From evaluations of “Professor” Wertlieb completed anonymously by students in the year indicated, except where otherwise indicated:
2024:
I wanted to express my gratitude for the impact you had on me during my time at Berkeley. Your VC Boot Camp class was incredibly influential, and the insights I gained from your teachings have been invaluable as I take the next steps in my legal career. I’ve been highly recommending your course to many incoming students—I’m sure they’ll find it as engaging and beneficial as I did. [email from former student]
[Overall evaluation of instructor (7-point scale): Mean 6.64 (standard deviation .67)]
[Strengths of the class:]
- Organized class, fun lectures, complicated concepts are broken down very easily, thorough explanations of class topics (like debt!), great introductory course to dive into VC topics
- easy to follow, extremely friendly teacher
Instructor is friendly, funny, and charismatic. Lots of opportunity for students to answer questions about lecture information, test knowledge, and ask questions if needed.
I liked everything about this class!
Professor Wertlieb conducted the course in an engaging, interactive, and substantive manner.
Professor Wertlieb organized the course materials into a very digestible manner, and he was always clear in his explanations. He is particularly good at explaining complex concepts in a way that makes them easy to understand.
Professor Wertlieb’s teaching style is very Socratic, which made for an enriching class experience. Also, he was always happy to make time outside of class to chat with students.
Well-organized. He raise question making you think first and then dive into his powerpoint. Additionally, the PPT is simple but point out all the crucial issues and aspects.
Neil clarify hard issues with different perspective, sometimes with role-playing between the opposition parties to make you get the concepts.
Neil will assign contract drafting in terms of “a sentence.” These short assignment is extremely helpful to know what are the loopholes that students or an junior associate will have.
This is a MUST taken course if you are going to be a transaction lawyer. Period.
Neil breaks down the basic of a deal which is often overlooked in most doctrinal and semester long courses. I really appreciated Neil taking the time to walk us through each element.
Despite this class being on a Saturday morning, Neil really makes an effort to keep students engaged and is very animated which helps since some topics can be dry. I appreciate the consistent questions to the class to keep people engaged and interactive.
Neil is very open and welcoming. He encourages students to come and ask him questions. He keeps his office hours open and encourages us to get to know him in a more informal setting.
The strength of this class is the professor and his expertise! He outlines the class very well and truly breaks down the concepts really well.
The professor is very organized and has great slides to supplement his explanations.
The professor is very open in answering questions inside and outside of the classroom. He is very generous and open!
Take this class! Highly recommend to everyone!
Weakness: none, take this class
Love the idea of the class! I think it is the best seminar to take along with BA.
I liked everything about this class! I would love to do more 1-sentence drafting exercises (maybe 2 per class), and discuss it more during class.
Neil is the master in this realm. Period.
2023:
[Overall evaluation of instructor (7-point scale): Mean 7 (standard deviation 0)]
[Strengths of the class:]
- Ability to answer questions and break down complicated concepts.
- The strength is Neil’s energy.
- clear presentation of course material
- The course is really practical in transaction area.
- overview of a funding transaction in a nutshell. Helpful insights for corporate practice especially if one intends to become a transactional lawyer.
[Weaknesses of the class:] None.
I wanted to express my deep appreciation for the Venture Capital Deal Bootcamp you’ve orchestrated. The meticulous preparation and insights you’ve shared have greatly enriched my understanding and perspective in this field. While I might not have been the most vocal participant during our discussions, please know that I was deeply engrossed and valued every minute of it. The past four weeks were a trove of knowledge, and I’ve learned more than words can capture. Your professionalism, expertise, and passion for the transaction genuinely inspire me. I aspire to be an accomplished transactional lawyer like you one day, with a storage room brimming with closing gifts from many deals! [email from current student]
Professor Wertlieb did an amazing job of making the curriculum engaging. He broke down every single topic and entertained everyone’s questions. He cultivated a community within the classroom.
The course felt like a great overview of the major components of a deal. I very much enjoyed that the course focused on how to be a lawyer and work with clients, not just what the black letter law was. The contract drafting exercises were very practical
Professor Wertlieb is very kind, and respects students’ opinions.
The class is taught extremely well and the reading materials are through and very helpful. I believe I’d go back to them at later points in my career which is always a great sign.
I really enjoyed the class and already recommended this class to other students.
