Eric F. Hinton
SMU Dedman School of Law
Dallas, TX

Eric F. Hinton is the founding Director of the Robert B. Rowling Center for Business Law & Leadership at SMU Dedman School of Law. In addition to directing the Rowling Center, he teaches international business law, European Union law, and ethics and compliance law at SMU Dedman School of Law and Loyola Chicago University Corboy School of Law. Hinton has developed innovative law courses in international business practice and corporate compliance law and regularly speaks at business law and compliance events and conferences. He also lectures in the MBA programs at the University of Texas at Dallas, Jindal School of Management.

With 25 years of experience in international business law matters, he has worked as a global law and compliance executive in a Fortune 100 company, a private equity-backed technology company, and was the first Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer for one of the largest franchisors in the world. During his career, Hinton has worked on legal and compliance matters in all parts of the world, based in Illinois, Texas, and Brussels, Belgium. Hinton began his career practicing international trade law in Washington, DC, with an international law firm. He is the founder and past chair of the North Texas Ethics & Compliance Council and past chair of the ABA Export Controls and Economic Sanctions Committee. Hinton is a Fellow in the SMU Hunt Institute for Engineering and Humanity and Academic Director of the SMU Certificate in Ethics & Compliance.

Hinton holds an LL.M. in European Union Law from the University of Leiden Law School (The Netherlands), a J.D. from BYU Law School, an M.A.in European Integration from the University of Limerick (Ireland), and a B.A. in Political Science from Utah State University. He studied international business law at the Sorbonne in Paris, France. Hinton has published a number of scholarly articles on international law and compliance topics, including at Columbia University, NYU, SMU, and the University of Texas at Austin.

David Silva
Partner
Sidley
Dallas, TX

DAVID SILVA defends companies and their directors, officers, and employees in complex criminal and civil investigations, environmental government enforcement actions, and white collar matters. David frequently represents clients in issues arising out of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), as well as the False Claims Act, financial reporting misstatements, regulatory fraud, environmental violations, and employee misconduct.

David has conducted numerous multinational investigations throughout Latin America, Africa, Europe, and Asia, and has presented findings to various federal and state agencies, including the DOJ, SEC, FBI, and EPA. He is a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and frequently advises clients on compliance, ethics, and data privacy matters. He has also successfully defended over a dozen cases in federal and state courts as lead counsel. David also currently serves as an adjunct lecturer at SMU Dedman School of Law, teaching a semester-long upper-level course on Internal Investigations.

David has most recently been recognized by The Legal 500 Latin America’s 2024 guide for his Compliance and Investigations experience, and was named to the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association’s 2023 “40 Best LGBTQ+ Lawyers Under 40” list. He was also recognized by the national Latino Leaders publication as a 2021 “Latino Lawyers to Keep on the Watch,” and by D Magazine as one of Dallas’s 2022 “Best Lawyers Under 40.”

David earned his J.D. from New York University School of Law, where he was the Associate Marden Competition Editor of the Moot Court Board. Prior to law school, he graduated magna cum laude from New York University with a B.A. in International Relations, Romance Languages (Spanish and French), and a minor in East Asian Studies (Mandarin).

David currently serves as the Dallas chair of Sidley’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee.

Stephan Vincze
Founder/President & CEO
TRESTLE Compliance
Boston, MA

Steve Vincze serves as Founder/President & CEO of TRESTLE Compliance, LLC., a boutique
compliance services advisory firm in Boston, MA.

Prior to forming TRESTLE Compliance, LLC., Steve split his private sector career between service as
an in-house or outsourced senior VP or VP chief compliance and privacy officer for several life
science and healthcare companies and as a consultant, forming his own firms, as well as serving as
a nonequity partner for a Big Four firm. A former counsel to a U.S. House of Representatives
Oversight Committee, he has nearly thirty years of experience in regulatory compliance matters,
from government policy and enforcement to private-sector business implementation
considerations.

The real “Marine of Compliance,” Steve has been recruited to address high-profile cases starting
with the TAP case in 2001, which for many years was the largest settlement in the pharmaceutical
industry at $885 million, and to support legal, commercial, and executive teams and boards of
directors with his compliance expertise. He has worked with a range of life science companies
globally, from the very largest and most prominent US, Japanese, and European companies to the
latest start-up biotech preparing to launch their first product.

As a decorated officer in the US Marine Corps (USMC), Steve served as an artillery officer and received
a full scholarship to law school (SMU); served as a prosecutor and defense counsel; served in the
Office of the Secretary of Defense in the Pentagon, where he was awarded the Defense
Meritorious Service Medal for his exemplary service; served as a reserve intelligence officer trained
as a Defense Attaché to Hungary and was recommended to serve as a counsel and professional
staff member of the Government Operations Committee in the US House of Representatives. Steve
has received several professional awards and recognitions to include Marquis’ Who’s Who in
America and as a Top Business Professional.

Steve is an internationally recognized speaker, author, and expert on ethics and compliance
programs; he has been a guest lecturer at the University of Chicago, Harvard, UC Berkeley,
University of Miami School of Business, INSEAD, and conferences worldwide. Steve’s new
book Inspiring Integrity: How to Win with Compliance and Propel Performance is now available
for pre-order on Amazon and will be published on November 12th.

Steve attended Phillips Academy, Andover, and earned an AB from Columbia College, Columbia
University, a JD from the Southern Methodist School of Law, an LLM in International and
Comparative Law with distinction from the Georgetown University Law Center, and an MBA from
the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business

Courtney Dean
Chief Compliance Officer
Caterpillar Inc.
Irving, TX

Courtney Dean is Vice President and Deputy General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer for Caterpillar where she oversees the global Caterpillar Ethics & Compliance Program.  She has significant background as a compliance and commercial attorney with experience advising on antitrust, competition, FCPA , distribution, and mergers and acquisitions matters. Prior to her current role as CCO, Courtney was lead competition and anti-corruption counsel for Caterpillar. Before joining Caterpillar she was an attorney with Vedder Price and Dentons. She is a graduate of the University of Tulsa College of Law and Kansas State University.