This Keith Morgan interview was conducted by Adam Levine, first year student at the Duke MBA Fuqua School of Business December 05, 2006
Adam: Hi, my name is Adam, a Law School and Business School student at Duke University. I understand that you too went to the University as an Undergrad?
Keith: I did. I graduated in 1973 B.K…Before Coach K. Then I went on to UVA for Law School.
Adam : Why did you want to go to law school? What pushed you to that decision?
Keith : I wanted to go to law school since I was a kid. It was something my father had encouraged me to do. It was one of his ambitions. Also, at the time, I thought I was interested in a political career. I thought that Law would give me a good grounding for politics. But, I did not pursue politics. I got too interested in business and law.
Adam : While you were in law school, did you focus on any particular classes such as the business type of law classes, the corporate law classes?
Keith: Like most law students, I took a broad array of classes, in lots of different areas. Law school really does not teach you much law. It teaches you how to figure out what the law is, and how to apply it to solve a problem. But I did take as many classes as I could in the area of corporate and securities law. On top of my economics background at Duke, that became my natural interest.
Adam: If you were to talk to current law students, and they’re interested in corporate law, are there any specific classes besides like the ones you mentioned, or certain areas you’d tell them to focus on?
Keith: Tax and Environmental. Creditors Rights. They should also pick some kind of a class in Criminal Law or Investigations or Enforcement, because businesses or corporations, particularly the public companies, are concerned about compliance as never before. That’s much more of a concern today for corporations than was the case when I was in law school. It is a much more heavily-regulated business environment and the stakes are high.
Adam: How has that change shaped your practice of law throughout the years?
Keith: It certainly makes everyone more careful in the approach to problems and assessment of risk. I’ve been a deal lawyer for most of my career…primarily mergers and acquisitions. In that area, the change has made buyers more careful about understanding what they are buying. This has led to more thorough due diligence. Buyers carefully look not just at the business, the assets, and the components of profitability, but the contingent liabilities that come along with the risks of regulatory or legal non-compliance, as well.
Adam: I spent this past summer working for Clifford Chance, doing lots of M&As (mergers and acquisitions)- finance work- so I’m starting to appreciate what it is you’re explaining, and I think that’s what I’ll be looking for in my career. Now just going back to your career after Law School, I understand you were in the JAG Corps for a few years. How was that experience for you?
Keith:< | 
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