Joan E. Neal teaches transactional skills courses, including contract drafting, as well as ethics for transactional lawyers and telecommunications law. Prior to joining the Law School, she spent almost 20 years in Morrison & Foerster's Communications Group, with a focus on regulatory and transactional work in the telecommunications industry. She has (i) negotiated and drafted a wide variety of contractual arrangements governing carriers' customer and wholesale supplier relationships (both domestic and international) and construction of submarine cable systems; (ii) counseled clients regarding regulatory compliance, US market entry, and structuring of ongoing businesses and new ventures; and (iii) acted as regulatory counsel in a wide range of transactions (including mergers, public and private equity and debt offerings, and foreign investments).

Neal has a BA in Russian & East European Studies from the University of Michigan (1986) and a JD from Yale Law School (1989).