Institute for Innovation serves NC small businesses

Small businesses and entrepreneurs who struggle to get free legal advice often turn to online services or forgo consultations altogether. In North Carolina, they can turn to the UNC School of Law’s Institute for Innovation for legal advice.

Started in 2020, the institute aims to support economic development across the state, with a focus on rural communities. The institute focuses on providing early-stage legal counsel to new for-profit and nonprofit ventures.

Each year, up to 48 students can enroll in institute clinics to gain hands-on experience with legal guidance and receive academic credit. Under a professor’s guidance, students counsel business founders, draft contracts, license intellectual property and seek tax-exempt status for nonprofit organizations.

The institute’s three law clinics are supervised by full-time law school faculty:

• The startup law clinic advises for-profit entrepreneurs and small businesses
• The community development law clinic counsels social entrepreneurs on forming and qualifying tax-exempt nonprofit organizations.
• The intellectual property law clinic assists individuals and small businesses with trademark and copyright clearance, protection and contractual matters.

“If you’re a small entrepreneur and you want to start a business, there’s always questions,” said Aaron Gard, executive director of the Institute for Innovation. “The institute is helping entrepreneurs across the state, providing quality legal counsel for folks who generally can’t afford it.”

Caroline Poteat, a rising third-year law student, worked in the community development law clinic, helping clients through filing as state corporations and drafting necessary corporate governance documents.

“It was good practice in taking complicated legal concepts that we learned in class and then shaping those and explaining them in plain language for people that is easy to understand and useful,” said Poteat.

Along with clinics, the institute also sponsors a variety of programs and educational workshops.

“We act as a resource to people around the state, not just by providing them with free legal services but by doing educational programs and workshops,” said Tom Kelley, director of the community development law clinic and James Dickson Phillips Jr. Distinguished Professor of Law. “It’s a lot of one-on-one time, small group discussions and brainstorming together.”

Two of these programs are the Outer Banks Entrepreneurs and the Channel Partnership. OBE is a group of female entrepreneurs who meet in Elizabeth City, Kitty Hawk and the Outer Banks to discuss intellectual property, copyright and trademarks.

The Channel Partnership, based in Wilmington, hosts workshops from faculty and partners with the law school’s pro bono team and a law firm to provide free legal advice and answer questions about starting a business.

“Those entrepreneurs have great ideas. They know their communities, business and area,” said Kelley. “They have plans to build wealth and make a positive impact on their community.”

Second- or third-year law students work at the institute, which takes on about 25 clients each semester. They learn to communicate orally and in writing with clients and develop tools and confidence. They leave the program comfortable advising professional clients themselves.

This work gives law students practical, hands-on experience they can use in their career after graduation. “Our students get knowledge, understanding and practical experience working with these smaller clients,” said Gard.

Gard said he also wants the institute to help those in the state’s “legal deserts” and plans to provide services in western North Carolina later this year.

“We want to go beyond the walls of the University,” said Gard. “One of our missions at the institute is to help entrepreneurs all over North Carolina. We want to reach all 100 counties. This is a return on investment for the citizens of North Carolina.”