Students in the Organizations and Transactions Clinic completed another successful quarter this past fall under the supervision of director Jay Mitchell and clinical supervising attorney Michelle Sonu. Seven full-time and two advanced students worked on a variety of corporate governance, contract, and advisory matters for established Northern California nonprofit corporations, as described below.

Contract and advisory matters:

Advanced clinic students Jessica Clarke (‘19) and Ariel Guerrero-Stewart (‘19) carried out a legal and reputational risk assessment for a national youth organization. The project involved multiple interviews with client executives and Bay Area and NYC staff, review of internal planning, contract, and other materials, and preparation of a 30-page report and related presentation decks setting out the team’s findings and recommendations. The project concluded with a meeting with the client’s CEO and CFO.

 

 

 

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Niko Eren (‘20) and Jacquie Teobaldi (‘20) drafted contracts for a Bay Area nonprofit that collaborates with schools and others across the country to use sports as a vehicle for improving health, educational, and social outcomes for kids living in challenged neighborhoods. Niko and Jacquie also developed a complex facility rental contract for a San Francisco arts nonprofit that serves diverse artists through a variety of exhibition and other programs, and prepared a suite of contract and IP documents for a museum focused on the life of a major figure in American culture.

 

 

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Steven Jaffe (‘20) and Sam Watters (‘20) prepared a set of contracts for one of the world’s leading science museums. The work involved multiple discussions with the COO, and design and drafting of documents for a wide variety of contractual relationships. Steven and Sam also advised a major philanthropic foundation about board committee responsibilities, an assignment that involved two meetings with the foundation’s general counsel, and prepared asset purchase, non-disclosure, planning, and other business sale documents for a statewide agricultural organization.

 

 

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Catherine Yuh (‘19), Charlie Melman (’20), and Parker Miller (‘19) worked with the GC of a prominent national nonprofit’s San Francisco affiliate to develop template agreements for relationships with service providers, collaborators, and community organizations. The team also provided advice and created asset transfer, fiscal sponsorship, and other contracts for a Bay Area environmental organization, and prepared website terms for an East Bay nonprofit that develops healthcare performance measures and digital tools for deployment in low-income countries around the world.

 

 

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Corporate governance:

In addition, all O&T students carried out comprehensive corporate governance reviews. These engagements involve reviewing the client’s existing governance documents and practices, preparing a detailed report, drafting an extensive suite of bylaws, board committee charters, and other documents, and in some cases making a formal presentation to board members and senior executives. Sam Watters and Parker Miller represented a San Francisco nonprofit dedicated to music presentation and education. Catherine Yuh collaborated with Clinical Supervising Attorney Michelle Sonu in advising an independent progressive school in San Francisco. Jacquie Teobaldi and Charlie Melman represented the science museum noted above.  Steven Jaffe and Niko Eren worked with the CEO and Board members of a South Bay provider of behavioral health services.