Brett Stohs (middle), director of the Entrepreneurship Legal Clinic, leads a class at the University of Nebraska.
Lawyer Brett Stohs is walking a mile in his clients’ shoes this spring, launching the Entrepreneurship Legal Clinic at the University of Nebraska College of Law last month.
“Within the legal construct, this feels about as entrepreneurial as it gets. It’s incredibly exciting and incredibly terrifying,” he said. “This is a beta semester.”
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His “beta” test involves eight third-year law students who will each spend about 240 hours immersing themselves in what it means to provide legal services to all types of businesses.
Much of that time commitment will involve performing legal work under Stohs’ supervision, including forming corporations, LLCs, and other entities; negotiating and drafting contracts and leases; counseling clients regarding financing issues; protecting trademarks and other intellectual property; and offering advice in some other areas like employment law.
“This pretty much embodies exactly why I came to law school. It puts it into practice,” clinic student Jared Rector said.
He and his classmates will meet weekly for a seminar component that features speakers, from young entrepreneurs to veteran attorneys, and a discussion of their work. The students are also required to spend time networking in the entrepreneurial community.
There are no fees for the clinic’s services, although clients are asked to pay the clinic’s out-of-pocket “costs,” which vary for different types of services. And there are admittedly some drawbacks, like accommodating the clinic’s schedule rather than the other way around.
“My goal is to do good work, and to serve as many clients as we can, but that said, our goal is teaching,” Stohs (right) explained.
To do that, they need “meaningful work from across the state.” Perhaps only a lawyer could appreciate the term “meaningful work,” so Stohs explained that the litmus test for a “good” client is “an interesting opportunity for students to learn.” He wants clients “who are engaged in their idea, very excited about it, who want to talk about it.”
This includes high-growth technology startups and more traditional or mom-and-pop businesses. “I think the student experience will be best if they can see all ends of the spectrum,” Stohs said. Potential clients can inquire by filling out the clinic’s client intake form.
Stohs brings a wealth of experience to his new venture. After growing up in Lincoln and graduating from Duke University School of Law, he spent about six years practicing with firms in Washington D.C. and in Lincoln. He joined the Law College in March 2012, and has been working on the clinic since then, planning curriculum and networking and forming partnerships in the community.
“Just in the nine months I’ve been here, it feels like there have been dramatic leaps forward,” Stohs said. “Seeing dramatic change is encouraging, because I didn’t see that growing up.”
“This is one part of a really great large effort in Nebraska specifically but in the Midwest more generally.”
Credits: Classroom photo by Patti Vannoy. Brett Stohs photo from law.unl.edu.