Almost every law student lacks personal experience in the corporate field and our black letter classes don’t help bridge the gap of what the day-to-day experiences of lawyering look like in the corporate space. This class is *essential* as a first-gen student trying to break into this space. A colleague and I remarked together that this class led to “aha” moments that we had lacked in our black letter corporate classes, as the Neil’s course helped us click our theoretical knowledge with actual practical guidance.
Practical approach to teaching business law and venture capital related issues. Must do class for transactional lawyers.
We get to run through a deal cycle with you, which is a very cool experience. It can have a lot of moving pieces for folks new to startup. I love the materials that you make for class.
The professor is pretty great. I learned a lot from this class, very fruitful!
This is my favorite class this semester.
Professor Neil’s course is meticulously organized, ensuring that students can learn and absorb knowledge in a logical sequence. The content delivered isn’t merely theoretical; it is highly applicable, aiding students in realworld applications. It’s evident from his teaching that a lot of preparation has gone into the course, ensuring both the quality and depth of the material presented.
The professor was very knowledgeable about the subject matter and able to give real life examples of the subjects we were covering.
The in-class presentations are engaging, clear, and well-balanced.
The class organization was great we went through a chronological order and I liked knowing what to expect. The order felt intuitive because we were going through the timeline of a business.
I’m glad that he provided an agenda for what we would be going over each single day. That road map matched perfectly with the in-class presentation. The slides were condensed and straightforward.
Engaging, insightful, and at a good pace to understand.
Well-organized. Very clear presentations.
Professor is really charming. All presentations were clear and great organized.
The student engagement is excellent; Professor Wertlieb pulls us all into the discussion and looks for each of us to contribute.
Perfect. Broke down what is essentially a degree’s worth of a corporate law education in four weeks
Very organized and crystal clear.
Everything you bring to this course is shaped by your experience, and I really loved hearing the individual stories of deals. Outside of this, we may never hear what can go wrong. attorneys aren’t the type to air their mistakes, but through your course and lived experience, they can get a sense of the risk with examples.
The presentation is just enough, and you do a great job scaffolding so that there is something to look forward to each week. You make theory sound reasonable by ignoring the formal terms and focusing on what is really happening.
Well-organized and very clear.
Wonderful and detailed in class presentation. Wonderful drafting exercises and calculation of dilution exercises.
Very clear and concise teaching methods.
[The instructor’s in-class and out-of-class interactions with students:] This may be one of the professor’s best attributes.
Amazingly open to meet with students whenever and for any reason, not just for discussions of class material
Professor Wertlieb is an expert in this field, extremely professional, and a delight to learn from. He is kind and generous; I couldn’t ask for a better way to learn the fundamentals of corporate law.
Fostered open discussion, respectful, and encouraging of participation from quieter students and those who are not as experienced in the field.
It’s a very interactive course. Neil encourages students to share their thoughts, opinion and questions.
The professor is very accessible and provides insight into lot of concepts related to venture capital.
You did a great job being available and kind.
Many enlightening discussions, class discussions were lively, and the professor was responsive.
Responsive and approachable.
Fantastic. The focus on assignments that mirror corporate practice (contract analysis, writing memos on corporate disputes, contract drafting) are the first experiences I’ve had in law school where I am actually taught tangible corporate skills.
I liked this class and it is the most interesting class for my fall semester.
Thank you for making time and the journey up to Berkeley over this month. I bet the schlep was a challenge.
We’re all better prepared for our careers that you took the time to give us a head start.
Prof. Neil has a knack for explaining things in a captivating manner, making complex concepts more digestible and helping students maintain their focus throughout the lectures.
Perfect!
Perfect!
Perfect!
2022:
[Overall evaluation of instructor (7-point scale): Mean 6.79]
This is the best course I took in the Fall of 2022. Neil is an experienced practitioner and a master of transactional lawyering. He can answer practical questions from students. He speaks super clear English. He speaks relatively slowly. Non-native English speakers can understand every single word he says. He will explain why a clause shall be or shall not be drafted in certain ways. Highly recommended for all transactional lawyers.
Prof. Wertlieb was very clear, supportive, and kind as an instructor, and always made time for student comments and questions. The readings were not too heavy and were interesting and informative. It was a very effective course!
Prof. Wertlieb was always available and responsive outside of the classroom. In the classroom, he was very effective at stimulating and managing class discussions, even when we could sometimes be quiet. He really walked us through everything really nicely. The structure of the course was super coherent, and I feel like I definitely understand the basics of the VC world now.
