http://www.law.nyu.edu/leadershipprogram/clinic/index.htm
The Business Law Transactions Clinic of New York University School of Law provides free business and transactional legal services to non-profit organizations and certain for-profit businesses. We focus on providing practical and context-aware support to senior leaders to help them on corporate and business issues such as governance and transactions. We provide legal services to non-profit organizations, as well as to small businesses, entrepreneurs and social enterprises that may not have access to the traditional legal market and that operate in areas of concern to the public. Our students (all second and third year students at the New York University School of Law) are selected from a pool of applicants and are the primary advisors and communicators to the client.
Under the close supervision of the Clinic faculty, our students plan transactions and negotiate contracts, memoranda of understanding and other operating agreements (grant, service, independent contractor, sponsorship); review and advise senior managers and boards about governance and reporting practices; prepare bylaws, conflict-of-interest and other board policies, committee charters, director orientation materials, board self-assessment tools and similar documents; and prepare templates and documents (contracts, forms, summaries and checklists) for management use.
Professors
Stephanie Abramson is a 1969 graduate of New York University School of Law, where she was an editor of the Law Review. She is currently the Director of Law and Business Experiential Courses at New York University School of Law. She has an extensive and varied background in corporate law and transactional representation, as both outside counsel and as general counsel to several global companies. Ms. Abramson practiced corporate law at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius. She has been Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Young & Rubicam Inc., Chief Legal Officer and Chief Corporate Development Officer of Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc. and most recently the Executive Vice President and General Counsel of DoubleClick, Inc. (acquired by Google Inc. in March 2008).
Sean Delany is the Executive Director of Lawyers Alliance for New York, the leading provider of pro bono business and transactional legal services to non-profits and community development organizations in New York City. Before joining Lawyers Alliance, Mr. Delany was the Assistant Attorney General in Charge of the Charities Bureau in the office of the New York Attorney General. Mr. Delany is on the Board of Advisors of the ALI “Principles of the Law of Nonprofit Organizations,” and a member of the Government Relations Committee of the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York. In 2008, he lectured at law programs in Beijing and Shanghai, sponsored by the Yale Law School China Law Center.
Objectives
We want to do great work for our clients, focusing on providing practical and thoughtful support to non-profit and business leaders. As professors, we aim to give students opportunities to develop analytical, planning, editorial and counseling skills in the context of both live client projects and reality-grounded class work. It is important that we allow our students to see how business lawyers can serve the community through pro bono, board service, leadership and volunteer activities.
Requesting Legal Assistance
If your organization seeks legal assistance with a business law matter, please complete this Request for Legal Assistance form and submit it along with the documents listed on the last page of the form. Please contact Stephanie Swanson (stephanie.swanson@nyu.ed) with any questions.
