Michael F. Price College of Business in partnership with OU College of Law announced the launch of Oklahoma’s first entrepreneurial law center Wednesday.
In a Price College of Business press release it was noted that the Entrepreneurial Law Center will work with clients on a 15-week basis during the fall and spring semesters to provide free, early-stage counseling to entrepreneurs and small businesses.
“While there are a lot of resources throughout the state that are designed to help startups, there aren’t any that provide this type of free legal and business support,” David Kinsinger, executive director of the OU Entrepreneurial Law Center said.
The center is designed to help both Price College and OU College of Law students become well versed in the legalities of constructing a business as well as help them gain real-world experience.
In a pilot run, the OU Entrepreneurial Law Center worked with three startup clients overseen by Kinsinger during the spring 2023 semester.
“Opening the Entrepreneurial Law Center is imperative to our purpose of ensuring the enduring global competitiveness of Oklahoma and the nation,” Corey Phelps, Price College dean said. “A crucial resource that early-stage startups and small businesses need is inexpensive access to legal expertise and business advisory services on matters of intellectual property, legal organizational form and commercial relationships.”
According to Katheleen Guzman, dean of OU College of Law, the collaboration with Price College of Business is a necessity to adjust to the rapidly changing environment that is the world of business.
“It furthers both business and law’s commitment to the sort of sophisticated, contextualized education that experiential opportunities like this program offer,” Guzman wrote.
The OU Entrepreneurial Law Center is located on the OU Research Campus in the Tom Love Innovation Hub, and is currently recruiting clients for the fall semester. Companies interested in applying for the center's services can contact the staff at elc@ou.edu.
This story was edited by Teegan Smith. Nikkie Aisha copy edited this story.
