INTERNATIONAL TRANSACTIONS CLINICDoing Good By Doing Deals–Globally2014–2015 Annual Report

ITC Annual Report

2014-2015: PUTTING BOOTS ON THE GROUND AND EXPANDING THE KNOWLEDGE PLATFORM

In 2014-2015, the ITC undertook several new initiatives to advance its mission.

First, an ITC student put boots on the ground and travelled internationally to join a client in Antigua, Guatemala. Thanks to the financial generosity of a new client, the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), this student and one of the ITC’s supervising attorneys travelled to Guatemala in October. There they participated in the launch of “SCALA”—an innovative approach to promote economic empowerment of the poor in Latin America and the Caribbean through the development of microfranchising and inclusive distribution networks.

Second, the ITC began to build a shared knowledge platform where legal scholars and practitioners could disseminate research and actionable information about legal innovation and developments around the globe in the area of social enterprise and impact investing. The first legs of this platform took the form of knowledge-sharing events that were co-sponsored by the ITC— a legal symposium in New York City in October hosted by the law firm, Bingham McCutchen; webinars held in February, March, and April; and a full-day conference in Washington DC in May hosted by the law firm, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.

While all of the above was taking place, ITC students continued to provide world-class legal services to nearly two dozen clients. During the 2014-2015 academic year, ITC students (14 student attorneys, 3 advanced student attorneys, and 3 LLM student advisors) provided more than 3600 hours of pro bono service to ITC clients.

2014–2015

Jibu, the water sector’s first incubator, uses a business- in-a-box franchise model to make clean drinking water affordable and accessible to communities in Africa. At the same time, its franchisees are building sustainable businesses.

The Jibu start-up package includes training, a water treatment system, bottles, branding and packaging, marketing materials, a step-by-step business plan, standard operating procedures, and more. The goal is to provide entrepreneurs with everything they need to launch and manage a water treatment franchise that is designed to make quality drinking water radically affordable.

In the fall of 2014, the co-founder of Jibu approached the ITC for legal advice. Jibu was expanding its operations in Africa and needed help in developing legal agreements that could support that expansion. ITC student attorneys were tasked with drafting a form of agreement that could be used between Jibu’s regional developers and its franchisees.

According to Dave Koch (UMich Law Class of ’84) who supervised this transaction matter, the ITC students that worked with Jibu did “real work that I probably wasn’t doing until I was five or six years into practice. The opportunity to work with the client directly, to sit in a meeting with him and ask questions about the business, social objectives, and how the two work together, is not something you normally get during law school. This is a rare opportunity and one that will give them a big head start in their careers.”

Meanwhile, more communities in Africa are now enjoying clean and affordable drinking water. Now that’s something worth lifting a glass to and toasting!

Providing Access to Clean and Affordable Drinking Water While Building Business Opportunities in Africa

“The ITC was the highlight of my Michigan Law experience.

Each day I was able to work on substantive transactional matters, collaborating with and learning from brilliant

attorney supervisors, clients, and ITC colleagues. More

specifically, I was able to apply the practical legal and business skills I learned in class to draft

contractual and joint venture agreements, a microlending

term sheet, several business and legal research memos, and

due diligence reports.”

AMY K. BERGSTRAESSER Class of May 2016

“The ITC is much more than a clinic. It is a community. ITC alumni are attending ITC-sponsored conferences and events. They are volunteering to talk with current law students about career paths. They are reaching out to each other to collaborate professionally. And that is just what I’ve been able to see from my vantage point as the ITC’s Founding Director. I’m sure even more connections are being forged across this amazing (and growing) ITC community.”

ACCION International (The Smart Campaign)(MA/DC)Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE)(DC)BioLogic (CA)Blue Orchard (Switzerland)Farm Shop Trust (Kenya)Financing for Development (DC)Freedom from Hunger (CA)Global Partnerships (WA)Grassroots Business Fund (DC)Habitat for Humanity (GA)HoneyCare Africa (Kenya)Inter-American Development Bank (IADB)(DC)International Finance Corporation (IFC)(DC)Jibu (NC)Kiva (CA)Living Business Model (MI)Mbadika (MA)Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) (Canada)Root Capital (MA)Santa Clara University (SCU) (CA)TipHub (DC)Village Capital (GA)Worldwide Hearing Foundation International (Canada)

ITC CLIENTS (illustrative list)

Supervising Attorney Profile

DEBORAH BURAND Clinical Assistant Professor, Founding Director, International Transactions ClinicClient: ACCION, ANDE, Freedom from Hunger, IADB, IFC, Kiva, MEDA, Root Capital, SCU, Village Capital

“It has been not just a tremendous pleasure to work with the ITC, but essential to Jibu’s success. We needed to get a social franchise agreement written properly and quickly to be used with our new franchisees who were launching water businesses in Uganda and Rwanda.”

RANDY WELSCH, Co-founder and U.S. CEO, Jibu

WHAT STUDENTS ARE SAYING

For further information, check the International Transactions Clinic’s website at

www.law.umich.edu/ITC

or contact us at International Transactions Clinic, University of Michigan Law School, 701 S. State Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.

ITC ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Bruce Tuchman (Chair), UMich Law 1989, President of AMC / Sundance Channel Global, AMC Networks, Inc.

Timothy Dickinson, UMich Law 1979, Partner, Paul Hastings, LLP

David Guenther, UMich Law 1999, Partner, Conlin, McKenney & Philbrick, P.C.

Kevin Henderson, UMich Law 2010, Associate, Baker Botts LLP

Paul Lee, UMich Law 1972, Of Counsel, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP

John Lummis, UMich Law 1982, President, Sonyc Association

Melainie Mansfield, UMich Law 1995, Partner, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP

Sogoal Salari, UMich Law 2012, Associate, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C.

Richard Thompson, UMich Law 2011, Bank Examiner, Financial Institution Supervision Group, Federal Reserve Bank of New York

Carl Valenstein, UMich Law 1983, Partner, Bingham McCutchen LLP