering: Transcendent Values Under Algorithmic Legal Governance
Dr. Craig Calcattera, Professor of Applied Mathematics, Metropolitan State University
Wulf Kaal, Professor of Law, University of St. Thomas School of Law
Frey Moot Courtroom
Coding Considerations for Web3 Governance Technology
Ladd Hoffman, Co-Founder/CTO, Decentralized Governance Framework
MSL 315
Scientific Publishing and Web3 Systems
Jonathan Kung, Co-Founder, DAO Governance Framework
MSL 420
11:35 Reconvene and Summary
Craig Calcaterra, Tony Greenberg, Ladd Hoffman, Wulf Kaal, Jonathan Kung
Schultze Auditorium
12:00 Break/Networking Time
12:30 Lunch & Panel Discussion
Legal Compliance for Blockchain-Related Business
Panelists:
Josh Bykowski, Legal Consultant, RampRate
Grant Cermak, CEO, Evergreen Systems Co.
Joe Reiben, Managing Partner, Reiben & Reiben, LLC
Moderator: Hayley Howe, Attorney, Howe Law, PLLC
AFTERNOON
What is Happening at the Ground Level
1:35 Panel 2: Legal
How AI is Disrupting IP Law
Panelists:
Stephen Lee, Chief Intellectual Property Counsel, Target
Christopher Ziolkowski, VP and Senior Corporate Intellectual Property/Technology Counsel, U.S. Bank
Jim Sullivan, Founder, eDiscovery AI
Andy Lagatta, Patent Attorney, Executive Committee Member, Merchant & Gould
Moderator: William Schultz, Partner, Merchant & Gould
2:30 Panel 3: Commerce
Commerce on Chain—Payment/Rewards/Memberships
Donald Raleigh, President and CTO, Evolve Systems
Jeremy Drane, Cofounder, CSO, Monax Labs
3:15 Break
3:30 Panel 4: Government
The Latest From Washington: The Regulatory Landscape
Dominick Grande, Business Transactions Attorney, Fredrikson
Rep. Tom Emmer, U.S. Congressman, MN-6 (appearing by pre-recorded video)
4:30 Closing Remarks
Brandon Ferdig, President, Minnesota Blockchain Initiative
Robert Tercek, Author, Co-Founder of The Futurists Network
For 30 years, Robert Tercek has led teams of designers and software engineers that launched pioneering digital services in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. His credits include the first online multiplayer games, the first streaming video on mobile phones, and the largest live learning platform on the web. Today the services that Tercek launched are used by hundreds of millions of people. He is the founder of General Creativity, a strategic advisory firm that specializes in long term planning for telecoms, technology and media. Previously, he was the President of Digital Media for the Oprah Winfrey Network, President of PacketVideo, Senior Vice President of Digital Media at Sony Pictures Entertainment, and the worldwide creative director for MTV: Music Television. His book Vaporized was selected as the 2016 International Book of the Year by the editors of GetAbstract.
Dr. Craig Calcaterra, Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Metropolitan State University
Dr. Craig Calcaterra is Professor of Applied Mathematics at Metropolitan State University in St. Paul, where he has taught since 1999 and served as Department Chair. He teaches the full range of courses in undergraduate mathematics and statistics and graduate courses on functional analysis, fractals, dynamical systems, stochastic differential equations, cryptography, and blockchain architecture. Calcaterra graduated from the Montana School of Mines with a Bachelor of Science and earned both a Master of Arts and Ph.D. degrees in pure mathematics from the University of Hawaii. He is a U.S. Fulbright Scholar, taught at the University of Trento in Italy, and assists the U.S.-Italy Fulbright Commission. He has also been a foreign lecturer and researcher at Zhejiang Normal University in China, Tilburg University in the Netherlands, Yokohama National University in Japan, and the University of Mauritius in Mauritius. Calcaterra’s technical research includes abstract dynamical systems, metric geometry, control theory, game theory, distributed computing, and blockchain.
Tony Greenberg, Founder/CEO, RampRate and Syzygy
Tony Greenberg is a mission-driven human and life-long entrepreneur. He is the founder of RampRate and Syzygy, advisory firms around sourcing and impact. Greenberg is a top strategist for Fortune 500 companies and fosters and grows projects with transformative potential, including blockchain technologies that democratize access to investment, reduce the potential for corruption, create a new economy, and “elevate the way business does business.”
