Entrepreneurial Law Clinic

Eligibility

Current Eligibility, Prerequisites and Scheduling Information

Information for Students

Student Prerequisites and Tracks in the ELC

Each law student's clinical practice will follow one of three tracks noted below — only associated prerequisites for that track are required; enrollment preference will be given for advanced courses:

  1. Business Law Track: Business Orgs (A515) OR The Law of Nonprofit Orgs (E514)
  2. IP Track: IP Survey (E567) OR any two IP Law Foundational Law Courses (Patent Law, P508, Copyright Law, P507 and Trademark & Trade Secrets Law, P502)
  3. Tax Track: Advising Privately-Owned Businesses (T525) OR Exempt Organizations (T512)

Students interested in participating in the ELC must submit an application. We strongly advise students to turn in their applications by the deadline. Please note that the ELC accepts third year law school students and LLM students; joint degree students are considered on a case-by-case basis, as are second year law students interested in patents.

Full-time, second year MBA students from the Foster School of Business are welcome to apply for the ELC through the Arthur W. Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship.

Student Requirements and Projects

Law students are asked to commit to three quarters of the ELC for three credits per quarter. In their first quarter in the ELC, students will have an initial meeting with their client and draft a section (corporate, intellectual property, tax or business) of a comprehensive business and legal audit memo with their client team under the supervision of attorneys and business mentors, as applicable. Ideally, the team will present the memo to the client by the end of the quarter in which it is assigned. In the winter and spring quarters, students are assigned additional clients and community outreach projects. Client assignments will include drafting various types of agreements.

The ELC strives to give students an opportunity to work with clients from each of the following groups during their time in the clinic:

  • Technology entrepreneurs
  • Small business owners
  • Social entrepreneurs and nonprofits
  • UW & ITHS faculty researchers

Community outreach projects vary. As an example, the ELC partners with CoMotion to do a series of presentations beginning in the winter quarter.

Typical cases

The ELC provides advice to small businesses, high-tech businesses, nonprofits and UW or ITHS faculty researchers regarding:

  • Entity selection
  • Licensing
  • Securities regulations
  • Federal, state and local tax issues
  • Intellectual property protection
  • Commercial contracts
  • Employees and independent contractors
  • Business dissolution

Skills Focus

  • Client interviewing and counseling
  • Application of substantive law to actual client representation
  • Drafting client memos, contracts, business formation and regulatory compliance documents
  • Effective and appropriate methods of communication
  • Legal research
  • Managing ethical issues, particularly conflict of interest
  • Cross-cultural competency
  • Professionalism
  • Project and time management

Benefits of the Entrepreneurial Law Clinic

  • See the big picture by performing a comprehensive legal analysis and strategy within the team that is often reserved for senior associates and partners at law firms
  • Experience the beginning of a new venture and aid in its development
  • Apply knowledge of IP, business transaction and tax strategies to the real world under the direction of the Managing Director and supervising attorneys
  • Limited License to practice in front of USPTO, gaining valuable experience

For more information, please contact the ELC at (206) 616-5854 or email elcinfo@uw.edu.