Entrepreneurial Law Clinic

LAW8637
Section 1, Spring 26

Schedule Information

Enrollment: 12/12
Credits: 3
Days Time Room Start Date End Date

Fri

 		1100-1300 WB119 01/23/2026 04/24/2026

Course Description

As preparation for advising startup companies, students participate in a series of class sessions covering the topics most frequently encountered by startup businesses, including pre-venture counseling, entity choice, formation documents, shareholder agreements, intellectual property protection, etc. Students will then receive hands-on experience working with real startup companies under the supervision of their attorney supervisor. Students take the lead role in working with the entrepreneurs, including conducting interviews, performing research, providing a legal plan for the business, identifying documents to be drafted and drafting documents. Note that the clinic does NOT provide counsel on: litigation, patents, securities regulation, tax matters, public mergers or acquisitions, or international trade. This course will meet throughout the semester. During the first few weeks, sessions will consist of a substantive overview of the areas of law and issues most frequently encountered in working with startup companies. Over the remaining weeks, students hear from industry experts, entrepreneurs and investors and focus on the clinical portion of the class. In the clinical portion, students will meet client companies and conduct interviews to assess nature of business, assess legal issues and needs of client companies and prepare summaries of issues, provide client companies an initial overview of legal issues associated with the business and provide a suggested course of action as to initial documents to be prepared, draft documents to meet client needs, and consult with their supervising attorney to provide client companies other work product and counsel. Students will spend considerable time outside of the classroom meeting with clients and their supervising attorney, as well as preparing drafts and final versions of legal documents.

Course Requirements

Exam Information

Final Type (if any): None

Description: None

Written Work Product

Each student will prepare a series of memoranda which may include a legal plan for each client and general legal research. Students will also prepare corporate documents, maintain regular contact with clients and supervisors, keep time and prepare memoranda summarizing client work.

Other Course Details

Prerequisites: No prerequisites, but one or more of these courses is recommended: Corporations or Corporations (Law and Business); Securities Regulation or Securities Regulation (Law and Business); Emerging Growth Companies and Venture Capital Financing: Principles and Practice; Finance of Small Enterprises (SC); Legal Practice and the Startup Company: An Inside Look (SC); Because the credits in this course count toward the JD Program Professional Skills requirement, JD candidates will be given enrollment priority for this class. Concurrencies: None

Exclusive With: None

Laptops Allowed: Yes

First Day Attendance Required: Yes

Course Resources: To be announced.

Course Notes: NOTE REGARDING ENROLLMENT: the enrollment process is described at https://www.law.virginia.edu/clinics/faqs-about-clinics#howenroll. If seats are available in this clinic after the lottery process, students can request enrollment via https://virginia.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8AoAfjpGKKmaHxc. If a student seeking a seat in this class is enrolled in another clinic, enrollment authorization from the instructors from both clinics must be provided to the Student Records Office via email ([email protected]). This course will meet throughout the semester. During the first half of the semester, there will be one session each week consisting of a substantive overview of the areas of law and issues most frequently encountered in working with start-up companies. Thereafter, we will meet once a week to review progress and address open items. We will also invite entrepreneurs to discuss their ventures and to help us better understand what has impressed or disappointed them in their prior interactions with attorneys. Laptops allowed for certain classes but not for guest lecturers. MATTER ASSIGNMENT POLICY: Each student will be assigned as a student attorney lead for one client and a student attorney support for a second client. Assignment of students and clients is usually random but pairings may be made when a good fit makes sense. Client needs and status will dictate which documents and activities will be required. For any remaining questions about how matters are assigned, talk to the clinic director.

Graduation Requirements

Satisfies Understanding Bias/Racism/Cross-Cultural Competency requirement: No

Satisfies Writing Requirement: No

Credits For Prof. Skills Requirement: Yes

Satisfies Professional Ethics: No

Additional Course Information

Schedule No.: 126217958

Modified Type: Clinical

Cross Listed: No

Waitlist Count: 0

Concentrations: Corporate, Business and Transactional , Intellectual Property , Law and Technology

Evaluation Portal Via LawWeb Opens: Tuesday, April 14, 12:01 AM

Evaluation Portal Via LawWeb Closes: Sunday, April 26, 11:59 PM

Information reflected on this page was last refreshed at: Tuesday, July 08, 2025 - 7:02 AM *

*During open enrollment periods, live enrollment data may be found in SIS.