The Transactional Law Clinics is organized into four Clinics, corresponding to the TLC’s three predominant practice areas:
BUSINESS AND NON-PROFIT LAW
TLC’s Business and Non-profit legal work includes such matters as business formations, investments, sales and purchases, contracts, and regulatory compliance, and nonprofit organizations’ incorporation and application for tax exempt status, and governance. Students working on such matters typically have opportunities to prepare formation documents for limited liability companies and corporations, partnership and shareholder agreements, consider aspects of both federal and state securities laws, write, review, and negotiate contracts, assess regulatory issues, and the like.
REAL ESTATE LAW
TLC’s Real Estate legal work includes both commercial and residential real estate matters purchases and sales of residences, condominium formation, operation and governance, commercial leasing, zoning compliance and development of affordable housing. Students working on such matters typically handle various aspects of residential house or condominium purchases or sales, including negotiation of sales agreements, pre-closing (sale) matters and handling closings. Commercial lease matters also sometimes arise. Analysis of zoning compliance – often in the context of a proposed business enterprise – is also a potential clinical opportunity, as are occasional opportunities to represent clients before community zoning appeal boards.
ENTERTAINMENT LAW
TLC’s Entertainment legal work includes representing musicians, artists, writers, producers, managers, independent labels and publishers. Much of this work is focused on copyright and trademark law, and drafting contracts and licenses of various sorts.
COMMUNITY ENTERPRISE PROJECT
The Community Enterprise Project (“CEP”) provides an opportunity for students to undertake clinical work rooted in both community development and transactional law. CEP students will connect with community organizations, identify organizational and community legal needs, and develop comprehensive strategies to address those needs while gaining valuable real-world transactional law experience. To this end, CEP often facilitates community workshops on legal issues relevant to small businesses, non-profit organizations, and the populations they serve.
All Students are asked to express their preference(s) for one or more of TLC’s transactional legal areas, and subject to the available client projects, students’ work is generally assigned in their requested area(s) of concentration.
Cutting across all TLC legal work are the basic themes and skills of transactional practice. Students have numerous opportunities throughout the semester to draft documents, research and apply legal doctrine, interview, represent, and counsel clients, negotiate transactions, manage transactions, and to engage in strategic decision-making, issue analysis, and problem solving. Students will gain firsthand experience of the practice of law, observing the differing roles and goals of lawyers, clients, and other parties.