Ladd Hoffman, Co-Founder/CTO, Decentralized Governance Framework
Ladd Hoffman has been programming as a hobby since middle school. He applied these skills to physics and math undergraduate studies at University of Houston. Upon graduating, Hoffman found programming to be his most marketable skill and began his 12-year career as a software developer. In 2012, Hoffman co-founded Ideate Foundation, a non-profit with the mission of facilitating the formation and communication of ideas. Now, Hoffman is co-founding Decentralized Governance Framework (DGF) with the mission of enabling people anywhere in the world to form groups that may be sustainably self-governed.
Jonathan Kung, Co-Founder, DAO Governance Framework
Jonathan Kung has a background in brain-machine interfaces (BMI), has a master’s degree in technical entrepreneurship, and worked at a Y-Combinator funded BMI startup. He worked for Micron Technologies as a photolithography recipe engineer and was a co-product designer of their in-house search system, ELSA. Kung became a blockchain DAO researcher before working with Wulf Kaal J.D., Ph.D., MBA at DEVxDAO in 2021 as a voting associate and policy committee member. To apply blockchain to science publishing, Jonathan halted his studies at Johns Hopkins University, and recruited Dr. Calcaterra and Ladd Hoffman in early 2022 to start DAO Governance Framework and Science Publishing DAO.
Wulf Kaal, Professor of Law, University of St. Thomas School of Law
Professor Kaal is a leading authority on decentralized organizations and governance. He is the most widely published proponent of blockchain innovation in law and corporate governance, as well as dynamic regulation and associated regulatory applications to improve and expand innovation through blockchain technology and smart contracting. Before entering the academy, he was associated with Cravath, Swain & Moore LLP, in New York, and Goldman Sachs in London, UK.
Josh Bykowski, Legal Consultant, RampRate
Josh Bykowski, an alumnus of the University of St. Thomas Law School, has a keen interest in emerging technologies. Today, he puts his knowledge into action as an Emerging Technology and Legal Consultant, teaming up with startups in the blockchain space to navigate the challenges of the digital frontier. Bykowski has penned articles about blockchain's role in shifting the traditional industry landscape, which was recognized by Columbia Law School's blog on Corporations and Capital markets.
Grant Cermak, CEO, Evergreen Systems Co.
Grant is a serial entrepreneur with twenty years’ experience in startup companies. He has successfully guided companies from inception to exit in the fields of fintech, healthcare, and medical devices, with many touching blockchain or wholly embracing it. Cermak was part of the startup team at MintHealth.io and Chief Security Officer at Exodus.com, two pioneers in the space of regulatory compliant securities offerings. MintHealth produced one of the first security tokens on PolyMath, and Exodus successfully raised via a security token on Algorand. Today, Cermak is CEO of Evergreen Miner. He studies computer science, artificial intelligence, and computer security at the University of Minnesota.
Joe Reiben, Managing Partner, Reiben & Reiben LLC
Joseph Reiben is an attorney and executive with over 15 years of experience in business, tax, and regulatory matters. He has practiced law both independently and with Reiben & Velvis, later Reiben & Reiben, LLC, where he serves as Managing Partner. During his legal career, Mr. Reiben has served as both inside and outside counsel to a number of startups in blockchain and other emerging industries, Since 2020, he has served as a Director and CEO of Mandala Acquisition, LLC, parent company of Mandala Exchange, Ltd.
Hayley Howe, Attorney, Howe Law PLLC
Hayley Howe is a Minnesota attorney who, in addition to her solo practice, provides compliance and legal services in blockchain and web3 software grant giving internationally. After studying ballet at a pre-professional level in Chicago, Howe returned to the Twin Cities and earned a B.S. in Mathematical Economics with minors in French and Dance. She then went on to UST School of Law and performed in-depth academic research on DAOs, DeFi, CBDCs, crypto hedge fund litigation, and blockchain solutions in the proxy process and venture capital model. During that time Howe also worked for the Washington and Hennepin County Attorney Offices in community prosecution, complex crimes and appeals. After being admitted to the practice of law in November 2021, Howe co-authored multiple peer-reviewed publications on digital valuation and custody. Today, Howe serves Minnesota's St. Croix Valley area and beyond providing both transactional and litigation services to small businesses, startups, and nonprofits as well as individuals in their life and legacy planning.
Stephen Lee, Chief Intellectual Property Counsel, Target
Stephen Lee is the Chief Intellectual Property Counsel at Target. Lee’s practice has covered the entire spectrum of intellectual property matters. At Target, he is responsible for all trademark, copyright, and patent work and manages the 24-person intellectual property team. Lee’s team provides legal services and advice to practically every business team within Target.
