Biography:

Dr. Beshkardana is an Assistant Professor at Morgan State University, specializing in international trade and investment law, technology law, and corporate governance. Her research explores the intersection of global trade regimes, emerging technologies such as AI, blockchain, and fintech, and the evolving responsibilities of states and corporations in a digitized economy. She has published in leading journals, including the Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business and UC Law SF Science & Technology Law Journal, with her forthcoming article “Killing the WTO” to appear in the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law. 

Dr. Beshkardana serves as a pro bono expert consultant for the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law Annual Report, supporting global research on gender and economic rights. She has been a reviewer for leading journals such as the American Business Law Journal and International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship in the past. She also coaches the Morgan State Univeristy Undergraduate Team for Penn State SMEAL Business of Sustainability Case Competition every year.

Prior to joining Morgan State University, Dr. Beshkardana worked as a consultant with the World Bank Legal Vice Presidency, She also worked as an in-house legal counsel for the private sector carrying foreign investment negotiations and international business transactions for multiple years. 

Research Interests:

Blockchain, AI, and fintech regulatory landscape
Data protection and Privacy law
Technology Law
Sustainable development and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Trade facilitation
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

Articles

         Killing the WTO, 58 Vand. J. Transnat'l L. (forthcoming, Oct. 2025).

Non-State Actors for Profit: Revisiting Transnational Corporations’ Personhood and Responsibility under International Law, 44 Northwestern J. Int’l L. & Bus., 249 (2024), https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/njilb/vol44/iss2/2/  

Reversing the Irreversible: Mitigating Legal Risks of Blockchain-Based Data Breach through Corporate Governance, 14 UC. L. SF Sci. & Tech L. J., 175 (2023), https://repository.uchastings.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1124&context=hastings_science_technology_law_journal

Book Chapter

Padideh Ala'i & Katayoon Beshkardana, Limits of Transparency: China, United States, and the World Trade Organization in Cultures of Transparency : Between Promise and Peril (Routledge, 2021). 

Conference Proceedings

Blockchain and Tokenization of Good Governance, Proceedings from the 26th International Research Association for Interdisciplinary Studies (RAIS) Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities, February 27-28, 2022, https://rais.education/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/0162.pdf

Policy Publications and Working Papers

Domestic Laws and Protectionism in Government Procurement, with Carlos Sebastian Barreti Cifuentes, Majed El-Bayya & Lorenzo Rotunno, World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 10937 (Oct. 2024). 

ESG Paradox in New Ventures: Enhancing Legitimacy without Securing Funding, presented at the French Academy of Legal Studies in Business Conference, Lille, France (Dec. 2024).

Conference Presentations 

A Human Rights-based Appraoch to AI in Fintech, Academy of Legal Studies in Business Annual Conference, Providence, RI (Jul. 2025). 

AI, Fintech, and Human Rights, Northeast Academy of Legal Studies in Business Conference, Eastern Connecticut State University, CT (May 2025). 

A Critique of WTO Reform Project in an Era of Artificial Intelligence and Data-Driven Global Market, Academy of Legal Studies in Business Annual Conference, Washington, DC (Jul. 2024). 

AI, Trade, and National Security Exception, 4th National Annual HBCU Blockchain and Fintech Conference, ,Baltimore, MD (Oct. 2023). 

Advanced Technologies and the Future of the Multilateral Trading System, Academy of Legal Studies in Business Annual Conference, San Diego, CA (Jul. 2023). 

Artificial Intelligence: Promises and Perils and the Regulatory Framework, Symposium on AI, Ethics, and Health Disparities, Morgan State University School of Behavioral and Social Science, Baltimore, MD (May 2023). 

Blockchain and the Right to Erasure: Striking a Balance Between Technological Innovation and Data Protection, 3rd National Annual HBCU Blockchaina dn Fintech Conference, Orlando, FL (Nov. 2022). 

Blockchain, AI, and the Right to Explanation: A Global Givernance Framework, Eastern Academy of Management, Portland, ME (May 2022).  

Deference to National Governments' Determination of Facts and Laws: A Closer Look at Article 17.6 of the WTO Anti-Dumping Agreement, Appellate Body Standard of Review, and the U.S. Arguments, Society of International Economic Law (SIEL) Biennial Conference, Washington D.C. (Jul. 2018).