Student entrepreneurs and innovators from MIT and BU are advised by BU Law students on the legal and regulatory compliance issues associated with their academic and extracurricular pursuits and their efforts to turn ideas into businesses. The program consists of two clinics:
Startup Law Clinic
In this clinic, students advise student entrepreneurs from MIT and BU who are seeking to establish or develop real businesses. Students provide strategic legal and business advice to startups, assisting student entrepreneurs in the BU and MIT communities with the corporate, transactional, and intellectual property issues that arise in the process of turning their ideas into operating businesses. Working under the guidance of the clinic directors, students manage each step of the client relationship, from the initial intake interview through the completion of the engagement.
This clinic is a full-year program where students earn 6 credits per semester. Preference is given to 3Ls for acceptance into the clinic.
Startup Law Clinic (C): LAW JD 724
6 credits
THIS CLASS IS RESTRICTED to students who have formally applied to and been accepted to the Startup Law Clinic. The Startup Law Clinic is a full-year clinic that provides students the opportunity to perform work for real clients on a variety of matters typically encountered by entrepreneurs in launching new business ventures, such as choice of entity, capital structure, equity allocation and compensation, intellectual property ownership and licensing, financing and employment arrangements. Students will also learn, through their first-hand client work, the ethical rules of professional responsibility regarding entity representation, including identification of the client, identifying potential conflicts of interest, and advising clients and associated persons as to the nature and implications of the attorney-client relationship. In addition to their fieldwork, students attend a weekly seminar that develops concepts and skills to support their fieldwork. The seminar features substantive lectures, student-led discussions and guest speakers, and students present and discuss their ongoing client matters. The clinic meets for two semesters, with more advanced seminar topics and increased responsibility for cases occurring in the spring semester. PRE/CO-REQUISITE: Corporations. Students are also strongly encouraged to take Contract Drafting and some intellectual property coursework (the IP survey course and/or other subject-matter-specific courses). NOTE: This clinic counts toward the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option.
In this clinic, BU Law students work with MIT and BU students to advise and defend their innovative technology projects, ventures, and academic activities. This includes work in the areas of intellectual property, data security, cybersecurity, and technology regulatory compliance. Students are involved in all aspects of the clinic’s work, including counseling, negotiation and response to legal threats, and occasional litigation matters. This clinic is a full-year program.
Technology Law Clinic: Fieldwork (C): LAW JD 725
4 credits
THIS CLASS IS RESTRICTED to students who have formally applied to and been accepted to the Technology Law Clinic. In the Clinic, students will represent MIT and BU students who are working on innovative research and ventures, counseling clients on issues including data privacy, intellectual property, computer crimes, cybersecurity, media law, and regulatory compliance. Students draft and negotiate agreements, design compliance programs, advise on the legality of innovative products and services, respond to cease-and-desist threats, and help clients anticipate and prepare for legal disputes, including pre-litigation support. Limited opportunities in litigation may be available. PRE/CO-REQUISITE: a course in one of the following three areas: (1) intellectual property (either an IP survey course or other core IP course such as patent, copyright, or trademark); (2) privacy law (including Privacy (JD 822)); or (3) cybersecurity. NOTE: The Technology Law Clinic counts toward the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option.
Technology Law Clinic: Seminar 1: LAW JD 866
2 credits
THIS CLASS IS RESTRICTED to students who have formally applied to and been accepted to the Technology Law Clinic. This is the fall classroom component to the Technology Law Clinic. The seminar introduces students to the lawyering skills relevant to a modern technology law practice, including effective counseling of innovation clients The seminar also introduces a variety of legal issues that arise in research and innovation environments, including advanced topics in intellectual property, computer crimes, and data privacy. NOTE: The Technology Law Clinic counts toward the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option.
Technology Law Clinic: Seminar 2: LAW JD 869
2 credits
THIS CLASS IS RESTRICTED to students who have formally applied to and been accepted to the Technology Law Clinic. This is the spring classroom component to the Technology Law Clinic. The seminar expands upon the lawyering skills and substantive legal discussions from the first semester, and will focus on questions of national policy as they relate to technology, including national control over technical information, academic privacy and freedom, and emerging cybersecurity regulation. NOTE: The Technology Law Clinic counts toward the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option.