The Business Law Program’s Lunch & Learn series welcomed alumni and practicing attorneys for conversations at the intersection of law, business, and strategy.
Designed to expose students to practical insights from leaders in the field, the series highlights how business lawyers act not only as legal experts but also as strategic advisors, problem-solvers, and dealmakers.
Negotiation in Action with Daniel Woubishet ’02
The series began on September 16 with Daniel Woubishet ’02, who presented Negotiation in Action: How to Be a Deal-Maker. Drawing on his extensive experience, Woubishet broke down the components and strategies of successful dealmaking. He emphasized the role of business lawyers as “strategic problem solvers” and even “divorce planners,” who must anticipate potential conflicts and coordinate across issues like data privacy, regulatory compliance, and risk management to ensure deals succeed.
Business Law Society President Courtney Patterson ’27 moderated the discussion, which gave students a front-row look at the art of negotiation from an alum’s perspective.
Strategic Lawyering with Nakia Gray
On October 22, the series welcomed Nakia Gray, Esq., intellectual property attorney, business strategist, and founder of Locked & Lawyered®. Her talk, Strategic Lawyering: Helping Clients Grow, Not Just Survive, focused on how legal planning functions as a growth strategy in today’s business and entertainment industries.
Known for helping creatives and entrepreneurs build brands, protect ideas, and scale businesses, Gray shared how forward-thinking legal decisions, through contracts, trademarks, and IP strategies, shape success from day one. Students gained a glimpse into her unique blend of law, branding, and entrepreneurship, as well as her work engaging with audiences through her TikTok platform, @levelupwithnakia.
Healthcare & Business Law in Conversation
The final Lunch & Learn of the semester, held in collaboration with the Law and Health Care Program, took place on November 19. Attorneys Kristin Bohl ’06 and Dawn Perez-Slavinski of Bass, Berry & Sims PLC led a discussion on the intersection of healthcare and business law. With backgrounds spanning government service, healthcare compliance, fraud and abuse issues, and transactional counseling, the panelists shared their real-world insights into advising clients in the healthcare sector. This session offered students an inside look at the skills and career paths available in this growing field.
Through alumni connections, faculty partnerships, and distinguished practitioners, the Lunch & Learn series continues to enrich the law school experience by connecting theory with practice and showing students how business law shapes industries, organizations, and careers.