It was very interactive, with lots of questioning. I felt comfortable making mistakes, because he created such a culture of respect in the class
The most attractive point of this class is the pronunciation of the teacher, which is very clear and friendly to a foreign student. The second merit is it’s incredibly acceptable both for a student who has never known about investment, as well as for those who have practiced in this field for a certain time, because the teacher begins from some simple conceptions as well as dive deep into some key elements. And I really love this class.
The presentation is excellent. He has well-designed slides but does not rely on the slides. He can explain difficult questions in a simple way.
Super clear and engaging, Neil is a really great professor
He was SO good at adhering to the schedule – even holding Zoom sessions at 3am while he was in Italy to make sure we always had class on time
He tries to answer every practical question of students. He does not avoid the difficult question because he is capable.
Amazing, the best class this semester and super practical for future practices.
Interactive learning, professor knows the material very well.
One of the most substantively interesting, engaging and practical classes I’ve taken at Berkeley. Professor was very passionate and knowledgeable about the subject. Great slides and clear class lectures
Always available outside of class and very effective at questioning and responding to students
Perfect Perfect Perfect Perfect
Very charismatic lecturing. Very efficient use of technology
Amazing, very patient and encourage questions and participation from students.
Presentation was clear and organized.
Strength – Great discussions – professor is extremely respectful! Weakness – none
Professor was always extremely prepared for class and does a great job at making everyone feel comfortable.
Professor Neil is amazing in all aspects.
The Professor maintained my interest throughout the course when discussing the majority of topics.
There were no weaknesses demonstrated throughout the class. The professor made the course equally enjoyable and informative.
Prof. Wertlieb is very knowledgeable and used an interesting practical approach to teach the course.
Engaging and knowledgeable professor
This class was interactive, engaging, rewarding, and fun.
Thank you so much to Neil for a wonderful course! We appreciate you so much!!!
Professor Wertlieb was available to discuss and always interacted with a smile.
Great!
Professor Wertlieb’s interactions with students were great. He demonstrated great respect for students’ responsiveness and contributions to class. Additionally, his ability to simulate the lifecycle of a startup over ten weeks was both intriguing and appropriately paced. His excitement and passion for the course was evident through every session. This allowed for the course to be enjoyable.
Really enjoyed this class overall. As someone without any business or VC background I learned a lot.
He was very open to meeting with students outside class and responsive to questions, despite not being a full time faculty member.
2021:
[Overall evaluation of instructor (7-point scale): Mean 6.83]
I highly highly recommend this course if you are interesting in VC financings and the process of forming a startup and seeking financing from VCs. The course taught both the company-side and the fund-side of these deals in an engaging and unique way. The professor is amazing — very knowledge, engaging, helpful, kind and cares so much!
This class was extremely interesting and informative. The assignments and lectures perfectly advanced my learning and the professor was knowledgeable and engaging and definitely cares a lot.
The instructor teaches very clearly and effectively. Was very engaging!
Professor was extremely responsive. I have not waited for answer for e-mail more than 5 minutes.
The Professor is passionate about students learning and questions students in a way that encourages deeper/thorough thought.
The Professor is extremely attentive to emails and open to meeting students outside of class.
Instructor is super friendly, cares a lot about the students and the subject matter. Material is presented in an organized way to give a great overview of issues common to transactional work.
Pro: Great course content; Really useful tips & skills as a transactional lawyer — Con: None
Professor Wertlieb is easy to reach and very responsive when replying emails. The class is very interactive and Professor Wertlieb controls a good pace of the discussion. Good workload; reading materials super helpful for students who want to be a transactional lawyer after graduation.
The professor took a lot of effort in making the class interactive and interesting. Instead of just using textual data, he created a simulation module which was really helpful.
Professor Neil is really an expert in the VC deal area, and he has lots of passion to teach students. In addition, Professor Neil is a very nice professor who is willing to answer all of the questions. So if you are interested in learning how a VC deal goes, it is highly recommended to take this class.
The class is very interactive and interesting with all the materials and discussions about venture capital. Professor Wertlieb is very organized on each class and would assign a one sentence homework every week for us to prepare for the next class.
The professor was great– he clearly cared a lot about making the class useful and engaging for the students. I definitely would recommend this class to anyone at all interested in venture capital.
This class is very practical. I can apply the knowledge that I gained during the class in my day-to-day task as a transactional lawyer. I also recommend this class for LL.M. students since it depends heavily on real practice rather than common law theories.
