Overview

The Organizations and Transactions Clinic of Mills Legal Clinic at Stanford Law School provides free corporate legal services to Northern California nonprofit organizations. Our goal is to introduce students to the disciplines and materials of corporate practice. We talk about what corporate lawyers do and what’s expected of them, offer students some ideas about how to approach the work, and give students opportunities to continue developing core professional skills and habits of mind. To those ends, we provide governance advice and documents, draft contract and management materials, and give advice about structural, operating and contractual matters, and we emphasize methodical analysis, close reading, efficient writing, effective collaboration, and crisp execution.

Our clients are established Northern California nonprofit corporations. They vary by size, policy focus, operating model, funding source and location. We generally do client projects in two-person teams. Each team works in collaboration with, and under the close supervision of, the instructors. Teams generally work with 3 - 4 clients during the term and interact with client CEOs, CFOs, board members, and general counsels.

Students also participate in a twice-weekly seminar. Seminar sessions center on discussion of client projects and orientation to corporate practice. The clinic is an academic course and a full-time commitment. It represents a student’s entire courseload during the quarter of enrollment. We operate as a law firm and outside professional services provider; we are not an internship program.

We focus on providing practical, plain English, context-aware and efficient support to senior leaders.