Earlier this year a classmate and co-founder of the Venture Law Society pointed out a serious gap in U of T Law’s pro bono legal services: access to affordable, high-quality business law advice. DLS has criminal, tenant housing, and family law divisions, but nothing geared towards business law. A good deal of aspiring entrepreneurs cannot afford a corporate lawyer’s bar tab, much less her legal fees. For those of us without a wealthy backer (or rich uncle) this is a major roadblock. Starting a business is either a hugely risky venture or nothin’ but a pipe dream.
My friend Miranda offers a case in point. Miranda has spent months putting together a stellar team of writers to realize her dream of running a sports and entertainment website. But she has no idea how to actually create the company. She was forced to try to figure out how to incorporate over Google, which is kind of like asking WebMD how to stitch your own wound: the best-case scenario involves a ton of frustration and an ugly scar. The more likely outcome is a bloody mess that opens the business to serious liability issues.
Miranda has no credit and no resources but a great business plan. What she needs is basic legal advice to get her off the ground. But what kind of institution can offer this sort of service? Where could she find enthusiastic, legally-educated people willing to dedicate hours to public service? If the answer isn’t clear by now, you need to spend more time in Bora Laskin Library. U of T Law is full of students looking for clinical experience: DLS consistently turns away volunteers due to the huge number of applications. It is also full of students who want (or think they want) to work in corporate law. Eager beaver 1Ls (and 2Ls like myself) would give anything for the chance to put their newfound legal skills to work.
U of T could be at the forefront of yet another movement, one that provides affordable legal advice to under-advantaged but hardworking individuals looking to support themselves and grow the economy. What a fresh and innovative idea!
Except that it’s not.
Where I thought U of T could head the pack, it turns out that we lag behind Queen’s, Western, Windsor and Osgoode in providing legal advice to entrepreneurs. Not to mention the American schools we look up to, like Harvard and Yale. Heck, even the University of Victoria has a business law clinic. DLS and PBSC give us a lot to be proud of, but this area of pro-bono advice is seriously under-represented at U of T. And students have begun to notice. I overheard a student in one of my classes last week lament: “If only I’d gone to Western, maybe I would feel prepared to work in corporate law.”
The reality is that U of T places a huge proportion of students on Bay Street. And most summer students agree that law school did not prepare them to work at a firm. Some might say that this is what articling is for. But with the future of articling very much in question, I say it’s time to re-think the clinical education program at U of T. And this includes the need to introduce students to things like contract drafting, articles of incorporation, and employment agreements. A business law clinic that pairs students with lawyer-mentors and real-life clients could serve a valuable function for law students and the community at large. Students would benefit from mentors and practical experience, and entrepreneurs would benefit from an untapped resource of legal advice.
The bottom line is that clinical experience is increasingly valued by students and law firms alike. It provides an opportunity for students to work with clients who have real legal issues and to develop the skills that make a good law student into a great lawyer. These skills include legal analysis, issue-spotting, and ‘soft skills’ like communication and client relations. A business law clinic would also help students figure out if corporate law is really something they’d like to do. It’s a nice alternative to the blind leap of faith that is the OCI/summer-student/articling process.
Equally important, a business law clinic would allow students who have worked incredibly hard to succeed to help others achieve the same goal. U of T Law recognizes that not all students have the resources to get to law school; hence our graduated financial aid policy. It’s time we spread the wealth (so to speak) and extend that opportunity to hardworking but under-funded entrepreneurs. Sounds like a win-win to me.
