Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law - Beus Center for Law and Society Snell & Wilmer Plaza

Entrepreneurship and Small Business Clinic

The Entrepreneurship and Small Business Clinic is an innovative program that pairs inventors, entrepreneurs, and emerging companies with teams of ASU Law students. There are two primary objectives for the program. First, the clinic provides clients with legal services often unavailable to startups and small businesses. These services will help clients to operate with a stronger legal foundation as they grow and thrive. Second, the clinic will pro future lawyers with “real world” transactional practice experience. These students will be better prepared for their legal careers, post-graduation.


What students do:

Teams of two to three ASU Law students undertake a wide array of legal services that help early-stage ventures navigate the mistakes and pitfalls often made when launching and growing companies. These services may include a choice of entity advising, business entity formation, contract drafting and review, intellectual property advising, employment law advising, and/or commercial lease review. Teams are guided through the semester by Director Eric Menkhus, Clinical Professor at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. Additional guidance is provided by Raees Mohamed of RM Warner Law and Jon Coury of Hool Coury Law.

Student teams will work with clients in two project rounds per semester, the first starting (Fall/Spring) in mid-August/January and the second starting in mid-October/March. The student teams will handle all aspects of the engagement – initial client interview, engagement agreement execution, mid-project communication, work product delivery and engagement wrap-up activities.

Course information

The Entrepreneurship and Small Business Clinic is a one-semester course with an opportunity for a limited number of students to return (with Director's approval).

  • Credits: six credits (two graded and four pass/fail)
  • Pre- or Co-Requisite(s): Evidence, Civil Procedure, Criminal Law and Professional Responsibility

Time commitment

Students are expected to spend a minimum of 270 hours in the Clinic during the semester and will be asked to track their time in the Clinic’s case management software system.

Fall or Spring Semester – approximately 20 hours per week

  • 16 hours per week on client-focused projects
  • Four hours per week on seminar course attendance and requirements

Student Applications Dates for Clinic:

Students may apply via Atlas during the application period listed below.

Spring 2024:
Applications: September 22 - October 22, 2023
Offers extended to students: October 27, 2023
Student acceptances due: October 31, 2023

Fall 2024: Application period: March 11-29, 2024 Offers extended to students: April 5, 2024 Student accept/decline due: April 11, 2024

 

**IMPORTANT!* - Externships and Clinics – Students who have applied for an externship or clinic and been accepted may decline upon offer without consequence. However, once a student has accepted an externship or clinic, any student who drops the externship or clinic without prior approval by the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs will be subject to the 12-month ban.

Click below to fill out the Entrepreneurship and Small Business prospective client questionnaire.

Application for prospective clients

Other questions and/or feedback, please reach out to Karen Furgeson or 480-965-6523

Our People

Jonathan Coury

Eric Menkhus Director, Entrepreneurship and Small Business Clinic, Clinical Professor

Raees Mohamed

Raees Mohamed Faculty Associate, Entrepreneurship and Small Business Clinic

Jonathan Coury

Jonathan Coury Faculty Associate, Entrepreneurship and Small Business Clinic