Global Studies Certificate Series: Isabel Brown

I completed my summer job shadow at DLA Piper, shadowing Austin Brown, a partner in Financial Regulation and Technology. On my first day of the job shadow, I commuted by metro and got off at the Gallery Place/Chinatown metro stop. Since it was around 7 am, DC was bustling with people, all focused on getting to their destination. After around a five-minute walk, I arrived at DLA Piper’s building and got brought to the third floor. I was given a quick tour around the building, and was blown away by the many amenities they had, such as puzzles, soda, and coffee machines. As I settled into my little office, nestled in the corner of the floor, I started working on my first project: researching the global impact of the Bank Securities Act. The Bank Securities Act is a domestic Anti-Money Laundering (AML) law, which gives regulations to different banks that are aimed to detect and deflect the practice of money laundering. Although a domestic law, it has recently affected many international banks, such as many Mexican banks. For example, in 2017, the USDOJ entered into a non-prosecution agreement with the U.S. subsidiary of a Mexican bank due to its failure to maintain AML compliance programs and to file $142 million with STARS. As Mr. Brown explained to me, having a concrete understanding of the global financial impact of domestic legislation is imperative in his field. Although I found this field of work very technical and sometimes confusing, through my research, I was able to learn more about the global financial sphere and the impact that US legislation has on other countries. I presented my research to Mr. Brown and a few of his colleagues, which I found to be a great opportunity to improve my public speaking skills. 

On the second day of my job shadow, I got the interesting opportunity to attend a conference hosted by DLA Piper. This was a great global opportunity because there were some people at the conference from international branches of DLA Piper, such as London, Singapore, and Berlin. Through conversations with these people, I learned a lot about the global reach of DLA Piper and how extensive its network is across the globe. As an observer of this conference, a topic of conversation that I found really interesting was about the importance of educating yourself on a country’s needs before sending them aid. One of the international representatives highlighted an example of when the US attempted to send financial aid to help a specific cause, but it actually ended up being unusable due to the financial laws in their country. Although this is a specific example, it reminded me of the importance of global literacy and the practice of global education. Through education, as these representatives pointed out, we are better able to serve the places that we are trying to help. Mr. Brown confirmed this view, emphasizing that the international regulatory environment is complex and laws in many different countries often differ from those in the United States. He said that awareness of international regulatory requirements is necessary before committing to specific instances of aid. 

Overall, my experience at DLA Piper was extremely eye-opening. Although I learned valuable global knowledge, I learned a lot about workplace expectations, such as attire and behavior. As I hopefully find an internship during my college years, I will remember this experience as a catapult in my high school career. I am very grateful that the Global Studies Certificate offered me this opportunity, and to DLA Piper for hosting me.