Today we’d like to introduce you to Joan Heminway
Joan, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Born and raised to age 18 on Long Island in New York, I found my way to Knoxville after college in Rhode Island (Brown University), law school in New York City (NYU School of Law), and fifteen years of private law practice (corporate finance and governance, primarily securities and mergers & acquisitions) in Boston, Massachusetts. I came to Knoxville with my husband and our two children in 2000 to teach law full time at The University of Tennessee College of Law. I teach, research, and write principally in the same areas in which I practiced: corporate finance and governance. I also have taken on teaching graduate (Professional MBA) students and undergraduates at UT since that time. Over the years, I have taken up additional interests in legal issues involving nonhuman animals and technological innovation. Having realized a number of years ago that my physical and mental health benefitted from a regular yoga practice, I completed 200 hours of teaching training and became a registered yoga teacher in 2018. I am an active person!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My struggles that stand out all have to do with family, which is extremely central to my life.
Being a more-than-full-time working mother was a significant challenge as my two children (8 and 10 when we moved to Knoxville; now in their 30s) were growing up. But my husband–also a more-than-full-time employee–is a very active parent. I am privileged and lucky to have him on my team. Both children survived to adulthood! And they are the kind of people I enjoy spending time with.
Another large challenge has been the declines in health and deaths of all four of my husband’s and my parents. My father was the last to die, in August 2022. Again, I was privileged to have these folks in my life for so long–my dad was 92 when he died! But it was sobering to realize that my husband and I are the grown-ups now . . . .
As you know, we’re big fans of The University of Tennessee College of Law. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I am an instructor, researcher, writer, and public servant through my teaching appointment and my profession. These roles keep me busy! I am perhaps most well known for a few aspects of my work over the years. If you want to see a reasonably complete list, you can look at my SSRN author page: https://ssrn.com/author=353099.
First, I became an expert on Martha Stewart’s legal troubles back in the early 2000s when she was accused of insider trading. I wrote a series of papers based on her circumstances and eventually edited and coauthored a book that captured some of that work and the related work of others. [Martha Stewart’s Legal Troubles, published by Carolina Academic Press]
Over the years, my work in the insider trading space has broadened and deepened. This has led to a long series of papers on the law of insider trading, including recent work that focuses on the intersection of insider trading regulation and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) information. ESG issues are a hot topic in business and business law right now.
Next, I became invested in learning and writing about the legal aspects of crowdfunding–especially securities crowdfunding. Crowdfunding, as you probably know, is a way of broadly soliciting funding for businesses, individuals, or projects. The legal issues involved in different kinds of crowdfunding are mind-boggling! A colleague once referred to me as the “Queen of crowdfunding” in introducing me at a conference.
I recently had the honor of serving as the Interim Director of the Institute for Professional Leadership at The University of Tennessee College of Law for three-and-a-half years. This has encouraged me to bring law leadership issues–always a factor in my teaching ands research–more to the foreground. I have found that very satisfying. I have held a number of leadership positions at the College of Law and in the legal profession and law academy that have crystalized the need for leadership training for lawyers. As a person who highly values relationships and considers them important to my personal and professional life, I am finding the leadership lens very valuable.
Recently, I have been engaged in issues at the intersection of law and technological innovation, including blockchain technology and artificial intelligence. This is a fast-moving space in legal research. The law is typically behind–playing catch-up–when it comes to technological innovation. So, this work is always engaging and very useful.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
I would advise those just starting out to be attentive to their physical, mental, emotional, and financial well-being. Without due attention, all of those things–which are so critical to happiness as well as just life on this planet–can easily slip away in the busy-ness of daily life. It is hard to recover when one or more of those aspects of well-being is compromised. Life is not a race. Take time for yourself and for family while building your personal and professional brand.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://law.utk.edu/directory/joan-heminway/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joanheminway/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Joan.Heminway
- Twitter: https://x.com/VolunteerTwit
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1-EdvnmUUhSZVwVXMkvqzA
