OR


2024 Fall - CML2179FF - Access to Justice Practicum (Level I) (Class number: 7969)

A2J Practicum: Start-Up Legal Clinic

Registration by selection only


Professor(s) : Douglas Sarro
Language : English
Units : 3
Level : Upper year

Class Schedule

TermActivityDay
2024 Fall
(2024-09-04 - 2024-12-03)
STGMon 11:30 - 12:50

Description:

Students enrolled in the Startup Law Clinic will gain practical insight into the legal challenges that startups face and contribute to the development of the Ottawa startup community. They will support the delivery of legal information and advice to startups affiliated with uOttawa Entrepreneurship Hub, under the supervision of lawyers affiliated with the Clinic. In the course of their work, students may be involved in interviewing clients, drafting and reviewing contracts, preparing legal memoranda, and making presentations on legal issues. The substantive areas of law covered by the Clinic include corporate and securities law, intellectual property law and technology law, and employment law.

Students will learn how to interact with clients, manage a client file, and work with senior lawyers; acquire substantive knowledge in various aspects of startup law, as well as an understanding of their professional responsibilities as students and eventually as lawyers; and improve their presentation skills by carrying out a group public education session on a chosen topic related to the Clinic’s work.

Teaching Method

Clinic

Experimental Learning

Students will be directly involved in various aspects of providing legal services to startup businesses, as described above. Students will also attend weekly seminars on selected topics related to startup law as well as legal skills, ethics, and professionalism.

In addition to the seminars and file work, students will present a public education session to startup founders on a chosen topic related to the Clinic’s work.

Additional Requirements or Recommendations:

Admission to this course is by selection. Students must have completed at least one year of law school to be eligible for selection.

To apply for selection, eligible students must submit a CV (two pages maximum), a record of law school grades, and a one-page cover letter explaining why they want to enroll in the Clinic to dsarro@uottawa.ca by July 26, 2024, at the latest. Applications will be evaluated and accepted on a rolling basis, with places confirmed as early as June 2024. Students should enroll in a full complement of courses, dropping their registration in one course if accepted into the Clinic.

Students will be selected based on academic performance in law school, completion of relevant coursework (particularly Law for Start-ups and Business Organizations), and demonstrated interest in the work to be undertaken by the Clinic (e.g., through relevant work experience or extra-curriculars).

Enrollment will be permitted up to a maximum of 10 students.

Method of Evaluation

Other Type of Evaluation:

This course will be evaluated on a Satisfactory/Non Satisfactory basis, based on the following elements:

60% clinic work
30% public education session
10% seminar participation

Final Exams:

Exam type None

Examplify Settings

None