W&L Law Professor, Students Launch Podcast on Insider Trading Washington and Lee law professor Karen Woody and the students in her Insider Trading seminar have launched a podcast that will explore the arc and evolution of insider trading over the last century.

By Peter Jetton
December 6, 2021

Washington and Lee law professor Karen Woody and the students in her Insider Trading seminar have recently launched a podcast that will explore the arc and evolution of insider trading over the last century.

The podcast, called “Classroom Insiders,” features Woody in conversation with students about insider trading and regulation. The inaugural episode features Ben Richie ‘22L, who was a student honors intern with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission this past summer. Woody and Richie take a deep dive into the history of the SEC and insider trading to set the stage for the remainder of the series.

Woody is a frequent guest on the corporate law podcast Everything Compliance and decided to develop a podcast in conjunction with her seminar in part as tool for assessment.

“This format has proved to be a great way for students to explain what they know,” said Woody. “I can really tell if they ‘get it’ during these conversations.”

The podcast is geared towards laypeople who want to learn more about this always-evolving area of the law. Woody also thinks it will serve as a useful resource for other law professors who teach about insider trading.

There will be eight episodes total, addressing the topic chronologically. Future episodes will include an examination of the impact of W&L alumnus and Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell ’27, ‘31L, whose jurisprudence was extremely influential on insider trading law in the 1980s.

“Classroom Insiders” is available through a variety of streaming services, including Spotify and Apple Music.