Prof. Wertlieb is an expert in this area and it really shows during the class and his lectures. He also gave some tips & tricks for example the main principles that we need to know as a lawyer in relation to tax.
Prof. Wertlieb made the class really interactive. He also listens to students’ input. Outside the class, I once asked him about U.S. VC agreement clauses and he responded very nicely although it was not related to class materials.
This course has to be one of the best I’ve taken thus far at the law school. I am immensely grateful to Prof. Wertlieb for flying back and forth from LA each week to teach this course. The strengths of this course are that we are able to take part in a company’s growth from its formation to exit. While other doctrinal courses teach the law and the history behind those laws, this course allows students to gain practical experience at times from the perspective of the client and others from the perspective of the advisor/attorney.
The Professor is passionate about students learning and questions students in a way that encourages deeper/thorough thought.
The professor was great– he clearly cared a lot about making the class useful and engaging for the students. I definitely would recommend this class to anyone at all interested in venture capital.
2020:
[Overall evaluation of instructor (7-point scale): Median 7; Mean 6.83]
This was an incredible class which led students through an immersive experience of a life cycle of a business. A must take for anyone interested in VCs/Startups.
My favorite professor I’ve had so far at Berkeley Law.
Prof. took us through the whole process of transitions for startups. For a 10-week class, I think this is very efficient and I learned a lot from it. I also love how prof. Wertlieb really cares for his students, he branched out to each of us via LinkedIn and shared his practice experience with us, which is very inspiring.
Neil is absolutely the strength of this class! He’s such a nice professor and is very thorough with his feedback on student assignments! On top of that, he’s incredibly kind and considerate of students. Neil was always prepared with relevant exercises and activities. Neil was always super kind to and respectful towards students!
This is an excellent experiential learning course. In-class presentations were clear and organized. Slides were very helpful and discussion was robust. The assigned exercises my favorite part of the course and the best ones I’ve received during law school. They were stimulating and effective tools for learning. Instruction materials and examples were also very helpful.
Professor Wertlieb is incredibly generous with his time and knowledge. He is also very respectful and responsive during interactions. His priority is to help students learn, which shows when he answers questions thoughtfully and guides discussions.
This was a great hands-on way to learn about the stages of founding and financing a startup from the perspectives of both founders and major investors. Experiential classes are a very welcome break from doctrinal classes and a much more appropriate and necessary way to teach transactional skills than reading cases studies or discussing theory. The in-class exercises each week and homework assignments feel like a real taste of the problems and assignments you might face as an attorney advising early stage companies or major investors. I think the most valuable in-class exercises were working through the tables for anti-dilution and conversion rates, and understanding capital structures.
Strengths: interesting subject matter, good design–the approach of following a company all the way through is vastly better than discussing each step in the abstract. Weaknesses: Probably would have been better in person given the nature of the class, but actually wasn’t too bad over Zoom.
Professor Wertlieb is an engaging lecturer and the class was well organized. Fantastic class for anyone interested in corporate/transactional law, even if not in the Venture Capital context specifically.
Professor Wertlieb is one of the most caring professors I have had! He is extremely passionate about the subject and you can tell he wants his students to succeed. He is very clear in what he wants on assignments. Professor Wertlieb has been one of the most organized professors I have had, and knows how to effectively use our time in class.
Very helpful that Professor Wertlieb used closed captions. In terms of instructional techniques, I really enjoyed Professor Wertlieb’s use of a Word Document to actively go through materials with us (really helpful in terms of the lack of whiteboard). Professor Wertlieb really knows how to adapt to online learning. If he is teaching next semester, the school should ask Professor Wertlieb to do a video on tips and tricks. I think many professors would benefit from this!!
This class was so amazing. You will leave it feeling confident in your knowledge of the VC legal sphere as well as the life cycle of a startup. The assignments are great for internalizing what you’ve learned while also being very manageable. There truly were no weaknesses.
Neil had thorough, clear, and engaging presentations. They were organized in an easy-to-understand way and he would walk through the more complicated topics step by step.
Neil used a volunteer-based participation system, which I appreciated in a time like this. He was great at Socratic questioning when someone would give an answer he wasn’t looking for, which was always a great learning opportunity. Class was always engaging and interesting, which is difficult to accomplish in such a large block of time.
Course was incredibly informative and useful. Provided concepts that will be beneficial to students seeking a career as a corporate attorney.
