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“...whether working with community leaders... negotiating business deals in complex corporate environments, representing clients in criminal matters or arguing cutting-edge cases before the United States Supreme Court—our students leave UCLA School of Law prepared for practice at the highest level in any field of their choosing.” negotiating and drafting of a purchase agreement, as well as ancillary documents that typically form a part of a mergers and acquisitions deal. Leading transactional lawyers serve as guest lecturers and learn firsthand what students are doing in the clinic. “All of them tell us that they wish they had had a similar course available to them in law school,” Professor Anabtawi says. Likewise, these potential employers notice that graduates of Professor Anabtawi’s clinic are better prepared than many of their peers to hit the ground running in a high-stakes transactional law setting. Professor Anabtawi’s clinic is not alone in offering transactional training to UCLA Law students. Other examples include the Business Deals Clinic, which teaches the art of renegotiating basic business contracts; Negotiating and Confirming Chapter 11 Plans, which focuses on negotiation theory and practice and strategic considerations in the bankruptcy plan process; and Professor Steve Derian’s venerable Sports and the Law Clinic, in which students have the opportunity to prepare for and conduct a sports-related negotiation.
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Amir Sadr ’14, president of UCLA Law’s Real Estate Law Association, participated in the Business Deals Clinic, which is taught by Adjunct Professor of Law John F. Hilson, because he wanted to gain practical skills before becoming a summer associate at Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth. “I wanted to gain as much exposure to the transactional practice as possible,” he says. “By participating in various transactional scenarios during the semester, I was able to hone my focus of what area of law interests me and expand my skill set.” Indeed, by participating in a simulated office building real estate negotiation, Sadr was able to both learn new skills and confirm that real estate law was a passion for him. “The entire experience was absolutely amazing and I am thankful I enrolled in the course,” he says.
An EndurinG lEGAcy Alumni often report that the lessons they learned in UCLA Law clinics stick with them for a lifetime. For instance, Dorothy Wolpert ’76, a founding partner at Bird Marella, has never forgotten the Trial Advocacy Clinic. “David Binder taught me that after you interviewed the client and after you had a handle on the facts, the first thing you should do is write your closing arguments,” Wolpert says. “Because then you would know what you had to do, what you had to learn and what evidence you had to get. I always think about David when I do an interview or outline a deposition or start writing my closing argument the day after I meet a client.”
Mitch Kupchak of the Los Angeles Lakers (center) presides over a mock negotiation in the Sports and the Law Clinic.
| UCLA LAW MAGAZINE
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9/12/2013 1:07:52 PM