During the Spring semester, Lewis & Clark Law students had the unique opportunity to step into the high-stakes world of corporate negotiations at Accelerating the Deal, a workshop hosted by Intel and led by Trevor Jones (Intel Director and Associate General Counsel) and Elizabeth Borges (Senior Legal Counsel at Intel). The session was designed to show how legal and business teams work together to close complex deals, often under immense time pressure.
Students walked away with more than just insights—they left with practical tools they could immediately apply to real-world scenarios.
Hollis Robb ’26, who later competed in the Wayne State Taft Transactional Law Invitational, credited the workshop with helping her team clinch first place. “The exercises on identifying each party’s value drivers and creating a negotiation plan were especially useful,” she said. “I used the Participant Guide from this workshop to help my team prepare… It played an integral part in our victory.” She also reflected on how the workshop reinforced her interest in a legal career that blends seamlessly with business strategy: “It refreshed my passion for a similar career and introduced me to a more methodical way of preparing for a deal.”
For 1L Tracey Nguyen ’27, the biggest takeaway was the power of preparation. “Being strategic about what to offer first—while knowing the limits of what you’re willing to part with—is critical. Foundationally, business negotiation isn’t so different from navigating a Craigslist purchase (just way more complex).” She was also struck by the level of integration between legal and business teams at Intel, noting how collaboration is key to closing deals effectively.
Chris Timmer ’26 echoed that theme. “The workshop clearly illustrated how the various teams involved in a deal often have competing goals and strategies,” he said. “It’s the legal department’s role to act as a referee and ensure that negotiations and final contracts not only meet the technical needs of each team but also align with the company’s broader operational objectives.”
By the end of the morning, students had gained a deeper understanding of not just how deals get done—but how lawyers can shape them.
The Accelerating the Deal workshop is part of Lewis & Clark Law School’s ongoing effort to give students practical, hands-on exposure to in-house and transactional work. For students looking to build careers at the intersection of law and business, it was a rare and valuable glimpse behind the curtain.
