New OU law center give free legal consultation to startups
Jun. 6—Area small businesses and startups now have a chance to receive free legal consultation and business advice, thanks to a new entrepreneurial law center.
The University of Oklahoma's Michael F. Price College of Business, in cooperation with the OU College of Law, has launched OU's Entrepreneurial Law Center, which provides counseling to entrepreneurs and small business owners.
David Kinsinger, executive director and lecturer in the Tom Love Division of Entrepreneurship and Economic Development at OU, said the purpose of the partnership is to give law and business students opportunities to learn with real-life experiences.
In the spring, OU students worked with their first clients based in Norman and Oklahoma City.
"Eventually, we'd like to start representing startup companies throughout the state," Kinsinger said.
Jenae Goodin, an Oklahoma City-based entrepreneur who graduated from OU, recently launched her company, Big Ass Bag, or Bab, which allows online shoppers to consolidate shopping carts from different online retailers by installing a plugin.
"If you've ever started a business, you know there are lots of legal things and contracts you need to concern yourself about," she said. "One of the first things people told me was that I need to get an attorney."
Goodin said startup companies inherently don't have lots of resources, which is why she recently connected with Kinsinger.
"They were helpful in drafting documents and getting signatures and checking all the due diligence boxes that I needed to check so I could get my money," she said. "The center can be a lifesaver for entrepreneurs who are at the startup phase who don't have a $10,000 retainer to write a check."
The students have helped her fill out the paperwork for trademarking her company and filing patents.
"It would have cost me between $25,000 to $50,000, and the only thing I paid were filing fees," she said.
Hunter Etchieson of Tecumseh graduated from OU Law last month and took part in the inaugural semester of the Entrepreneurial Law Center. He said it is designed to help students to hone their craft.
"I think having this center be a permanent fixture at OU will be really helpful because it'll give students practical guidance in an area where they plan to do law," he said. "That will help them get going for the next couple of years, I mean, it's invaluable."
Etchieson said he plans to stay in Norman because he wants to continue to support the local businesses that he has worked with.
Kinsinger said small businesses with limited resources tend to forgo paying for legal counsel and end up regretting it later on.
"This is a win-win because small companies are strapped for cash and get free legal and business support early on at an early stage, and students get experience," he said. "A lot of companies make early critical decisions and make big mistakes that will cripple then later on."
The center provides consultation from business students as well.
"The business students will be dealing with different issues, like helping them to develop business plans, helping them identify business opportunities, and things like that," Kinsinger said.
The Entrepreneurial Law Center also provides a space for law students and business students to come together on projects, which mimics what they will be doing in the real world, he said.
During the spring semester, the center helped three area small businesses, but Kinsinger wants to increase that number over time. This fall, the center plans to help between five and 10 clients, depending on how many students sign up for the entrepreneurial law class.
Businesses interested in receiving services can contact the center at elc@ou.edu.
Brian King covers education and politics for The Transcript. Reach him at bking@normantranscript.com.
