The best part? Witnessing the excitement on clients' faces when they explain their business idea to me and knowing that my work positively affects them.
The Entrepreneurial Law Clinic (ELC) is an innovative clinic serving entrepreneurs throughout the Pacific Northwest. The ELC teams law and business students with pro bono attorneys and business advisors. Together they provide critical early stage legal and business counseling to technology entrepreneurs, small business owners, social entrepreneurs, nonprofits and University of Washington and Institute for Translational Health Sciences faculty researchers. By providing such counseling, the ELC has become one of the cornerstones of the innovation ecosystem in the Pacific Northwest. The ELC also partners with CoMotion, The Seattle Public Library and various community organizations to give presentations on various topics of interest to startups that are open to the public.
The ELC is a transactional and counseling clinic. Our services center on providing startups with a comprehensive "legal and business audit" that will help them identify issues before they become serious problems. We provide startups with a confidential report, generally at the end of the academic quarter. This report will also provide guidance on how to proceed to remedy potential problems and/or establish systems to limit or prevent standard business formation and growth pitfalls. Our standard representation includes a commitment only to this audit process.
Upon mutual written agreement between the startup and ELC, we may extend our representation to assist in basic entrepreneurship-focused legal service, such as:
Learn how the clinic assists low-income entrepreneurs throughout the Pacific Northwest with their business needs while providing real-world experience for the clinic’s students.
Join us Oct. 18 and Nov. 1 for innovative legal lectures on issues affecting entrepreneurs.
In her new leadership role, Fan will work to increase visibility of the scholarship produced by UW Law faculty and showcase the intellectual vibrancy at UW Law.
Andrew Serafini and Patrick Njeim, partners at Kilpatrick, Townsend & Stockton, will work with students as part of the Entrepreneurial Law Clinic’s participation in the United States Patent and Trademark Office Law School Clinic Certification Program.
Alumna Selena Ng recalls how the Entrepreneurial Law Clinic provided invaluable, real-world experience in meeting the needs of small-business clients.