From Eugene to Edinburgh to New York City
Casey Q. Daggett JD ’19, has accepted a position in New York City with Schulte Roth & Zabel, a top-tier international law firm. She will be an associate in the firm’s M&A and Securities group, focusing on transactions involving bankruptcy assets. Her path has already been an exciting and colorful one, taking her from a Pennsylvania background through Eugene and Scotland.
Pennsylvania and Eugene Foundations
Before coming to Eugene, Daggett grew up in Pennsylvania and earned a BA in Politics in college there. At Oregon Law, she built a strong record in courses that would later support her career, including Bankruptcy, Secured Transactions, International Business Transactions, and European Union Law. In addition, she served as Articles Editor of the Oregon Review of International Law and was a Raymund Fellow and assistant coordinator for the Oxford Consortium for Human Rights, in which the University of Oregon collaborates with Oxford University for a student program there.
She also participated in the UO’s Business Law Clinic, where she gained hands-on experience in explaining matters to clients and other real-life professional skills – including billing which she particularly appreciates at Schulte now. Kristie Gibson, Clinical Assistant professor and Supervising Attorney of the Business Law Clinic, says that Daggett excelled in the clinical work and recalls, “The Clinic’s business client with whom Casey worked commended her business knowledge, responsiveness, and professionalism.”
Edinburgh: LLM in Corporate Law
Having earned her Oregon Law JD, Daggett wanted to pursue her studies further and – influenced in part by her experience with Oxford – applied and was accepted to the University of Edinburgh for its LL.M. program in corporate law. The University of Edinburgh was chartered by King James VI in 1582. Its corporate law LL.M. program takes an interdisciplinary and international perspective, covering Scottish and English and even American law, and within the program Daggett focused on M&A, insolvency, and fiduciary duties. “It was exciting to understand the similarities and contrasts between each field, and in each jurisdiction,” said Daggett. “And it all brought me to a more powerful and skillful understanding of American law.”
Pennsylvania: Bankruptcy Clerkship
Back in the United States, Daggett then clerked for Hon. Henry Van Eck, Chief Bankruptcy Judge for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. She became experienced in reading motion papers, watched oral arguments, and became attuned to what judges look for in each. She also learned how to review transactional documents and gained experience in dealing with lawyers and others having various professional backgrounds.
New York: The Firm
Daggett is now at Schulte Roth & Zabel, a 320-lawyer financial services law firm, which is headquartered in New York City and has offices also in London and Washington, D.C. Derek Berry, JD’16, now at Latham & Watkins in San Francisco, was formerly at Schulte and helped Daggett make her connection to Schulte.
The corporate-focused insolvency work in which Daggett now specializes is a natural outgrowth of her background, and a natural fit with her Schulte group’s larger M&A focus. Many business acquisitions take place within Chapter 11 proceedings, and there can be great value to be gained and/or rescued from adroit legal work in a troubled financial situation. Associate Professor Andrea Coles-Bjerre, who is also Faculty Director of the UO’s Business Law Program, said, “We’re all so proud of Casey’s journey so far, and I know she’ll continue to do great and creative work.”