Corporate Lab 2014-15 Academic Year-End Update

Naming Announcement

The Kirkland & Ellis Foundation, its partners, and Law School alumni have made a gift nearing $5.5 million to endow a fund to support the Law School’s Corporate Lab,* strengthening the Firm’s enduring ties with the Law School and underscoring a shared commitment to helping students build practical skills in transactional law. The Corporate Lab program has been renamed the Kirkland & Ellis Corporate Lab.

Thank You

The Corporate Lab thanks its clients and friends for their continued support and contribution of time toward the Lab. We especially appreciate Kirkland & Ellis and Microsoft's continued generosity since the Lab's inception.

Recent Notable Projects

The Lab completed in excess of 120 projects during the 2014-2015 academic year. As a sample, student teams notably:

  • Drafted memorandum on website accessibility for global technology company (which gave the Lab permission to provide a redacted version as a sample project);
  • Prepared form contracts including sales and license agreements for multinational consumer goods corporation;
  • Developed pre-litigation risk assessment for significant technology company;
  • Assessed risks within and across various real estate agreements, and proposed ways to mitigate such risks, for a large retail company;
  • Structured a long-term audit sharing agreement for a multi-billion dollar company as part of its planned spin-off transaction;
  • Researched and summarized newly enacted laws and principles related to corporate social responsibility for a global tech company;
  • Drafted a guidebook that explores potential visa options for a large not-for-profit company that is interested in partnering with foreign musicians on a temporary basis;
  • Advised a leading insurance company regarding the insurance-related provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act, and the regulatory agencies which it established;
  • Reviewed trends and analyzed potential legal risks with respect to omni-channel marketing for a global tech company;
  • Simplified a standard NDA agreement for a large retail company;
  • Drafted numerous organizational documents for startup companies competing in the New Venture Challenge at Chicago Booth;
  • Examined laws limiting state campaign contributions by corporations and their officers when that company bids on government contracts for a global tech company;
  • Analyzed legal and business issues with respect to ticket resale restrictions for a professional sports team;
  • Advised global tech company on the enforceability of limitation on liability provisions in key commercial jurisdictions;
  • Drafted a master services agreement for a newly acquired business of a global waste management company;
  • Assisted a rapidly growing startup company in developing its FCPA compliance program;
  • Created a comprehensive data breach limitation of liability guide for a leading technology firm; and
  • Created a drafting manual for international trade association, providing a legal roadmap for international firms seeking to enter the U.S. market.

The Corporate Lab will begin taking full-time assignments again in the fall, and we are available with a small group of talented students over the summer for any pressing matters. For assistance, please contact Professor Zarfes, Professor Kramer, or Professor Finkelstein.

Speaker Series

The Lab has been fortunate to host prominent speakers throughout the past year who addressed substantive legal topics, including:

  • Kamran Bajwa (Partner at Kirkland & Ellis) on cross-border transactions with the Middle East markets;
  • Chris Ekren (Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at Sony) on technology law trends and the evolving regulatory environment;
  • Scott Falk (Partner at Kirkland & Ellis) on public company mergers & acquisitions;
  • Marc Kieselstein and Ryan Dahl (Partners at Kirkland & Ellis) on bankruptcy and restructuring;
  • Brian C. Van Klompenberg (Partner at Kirkland & Ellis) on venture capital and startups;
  • Michael Mullican (Vice President, Assistant General Counsel at Meijer) on in-house legal challenges and opportunities;
  • Linda and Dennis Myers (Partners at Kirkland & Ellis) on debt finance and capital markets;
  • Joel Neuman (VP and Senior Managing Counsel, Coca Cola Foodservice and On-Premise) on branding and protecting intellectual property rights;
  • William Ridgway (Assistant U.S. Attorney, speaking in his personal capacity) on corporate cybercrime: threats and countermeasures;
  • Stephen Ritchie and Jon Ballis (Partners at Kirkland & Ellis) on important trends in private equity law;
  • Neal Stern (VP and Assistant General Counsel at NBA) and Seth McNary (CEO at Verbatim) on labor law and global compliance; and
  • Liisa Thomas (Partner at Winston & Strawn) on corporate crisis management following data breach/cyber crime.

Corporate Social Responsibility Conference

In September 2014, the Corporate Lab convened leading experts in the field to discuss the economic, legal, and practical impact of corporate social responsibility.

