M. Dalton Downing, a third-year law student at The University of Tulsa College of Law, recently won first place in a national writing competition sponsored by the Association of Securities and Exchange Commission Alumni (ASECA).

His first-place finish came with a $5,000 prize and a trip to the ASECA Annual Awards Dinner in Washington, D.C. The annual dinner featured the most prominent members of the U.S. securities community, including current and former SEC Commissioners. Downing was honored alongside Alan L. Beller, former SEC Division Director of Corporate Finance, who is the 2018 William O. Douglas Award Recipient.

The title of his winning paper is Picket Signs Versus Pocket Books: Using U.S. Securities Law to Compel Corporate Lobbying Disclosure. The Tulsa Law Review originally published the article in Fall 2017, and it will be reprinted by ASECA later this year. You can read the article at this link.

Downing is currently writing two other articles, one addressing corporate political spending from a state law perspective and the other making the case for a self-funding SEC.

During his time at the University of Tulsa College of Law, Downing served as editor-in-chief of the Tulsa Law Review and recently externed with Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals Senior Judge Stephanie K. Seymour. Following graduation this spring, he will join the Washington, D.C. office of Latham & Watkins LLP.