David B. Guenther, '99, is a clinical professor of law and director of the International Transactions Clinic at the University of Michigan. He represents social enterprises in international financing and other international transactions.

Before joining the Law School, Guenther was a partner at Conlin, McKenney & Philbrick, PC in Ann Arbor, where his practice focused primarily on US and international transactions, financing, corporate governance, and succession planning for privately held companies. He is experienced in public and private company mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, venture capital, angel and impact investing, and other transactions for established, emerging, and start-up business and nonprofit clients.

Guenther taught as an adjunct clinical assistant professor in the International Transactions Clinic from 2010 to 2015.

He studied classical philology at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg from 1995 to 1996. Following law school, he was an associate with Sullivan & Cromwell LLP in New York (1999–2001) and Frankfurt, Germany (2001–2004). Guenther served as an intern in the legal department of the former German Federal Securities Supervisory Office, now part of the German Ministry of Finance, in Frankfurt during fall semester 1998. He also taught English at a rural secondary school in Kenya from 1986 to 1987.

Guenther is a past chair of the International Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan. He is a member of the board of directors of the Library of the Great Lakes, a former member of the boards of directors of Dixboro Village Green, Inc. and Michigan Nonprofit Housing Corporation, and former chair (2008-2021) of the Superior Township Planning Commission. He is a member of the Michigan and New York state bars.

Related Information

Education

  • Kenyon College, BA, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa
  • Duke University, MA, Germanic languages and literature
  • University of Michigan Law School, JD, magna cum laude

Recent Courses

Featured Scholarship

"Of Bodies Politic and Pecuniary: A Brief History of Corporate Purpose"

Michigan Business & Entrepreneurial Law Review
MLaw RepositoryWWW HEIN
  • Corporate and Securities Law

"The Strange Case of the Missing Doctrine and the 'Odd Exercise' of eBay: Why Exactly Must Corporations Maximize Profits to Shareholders?"

Virginia Law & Business Review
HEIN
  • Corporate and Securities Law

"International Microfranchising: The International Transactions Clinic's Experience"

Michigan Bar Journal
HEIN
  • Corporate and Securities Law
See All Scholarship

Activities

October 2021

Moderated a webinar, "ESG and Supply Chain Contracting," at the Fall meeting of the Washington, D.C. chapter of the Impact Investing Legal Working Group.

November 2020

Served as a judge in the preliminary round of the 2020 New Hampshire Social Venture Innovation Challenge hosted by the Center for Social Innovation and Enterprise, University of New Hampshire.

November 2019

Served as a judge in the preliminary round of the 2019 New Hampshire Social Venture Innovation Challenge hosted by the Center for Social Innovation and Enterprise, University of New Hampshire.

May 2019

Facilitated and participated on a panel discussion, "Tandem Structures Involving Nonprofits and For-Profits," at the Midwest Symposium on Social Entrepreneurship, Kansas City.

November 2018

Served as a judge in the preliminary round of the 2018 New Hampshire Social Venture Innovation Challenge hosted by the Center for Social Innovation and Enterprise, University of New Hampshire.

June 2018

Moderated a panel, "Blurring the Lines of Impact and ESG," at the Legal Issues in Social Entrepreneurship and Impact Investing—in the U.S. and Beyond Conference, Grunin Center for Law and Social Entrepreneurship, New York University School of Law.

April 2018

Presented on a panel, "Business as Unusual: Clinical Representation of Social Entrepreneurs and Impact Investors," at the Transactional Clinical Conference, Chicago.

November 2017

Served as a judge in the preliminary round of the 2017 New Hampshire Social Venture Innovation Challenge hosted by the Center for Social Innovation and Enterprise, University of New Hampshire.

May 2017

Presented on a panel discussion, "Best Practices for Governance: What Makes Governance Different for Social or Mission-Related Enterprises?" at a conference on Legal Issues in Social Entrepreneurship and Impact Investing in the U.S. and Beyond, New York University Law School.

October 2016

Presented on a panel discussion, "Retread or Racing Tire: Engaging Advanced Clinic Students in Nontraditional Ways," at the Midwest Clinical Conference, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

May 2016

Presented on a panel discussion, "The Zone of Uncertainty: (Unintended) Consequences of Baking Social/Environmental Purpose into Business Structures," and moderated a second panel on "Embedding Social Metrics into Deal Documentation and Structures" at a conference on Legal Issues in Impact Investing: U.S. and Abroad, New York.​