DICKINSON LAW WELCOMES NEW PROFESSORS TO ITS COMMUNITY
July 2019 — Mohamed Rali Badissy and Sarah J. Williams have joined the full-time faculty at Penn State Dickinson Law as assistant professors of law. Badissy will teach Contracts, Corporate Finance, Energy Law and Policy, and International Law. Williams will teach Federal Securities Regulation, Financial Statement Fundamentals, Professional Responsibility, and Property.
“Both Professors Badissy and Williams bring significant experience from the public law and private law sectors as well as demonstrable commitments to knowledge creation and dissemination, all of which will further enrich our scholarly mission and our curriculum for our students,” said Dickinson Law Dean Danielle M. Conway. “I am delighted to welcome Professors Badissy and Williams to the Dickinson Law faculty ranks and to our community.”
Badissy comes to Dickinson Law after serving as the senior attorney for energy and finance with the Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP), Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C. He has more than 12 years of experience leading transformational energy sector reforms around the world that drive economic growth through energy access. During his tenure at CLDP, Badissy oversaw a team of lawyers and specialists who provided advisory services to governments in frontier markets on the legal and financial structuring of complex energy infrastructure projects at both the legislative and contract level. He also helped develop the U.S. government’s energy diplomacy strategy and led collaborative efforts with the World Bank and African Development Bank.
Prior to his government service, Badissy was as an associate attorney in the International Dispute Resolution and Public International Law groups of Latham & Watkins LLP in New York and Dubai and clerked for the Honorable William H. Walls in the U.S. District Court of New Jersey.
Badissy earned his J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law, Seattle, WA, where he graduated with High Honors, Order of the Coif and Order of the Barristers.
An expert in securities regulation, Williams previously served as deputy director and associate director for the Division of Registration and Inspections, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), Washington, D.C. In these roles, she drafted rules, designed electronic systems and established compliance frameworks for public accounting firms subject to PCAOB oversight, and provided both written and oral guidance on PCAOB regulatory requirements. She also recommended regulatory actions to governing Board members and participated in administrative hearings against public accounting firms. She was selected to the PCAOB inaugural Diversity and Inclusion Council based on her demonstrated leadership, innovation and teamwork.
“Dickinson Law uses experiential learning to prepare its students for the realities of law practice,” said Williams. “I am thrilled to join the outstanding faculty and staff dedicated to this enriched educational approach.”
Williams also served as associate general counsel for the National Association of Securities Dealers (now FINRA) and as staff attorney, branch chief and counsel to one of five commissioners at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Washington, D.C. She provided legal and policy advice and investigated potential violations of the federal securities laws. She also served as an associate attorney at Arnold & Porter LLP, Washington, D.C., where she focused on securities, corporate law and pro bono matters. Williams is an appointed arbitrator for the attorney/client arbitration board of the D.C. Bar.
Williams earned her J.D. from New York University School of Law, New York, NY. She is a member of the New York and District of Columbia bar associations.