External Perspectives

We highly value the development of practical skills and wanted to support that aspect of the University of Chicago Law School curriculum.

- Stephen Ritchie; Partner, Kirkland & Ellis

One of the most refreshing aspects of the Lab is the continuity of the students, many of whom remain for a full year or longer. It has been remarkable to watch the students’ contract drafting and interpretation skills progress, and I am confident that these students will outperform their peers upon entering firms after graduation. I truly wish that there had been a program such as the Lab while I was in law school, but I am happy to function on this end of the spectrum, being the recipient of such great students and legal work.

- Michel Gahard; General Manager, Microsoft Corporation

Kirkland & Ellis Corporate Lab Awards of Excellence

The Lab recently awarded its first Kirkland & Ellis Corporate Lab Awards of Excellence to four talented Class of 2015 graduating students: Blair Bradford, Caroline Henry, L.T. Edwards, and Alex Rosenfield. We have included below biographies of these students. We greatly appreciate their important contributions to the Lab.

Blair BradfordBlair Bradford is a class of 2015 graduating student at the Law School. After law school, Blair will be joining Sidley Austin LLP. Blair graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and holds a B.B.A. with high honors in International Business and a B.A. with highest honors in Hispanic Studies with a minor in Finance and a certificate in European Studies.

L. T. EdwardsL.T. Edwards is a class of 2015 graduating student at the Law School. After law school, L.T. will be clerking for a federal district court judge and then a federal court of appeals judge in hopes of preparing an application to a U.S. Attorney's office to become a federal prosecutor. L.T. graduated from Haverford College and holds a B.S. in Psychology with a concentration in Neural and Behavioral Sciences.

Caroline HenryCaroline Henry is a class of 2015 graduating student at the Law School. After law school, Caroline will be joining Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP. Prior to law school, Caroline worked for Financial Times Live, the global conferences and events arm of the Financial Times newspaper. Caroline graduated from Williams College and holds a B.A. in English Literature and Asian Studies.

Alex RosenfieldAlex Rosenfield is a class of 2015 graduating student at the Law School. After law school, Alex will be joining Davis Polk & Wardwell. Prior to law school, Alex worked as the Special Projects Manager to the CEO of Johnson Publishing Company, home of EBONY and JET magazines and Fashion Fair Cosmetics. Alex graduated with honors from The NYU Gallatin School of Individualized Study.

Student Testimonials

Brice Lipman

The Corporate Lab provides an unmatched opportunity to engage with leading practitioners at Fortune 100 corporations. As a result, I have been fortunate to critically expand both my legal and business skills through participation in the Corporate Lab.

- Brice Lipman; University of Chicago, JD/MBA Class of 2016 (summering at Millstein & Co. during Summer 2015).

Shahrzad Daneshvar

The Kirkland & Ellis Corporate Lab is one of the best courses I have taken at the Law School and has been one of the highlights of my law school career. It provided me the opportunity to develop practical transactional skills, which I otherwise would not have developed in law school. The faculty members foster interpersonal skills by arranging one-on-one meetings and conference calls with executives at Fortune 100 companies. Corporate clients also benefit from students' valuable work product. For example, my team's memoranda have been circulated to client offices in France, Germany, and Italy.

- Shahrzad Daneshvar; University of Chicago Law School, Class of 2016 (Managing Editor of the University of Chicago Law Review and summering at Sullivan & Cromwell during Summer 2015).

Client Alerts

The Lab has a practice of producing client alerts on topical commercial legal issues. Class of 2015 students Alex Rosenfield, LT Edwards, and Class of 2016 students Hayden Miller and Jordan Hughes, recently detailed shifting FCPA legal standards in a new client alert.


The Kirkland & Ellis Corporate Lab thanks you for your continued support. We look forward to working with you this summer and next academic year.

* The Lab was established in 2009 by Professor Zarfes and Lecturer Sean Z. Kramer. Each year, 70-80 students assist Fortune 500 corporations, including Allstate, Amazon, Baxter, Honeywell, IBM, Motorola, Microsoft, Nike, Northern Trust, and Sony. In addition, the Lab participates in the University of Chicago Booth School of Business’ New Venture Challenge, serving the legal needs of leading start-up companies.