Law and the Entrepreneur

Are you a passionate entrepreneur with a new business idea, but feelingintimidated by the law?  Or perhaps youare a lawyer or aspiring lawyer looking to break into the exciting world ofstart-ups?  This course addresses thelegal aspects of entrepreneurship, and is appropriate both for entrepreneurs andlawyers who hope to represent entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs face many challengesas they pursue a new business idea.  Withthe right legal tools, they can take steps that provide significant legalprotections and avoid future liability.  Amongother subjects, the course will cover American law on choice of entity (corporation,limited liability company, partnership, sole proprietorship), selection of acompany name and trademark, protecting intellectual property of the businesswith patent, trade secret, trademark and copyright law, structuring agreementsamong owners, venture capital and other equity and debt financing arrangements,and the relationship between attorneys and entrepreneurs. Inaddition to discussing applicable legal rules, the course will focus onpractical steps entrepreneurs and their lawyers can take to build and protect anew venture.  The goal of the course willbe for students to have a better understanding of practical ways they canprotect a new venture and spot potential issues from a business-legal perspective.