Professor was highly-organized and clear with what they wanted. Course was well-balanced with venture capital law theory and practical implications.
Professor was very kind and conversational instruction style was intellectually stimulating and engaging.
2019:
[Overall evaluation of instructor (7-point scale): Median 7; Adjusted Mean 6.75*]
I enjoyed your class very much, and it was the most practical course in transactional practice I’ve taken at Berkeley Law. [email from current student]
Professor Wertlieb is a great professor. He was never late, was always incredibly organized, and very knowledgeable in the subject matter. He’s one of the best professors I’ve had at Berkeley Law. He has the ability to break complex concepts down into easy to understand concepts.
Professor Wertlieb is an amazing professor. He really cares for his students and goes out of his way to answer questions, comes up with exciting ways to learn the material, and even brings cookies! His crash course of VC really covered a ton of ground of everything you need to know to be a transactional lawyer in the VC space but without boring us with an overload of info and excessive readings. He instead asks us to do short contract drafting assignments (1 sentence) or quick emails to partners that simulates real associate work. Law school is very litigation focused and Professor Wertlieb’s class was a much needed practical course of transactional lawyers. He is also just a very approachable, fun, and knowledgeable professor who was a partner at a top firm. If you have any interest in corporate, take his class! I hope Berkeley Law brings him back to teach again!
This is a great class. Neil is a very clear professor and is very responsive to questions via email.
Professor Wertlieb is a wonderful human. He is kind, funny, and smart. He’s been in transactional law a long time and definitely knows his stuff. He was always available to grab coffee before class and always reminded us he’s open to chatting about anything/everything in the legal field, not just topics within the scope of the class. I really like him as a person and a professor. The idea of the class (creating a company and taking it through the corporate life cycle) is super fun and I enjoyed that aspect.
[Strengths:] Practical skills; general overview of the industry; working with a “company” from creation to sale; Interactive.
Instructor lived in LA, but was willing to meet with students once a week. Extremely responsive to email (replied within 5mins in most cases).
Professor Wertlieb did an amazing job in the VC Deal Bootcamp class. He continuously keeps the students engaged in a dynamic flow of work which adequately fulfills the expectations set forth in the class name and description. Despite visiting Berkeley just for class on Monday’s he was always available for office hours before class and via email whenever needed.
Excellent pedagogical skills, and constructive criticism skills.
Great class if you’re interested in transactional law.
This class was great. It was very organized, engaging, and useful for transactional work. The professor did a great job teaching the material and was a really nice person.
Prof. Wertlieb is a fantastic professor — he brings years of experience as a transactional attorney to bear on the course, and it was a privilege to have as a teacher. Prof. Wertlieb was a well-prepared and extremely clear lecturer. He was always available to answer questions outside of class. In class, he asked stimulating questions of the students and gave thoughtful answers in response. The assignments were interesting; he presents a problem to students, who act as corporate lawyers, and asks for several pages of analysis in response.
Professor teaches very concisely and the class is fun. Each class was well organized. A lot of discussions, and exercises are very effective to understand the course.
Strength of this class was the practical aspects like drafting assignments and seeing the business aspect (big picture). Professor Wertlieb was very professional and gave good insight as a former partner. This class is great! Any student interested in transactional law should take it!
Neil is so knowledgeable and can present material in a very structured way. This is a really good class to get hands-on contract drafting/negotiation experience in a low-stress setting. Neil is really nice and always available to students.
The class is very practical, and he is extremely respectful of students’ opinions.
He was a great lecturer who encouraged class participation & treated us like real lawyers in various hypothetical situations. Very respectful & responsive. Always encouraged students to meet up outside of class to discuss anything. He was so knowledgeable because he worked as a partner in this area for many years, that showed in each class.
Professor Wertlieb is clearly an expert in his field and was always very well prepared and organized. He had a clear structure for each lesson, drawing from our assignments, readings, but also from his own experiences (which was always interesting to hear). Despite how dense and fast the topics were, Professor Wertlieb managed to stay clear throughout his explanations and we never fell behind in class, but I also didn’t feel rushed or as if we were speeding through topics. Professor Wertlieb is without a doubt one of the friendliest, most understanding, and most approachable professors I have had in any sort of academic setting. He was very respectful to all of us, open to everyone’s comments, and encouraging.
Professor Wertlieb is awesome.
*6.56 including a single outlier evaluation