October 7, 2026
It’s that time of year again for Temple Law’s Introduction to Transactional Skills (ITS), an innovative three-week experiential course in which our first-year law students have the opportunity to focus on interviewing, negotiating, drafting, and problem solving in a business setting. Half of the students represent Emeril Starr, a chef who is excited to open his first restaurant. The other half represent Carly Whitman, a financier and Emeril’s friend, who is backing this venture. Over three weeks, the students interview their clients, negotiate a Term Sheet and an Employment Agreement, and draft various contract provisions, all with the goal of making Emeril and Carly’s dream a reality.
In a Temple 10-Q exclusive, we sat down with Emeril and Carly to discuss their vision for the restaurant and their experience with the esteemed 1Ls representing them.
Emeril Starr:
After years of taking orders and paying dues as a sous chef, it’s time for me to finally make it on my own. I have very fancy taste and want to use only the finest imported ingredients and cutting-edge tools in my new restaurant. That’s why I was so excited to meet my student lawyers. You could tell they really cared about me and my creative vision.
They asked all these thoughtful questions—what are my goals for the restaurant? How do I measure success? How many ice sculptures do I really need as part of the decor? My lawyers are there to make sure I get enough money to get this restaurant off the ground and make it the best French bistro Philly has ever seen! My lawyers are also working to make sure I get paid enough, own my recipes, and have the time to build my brand outside of the restaurant.
At the same time, my lawyers never lost sight of the non-business side of the restaurant. They asked about my relationship with Carly, who will be financing this restaurant. She is my best friend and has always supported me, even through my earliest ventures like the opening of my pigeon-inspired food truck.
For three weeks my super-smart lawyers interviewed me and then met with Carly’s lawyers to work out a term sheet and employment agreement. I was told they are only in their first year of law school—I couldn’t believe it! They are working on real hands-on negotiation and drafting skills.
Carly Whitman:
Emeril is delusional. Talented, but delusional! Luckily, my lawyers learned that quickly. When they interviewed me, they asked about our friendship and our history working together. I told them about the pigeon food truck we opened at Temple during college.
When Emeril gets an idea, he becomes convinced that it is essential to his artistic vision, and suddenly a reasonable restaurant requires imported marble, twelve varieties of French butter, and some highly specialized kitchen tool no serious chef can live without.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Emeril! He is my best friend and an exceptional chef. That’s why I am willing to invest a significant amount of money in opening a restaurant with him. But I am also a businessperson. I have no interest in running his kitchen. I do, however, have an interest in not watching my money disappear in the name of “creative vision.”
So, I told my lawyers what I wanted: Emeril gets control over the food and day-to-day operations; I get meaningful control over the money. Simple as that. Then they asked about budgets, spending caps, approval rights, monthly contributions, ownership percentages, and what happens when Emeril decides an expensive item is absolutely necessary, and I disagree. Apparently, “Carly gets to say NO when Emeril is being ridiculous” is not an acceptable contractual provision.
What surprised me was how much my lawyers wanted to know before negotiating. They made me decide what actually mattered, where I could compromise, and what I was willing to trade to get something more important. By the time they sat down with Emeril’s lawyers, they weren’t simply arguing for everything I wanted. They were figuring out how to turn my priorities into an actual deal.
And my lawyers are only in their first month of law school! They are already interviewing clients, identifying priorities, negotiating, problem-solving, and turning an agreement into contract language. If they can also keep Emeril from spending our entire budget on French butter, I would say they are off to a pretty good start.