M&A Bootcamp Gives Lichtenberger ’22, Potter ’22 Opportunity to Collaborate, Learn from Experts

Two students had the opportunity to solidify their interest in transactional law while gaining negotiating experience, learning from expert alumni, and sharpening their remote work skills.

Christian Lichtenberger ‘22 and Amanda Potter ’22 participated in the national LawMeets Mergers and Acquisitions Moot Court Competition over the course of the spring semester.

The intense competition involved drafting a stock purchase agreement for the sale of $2.3 billion worth of outstanding stock on behalf of their client. They were able to negotiate a deal with law students from institutions around the country. The pair met regularly and were coached by Professor Ted De Barbieri and Kimberly C. Petillo-Decossard ’05. Doris Stacey Gama ’21 and Joseph Pidel ’21, who participated in the competition last year, also helped guide the team.

“Through the competition, I was learning so much. Amanda and I both took contracts first year, but to see it actually playing together, to see how things fit, how the numbers work, and even the interactions within the competition itself—being able to anticipate the opposing side and their needs and solutions—bringing everything together, it was amazing,” Lichtenberger said. “It’s really secured my interest in this area of law.”

“It was amazing to see these ideas come to life. You’re taught about these ideas in class. We got the experience of taking these concepts and putting them into play. It was an absolutely great experience. We got to see that everything we are learning has a purpose,” Potter said. “The sometimes-tedious tasks of reading over an agreement line by line and making sure it’s perfect wasn’t boring. We had fun with it. I don’t think I would have learned these skills until I was out in the real world.”

In addition to putting their classroom knowledge to work, the competition made an impact on their lawyering skills.

“I felt like real advocate for my client. I learned how to negotiate and what the client was able to give up and what their priorities were in order to reach a deal,” Potter said. “At first, you focus on getting the words right, then you’re so prepared and passionate about helping them. A huge takeaway was learning how to relay your clients’ needs in a professional manner. We sat across from the opposing counsel and were able to advocate. Having that experience before going out to practice law is so valuable.”

“Working with Amanda remotely, especially at the frequency that we did, working on a project of this magnitude and communicate and collaborate with someone fully remotely was so valuable. We haven’t met in person but we were able to work really well together and delegate and bounce ideas off each other,” Lichtenberger said. “There are a lot of opportunities with this. You make good contacts with the judges, with other students who have gone through it, alumni. I’d be happy to talk to anyone going through it next year.”