Business Law Clinic

The Business Law Clinic gives students a yearlong transactional law experience serving as primary legal counsel for small and mid-sized businesses. As DePaul Law’s only in-house clinic dedicated solely to transactional business work, the Clinic helps students learn how lawyers counsel clients on legal issues that arise in business practice. 

Clients include small and mid-sized businesses, including women- and BIPOC-owned businesses. Under the direct supervision of experienced transactional attorneys, students counsel clients, lead negotiations and draft key legal documents. The Clinic also uses an interdisciplinary model, with law students collaborating with DePaul MBA students and Jarvis College of Computing and Digital Media students who provide business, financial and technology support to Clinic clients. 

Clinic students have worked with clients on service agreements, licensing agreements, non-disclosure and non-compete agreements, shareholder agreements, memoranda of understanding and commercial leases. Students also have provided federal and state trademark and copyright counseling, obtained federal registrations with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the Library of Congress Copyright Office and counseled clients on real estate transactions, corporate formation and corporate governance matters. 

What You’ll Do

• Serve as primary legal counsel for small and mid-sized business clients
• Counsel clients on transactional, corporate governance, employment, intellectual property, information technology and entrepreneurship matters
• Lead negotiations and draft client memoranda, contracts and other legal documents
• Collaborate with DePaul MBA and Jarvis College of Computing and Digital Media students on business and technology issues affecting Clinic clients 

Instructor

Course Information

• Instruction: Combination of lecture, in-class discussion, skills instruction and client counseling
• Credit hours: Yearlong, 8 credits total (4 credits per semester) • Number of students: Maximum of 8 per academic year
• 711 license: Not required
• Prerequisites: None
• Recommended courses: Business Organizations and Business Fundamentals for Lawyers
• Eligibility: Only rising 2L and 3L students are eligible to apply; evening students are admitted only in exceptional circumstances 

"I don't know if all your students are this good, or I just got lucky...For a small business like mine, where, quite frankly, we face unique challenges to grow and scale as a minority and women owned business, resources like the Business Law Clinic are essential for us. They have been for me." 

          - Alicia Ponce, APMonarch 

Clinic Alumni

Business Law Clinic alumni have accepted full-time employment with: