- Information for Students
The ELC provides students the opportunity to gain practical experience in transactional law by handling real legal issues with real clients. Students learn to manage client relationships, develop workflow plans, and deliver valuable work product for clients, all while benefiting from professional guidance and insight of experienced supervising attorneys. The year long Clinic gives students some of the most hands-on experiences available in law school, and prepares students for the demands of actual law practice. Additionally, students develop lasting relationships with both the legal and business community, helping to grow the students professional network. Additional information can be found on the ELC main page and reading the Scope and Mission sections.
While the ELC is a unique opportunity for law students, other offerings exist for students to learn and engage in entrepreneurship. Such offerings include:
· CU Law’s Tech Law Accelerator Program
· Law School Entrepreneurial Certificate
Identifying Ideal Student Candidates
As a prerequisite to enrolling in the Clinic, a student must take three courses within the areas of corporate law, agency, tax, securities, intellectual property, transactional drafting, or transactional law. For guidance on relevancy of coursework, see courses required for the Entrepreneurial Law Certificate. ELC students should plan on taking additional relevant coursework while enrolled in the Clinic.
ELC applicants should have demonstrated interest in entrepreneurship, which may be demonstrated through the following:
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Pursuit of the Entrepreneurial Law Certificate, enrollment in the joint JD/MBA degree program, or activity in campus entrepreneurship through the Silicon Flatirons Center, the New Venture Challenge, the Deming Center, Startup Colorado or other entrepreneurship-oriented organizations; and/or
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Relevant personal and professional experience such as internships, externships, clerkships, or experience as part of start-up or emerging business.
The ELC is a graded two-semester course for which students receive three credit hours for each of the Fall semester and the Spring semester (or six credit hours for the academic year). The Clinic is limited to 18 students. Sixteen of the students are third year students, and two of the students are second year students who focus on the areas of intellectual property and patent prosecution. The second year students are encouraged to enroll in the Clinic during their third year in order to provide continuity with respect to the Clinic’s patent prosecution matters.
The ELC serves as a capstone transactional experience for law students. Applications to the ELC are collected each Spring in the weeks preceding registration for enrollment. The Registrar sends notice in March to rising third year students with instructions for application. Qualified applicants are identified through an application process. Selection of qualified applicants is completed via the bid-point system with ties being determined by a lottery system. Qualified applicants who do not directly gain entry into the ELC are placed on a waitlist.
Additional student and enrollment information is available by contacting Brad.Bernthal@Colorado.edu