Christopher Ziolkowski, Vice President and Senior Corporate Intellectual Property/Technology Counsel, U.S. Bank
Chis Ziolkowsi is the Vice President and Senior Corporate Intellectual Property/Technology Counsel for U.S. Bank, where he interfaces with U.S. Bank technology teams to identify emerging trends, manages patent protection programs, and coordinates patent rights on behalf of the bank. Prior to joining U.S. Bank, Ziolkowski was the Director of Intellectual Property at NuVasive.
Jim Sullivan, Founder, eDiscovery AI
Jim Sullivan is the founder of eDiscovery AI, a discovery platform that uses artificial intelligence to identify relevant documents based on generative inputs. Sullivan uses large language models to provide document categorizations with a high level of accuracy. Sullivan also owns Oxsome Web Services, an all-in-one web, marketing, and tech solution.
Andy Lagatta, Partner, Merchant & Gould P.C.
Andy Lagatta is a member of Merchant & Gould’s executive committee. Lagatta provides intellectual property counseling, analyzes patentability and clearance issues, and drafts and prosecutes patent applications on network security, system virtualization, data storage technologies and artificial intelligence. Prior to practicing law, Lagatta worked for Intel Corporation, where he focused on desktop computer architecture modeling and performance analysis.
William Schultz, Partner, Merchant & Gould P.C.
Will Schultz is the chair of Merchant & Gould’s Internet, Cybersecurity, and E-Commerce practice group. He focuses on Internet and Emerging Technology law. Will navigates companies through legal issues related to online marketplaces (Amazon, eBay, Alibaba, etc.), online search (keywords, SEO, sem, etc.), the decentralized web (blockchain, the metaverse, and NFTs), and artificial intelligence.
Donald Raleigh, President and CTO, Evolve Systems
Donald Raleigh is a founder, President and CTO of Evolve Systems, a 21-year-old Minnesota-based digital marketing company. Raleigh began his career with 8 years active duty in the United States Army, where he served as a Presidential Guard in Washington, D.C., and as a Military Intelligence NCO on the former East German border. After his service, Raleigh worked for Entex Information Systems and Control Data as a senior consultant in the financial services space and designed systems for companies such as the U.S. Department of Transportation and Allianz Life Insurance of North America. Donald holds a bachelor’s in Emergency and Disaster Management from American Military University (summa cum laude). Raleigh is a former Minnesota State Representative and is a board member (Elected) of The Old Guard Association.
Jeremy Drane, Co-Founder, CSO, Monax Labs
Jeremy Drane is a Blockchain Entrepreneur living in St. Paul, MN. Drane has been working full-time in the ecosystem since 2014, when he co-founded PwC's first Blockchain Practice in the United States. From there, he helped create and grow Lukka, the world's first bitcoin tax calculator and now one of the world's largest blockchain data companies. Following his time at Lukka, Drane co-founded Nifty's, which created digital collectibles (NFTs) for Warner Brothers and Sony until its recent sale to Moonpay. Drane currently works at Monax Labs, which owns Eris Industries—the first-ever blockchain+legal startup—founded in 2014. Monax Labs has also built two platforms—Aspen, which is a set of no-code tools to help businesses build legally compliant Web3 loyalty and membership programs, and Subscribo—which is akin to DocuSign with a blockchain backend.
Dominick Grande, Shareholder, Fredrikson & Byron, P.A.
Dominick Grande ("Dom") is a business transactions attorney in the Corporate & Securities group of Fredrikson and Byron, P.A. Grande works with start-up and rapid growth stage companies on business formation, financing, mergers & acquisitions, and other general corporate needs. Drawing from an extensive background in corporate law, he maintains a reputation for providing insightful legal counsel, strategic guidance, and invaluable support to emerging businesses seeking to navigate the complexities of the business world. Grande is instrumental in securing substantial financing for numerous clients and enabling them to turn their innovative visions into successful realities. His comprehensive understanding of securities laws ensures that his clients remain compliant and well-prepared to navigate the regulatory landscape in preparation for future financing and acquisition transactions. Prior to joining Fredrikson, Grande worked at a boutique sell-side investment banking firm after practicing as a corporate lawyer at another full-service law firm.
Rep. Tom Emmer, U.S. Congressman (MN-6)
Congressman Tom Emmer is serving his fifth term in the U.S. House of Representatives. After serving as the Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee for the 116th and 117th, Emmer was elected by his fellow Republican colleagues to be the House Majority Whip. Currently, he sits on the House Financial Services Committee, where he advocates for blockchain innovation in the United States. Tom grew up in Minnesota and received his B.A. in Political Science from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks and his J.D. from William Mitchell College of Law.