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Kirkland & Ellis Corporate Lab Clinic—Significant Achievements for 2017-18

The Kirkland & Ellis Corporate Lab successfully completed in excess of 120 projects during the 2017–2018 academic year in collaboration with a wide range of companies, including Abercrombie & Fitch, Accenture, Archer Daniels Midland, Allstate, Baxter, GrubHub, Honeywell, IBM, John Deere, Koch Industries, Kraft Heinz, Meijer, Microsoft, Nike, Schneider National, Schreiber Foods, Sony Electronics, The 3M Company, Ulta Beauty, Verizon and various start-up companies, both on an individual basis and in connection with the Booth School of Business (including both the New Venture Challenge and the Social New Venture Challenge).

The Lab’s transactional clinic continues to enjoy great success due in large part to the interesting projects and high-quality work that draw ambitious students and leading organizations to come together to collaborate on solving cutting-edge legal and business problems. During the past academic year, the Lab focused on many contract drafting projects, including a significant overhaul of a major international corporation’s form Master Manufacturing, Supply and Services Agreement.

The Lab also provided significant guidance to various companies regarding Europe’s new General Data Privacy Regulation, which significantly tightened the legal landscape surrounding the collection and use of data by companies. In connection with this area, the Lab produced memoranda for numerous clients ranging from retailers to technology companies, offering advice tailored to each company’s data collection and use practices.

In addition to the foregoing, the following is a representative sampling of the many projects undertaken by the Lab over the past academic year:

Corporate Governance

  • Assisted in drafting the “Risk Factors” section of NYSE-listed corporation’s quarterly report, focusing on the extent to which cyber-security related threats should be discussed
  • Created anti-money laundering, OFAC and sexual harassment policies for separate international retailers and provided on-site sexual harassment training
  • Researched and provided guidance on the situations in which attorney-client privilege could and does not exist within the context of relationships with in-house attorneys

Policy Research

  • Drafted white paper for insurance client regarding ethical challenges surrounding the proliferation of artificial intelligence and related potential legal regime
  • Drafted memorandum for multi-national corporation regarding situations in which it could be liable for damages to third parties arising from hacked products
  • Produced comprehensive handbook for international food manufacturer on anti-discrimination and anti-harassment laws and regulatory frameworks in 15 key global markets

Contract Drafting

  • Reviewed and commented on apparel retailer’s form master services agreement, resulting in more streamlined document
  • Drafted form license agreement for use of marketing-technology client’s proprietary algorithm and accompanying software
  • Assisted numerous startup clients with drafting corporate bylaws, employment agreements, non-disclosure agreements, and other documents relating to launching a startup business

Corporate Social Responsibility

  • Acting as outside general counsel, provided advice on various areas of law relating to non-profit client’s mission to bring legal education to underserved pro se litigants

Beyond substantive projects, the Lab continued to host its acclaimed Speaker Series program. The Speaker Series provides Lab students with an opportunity to hear from leading practitioners (from both law firms and corporations) on core areas of law (e.g., the fundamentals of a specific type of transaction), topical business-and-law issues, and the real-world concerns critical to young attorneys’ success (e.g., client relations and professional best practices). In addition to many other esteemed practitioners, the following industry leaders participated in the Speaker Series over this past academic year:

  • Barbara Kolsun (Professor at Cardozo Law; former Executive VP and GC of Stuart Weitzman);
  • Eileen Ho and Paul St. Lawrence (Cleary Gottlieb);
  • Daniel Render and Emily Underwood (Katten Muchin Rosenman);
  • Scott Falk, Neil Hirshman, Linda Myers and Dennis Myers; Steve Richie, Brian Van Klompenberg (Kirkland);
  • Nate Lutz, Phil Kiebler and Brandi Van Leeuwen (Meijer);
  • Jeff Jakubowicz and Neal Stern (Counsel to the National Basketball Association);
  • David Bronner, David Brown and Brian Krob (Nixon Peabody);
  • Eileen Kamerick (Board member of several NYSE listed companies);
  • Jason Sussman (The Pritzker Organization);
  • Andrew Boutros (Seyfarth Shaw);
  • William Ridgeway (Counsel at Skadden, Arps; Former Assistant U.S. Attorney);
  • Steve Yoost (General Counsel, Trive Capital Management);
  • Jodi Caro (General Counsel of Ulta Beauty);
  • James Boumil (Proskauer)

In addition, the Lab hosted the seventh annual Transactional Challenge for rising second-year law students to provide exposure to corporate practice during the first law school summer. Over half of the rising second-year class registered for the Challenge, which allows students to compete in a series of real-world corporate transactional exercises. The Challenge also gives participating students an opportunity to network with senior in-house counsel and law firm partners as part of several post-Challenge events.