The University of Colorado at Boulder Law School

Entrepreneurial Law Clinic: Becoming A Client

Thank you for your interest in the ELC. The ELC accepts applications on an on-going basis. While we hope that we can assist you, our resources are limited. If you have pressing legal needs, please do not wait for ELC assistance and seek other legal assistance. The ELC is only staffed and available to assist entrepreneurs from early September through the end of April.

• Client Selection Criteria
• Legal Issues Handled & Not Handled
• Application and Acceptance Process

Client Selection Criteria

The ELC selects applicants on the basis of all four of the following criteria:

1. The applicant would otherwise be unlikely to obtain qualified legal advice;
2. The applicant has not received a significant round of outside funding or financing from investors;
3. The applicant’s place of business is within 60 miles of Boulder County (clients from other Colorado areas may be accepted as ELC resources and adequate means of communication permit); and
4. The work requested by the applicant is appropriate for students and presents an interesting educational opportunity.

All client selection decisions are subject to the ELC staffing availability and are made solely with the ELC Director’s approval.

Legal Issues Handled & Not Handled by ELC

Note: The ELC is educationally oriented and is staffed by law students who lack the practical legal experience of professional counsel. Supervision is provided by the ELC Director in collaboration with generous contributions from attorneys from experienced attorneys in the Boulder and Denver area. The ELC does not charge for its services, although clients must pay costs associated with ELC work (e.g., state filing fees for entity formation).
The ELC students interact directly with clients to provide legal advice and other transactional assistance. The ELC provides various types of assistance, including:

• Helping clients choose an effective corporate structure
• Forming companies
• Assisting clients in board of director or shareholder matters
• Drafting contracts and agreements relating to a client's business
• Advising clients on how to protect their intellectual property
• Advising clients on how to comply with ongoing corporate legal requirements
• Providing advice on the fundraising process and on corporate finance issues

Because they are outside the scope of the ELC program, the ELC does NOT provide legal assistance in the following areas:

• Litigation (or situations where litigation appears likely)
• Patent searches or applications
• Pure tax advice
• Immigration law
• Non-profit organization legal assistance

Application & Acceptance Process

Applications are accepted throughout the year, but the ELC is only fully staffed from September through April. Submission of an application does NOT create an attorney/client relationship between the applicant and the ELC. To apply for ELC assistance:

1. Carefully read all the information on this page.
2. Read the Acceptance Process information below.
3. Complete the ELC Client Application Form electronically and save it.
4. Send the completed Application Form as an e-mail attachment to the ELC Student Manager at ELawClin@colorado.edu.

Acceptance Process: The four steps listed below must be completed before the ELC can accept and commence work for an applicant. During months that the ELC is staffed, the following client selection process is typically completed within two to three weeks of application receipt. All client selection decisions are subject to ELC staffing availability and are solely within the ELC Director’s discretion.

1. The ELC will review the application and determine if the request is appropriate for ELC assistance.
2. If the assistance requested appears appropriate, the ELC student manager will assign a student to your file. The assigned student will contact you to set up an initial interview. Initial interviews typically occur one to two weeks following receipt of applications.
3. Following the initial interview, the ELC will make a final determination as to whether to accept you as a client.
4. If the application is accepted, the client must sign an engagement letter prior to any ELC assistance.