RALEIGH — Campbell Law Dean J. Rich Leonard announced today the formation of a business law clinic to provide legal services to startups while giving students on-the-job experience to complement their legal education.
“We are so fortunate to call home one of top innovation hubs in the country, and this expansion of our school’s experiential learning program and partnership with HQ Raleigh is intended to give back and continue to foster the vibrant Triangle startup community,” he said.
The Innovate Capital Business Law Clinic at Campbell Law School — in Partnership with HQ Raleigh (BLC) will allow upper-level law students, under the supervision of licensed business attorneys, to address a wide range of business and legal issues faced by individuals, small businesses, and other early-stage organizations. The founders of Innovate Capital Law, Jim Verdonik and Benji Jones, will serve as the inaugural clinic co-directors and have been instrumental in its formation.
The Business Law Clinic will support clients including start-ups and emerging-growth companies who are members of HQ Raleigh, student- and faculty-led entrepreneurial ventures at Campbell University Lundy–Fetterman School of Business and N.C. State University, as well as other-profit entrepreneurs and their ventures that are part of the greater Triangle ecosystem. Students in the clinic will work directly with clients on a wide range of legal issues including business entity formation, financing, intellectual property protection, tax and regulatory matters, employment law, and other operational topics.
All legal services are provided free of charge to clients that cannot otherwise afford private representation. Those wishing to receive the services should complete an online questionnaire here as well as an intake interview conducted with the Business Law Clinic, located at 310 S Harrington St. in downtown Raleigh.
“Campbell Law’s startup counsel program helps bridge classroom learning and the hands-on practicing of law,” Jones said. “With a mission to lend a hand as entrepreneurs navigate initial lifecycles and solve real world legal problems, we look forward to the day the ‘next big thing’ emerges from our collaboration.”
HQ Raleigh Founding Partner Jason Widen added, “The clinic provides a valuable resource for HQ’s Community as well as Raleigh’s entrepreneurial community by providing legal services to early stage entrepreneurs and further supports our mission to foster inclusive communities of entrepreneurs who create lasting social and economic impact.”
More information about the Business Law Clinic can be found here. To learn more about upcoming events and opportunities, contact the clinic bizlaw@campbell.edu or 919-674-4301.
ABOUT CAMPBELL LAW
Since its founding in 1976, Campbell Law has developed lawyers who possess moral conviction, social compassion, and professional competence, and who view the law as a calling to serve others. Among its accolades, the school has been recognized by the American Bar Association (ABA) as having the nation’s top Professionalism Program and by the American Academy of Trial Lawyers for having the nation’s best Trial Advocacy Program. Campbell Law boasts more than 4,200 alumni, who make their home in nearly all 50 states and beyond. In 2019, Campbell Law is celebrating 40 years of graduating legal leaders and 10 years of being located in a state-of-the-art facility in the heart of North Carolina’s Capital City.
ABOUT HQ RALEIGH
HQ Raleigh is an entrepreneurial coworking community in Raleigh, N.C. With over 800 members from 300 different companies, HQ is the largest coworking community in the area. HQ helps companies lower the barrier of entry to starting or growing a business by providing physical office space, resources (such as legal, marketing, and HR office hours), and a community of change makers.
ABOUT INNOVATE CAPITAL LAW
Innovate Capital founders, Benji Jones and Jim Verdonik, are experienced advisors in several billion dollars of public and private capital-raising. Well-versed in M&A and technology license transactions for a wide range of clients including startups to public companies to venture capital funds, they have expanded their knowledge-base to Crowdfunding and Fintech with Coin, Tokens and other Digital Assets and Blockchain smart contracts in recent years. Together, they have written eight books and hundreds of newspaper articles and have spoken at more than 100 conferences and seminars about business, technology and legal issues related to capital raising. Learn more and follow their blog at http://www.innovatecapitallaw.com.