This year, Marquette University Law School celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Law and Entrepreneurship Clinic, an in-house program that has provided free legal services to hundreds of small businesses and entrepreneurs while preparing the next generation of lawyers.
Nathan Hammons, now clinical professor of law, helped establish the clinic in 2015. He had seen firsthand the challenges local entrepreneurs faced in accessing affordable legal help.
“I met many passionate, creative entrepreneurs who could not afford a business attorney,” Hammons says. “One of them suggested that Marquette University Law School create a transactional legal clinic.” Hammons worked with the administration and faculty of the Law School to launch the clinic.
Since then, the LEC has served around 600 to 700 clients, many of them women- and minority-owned businesses. Hammons notes the clinic’s “commitment to social and economic justice.”
Students in the clinic take on responsibility under the Wisconsin Student Practice Rule, assisting clients with forming business entities, drafting contracts, obtaining licenses and protecting intellectual property.
“Working with clients provided me practical and applicable experience,” says alumna Auriel Ackerman, now an associate at Husch Blackwell. “It was invaluable.”
For Olivia Robinson, an attorney at Godfrey & Kahn, the experience was transformative.
“The Law and Entrepreneurship Clinic was one of my favorite classes in law school,” Robinson says. “While law school curriculum often focuses on case law, the clinic teaches students through experiential learning that the practice of transactional law focuses on problem solving to help clients achieve their goals and make decisions with confidence.”
The clinic’s impact extends into the community, with success stories such as Funky Fresh Spring Rolls, which grew from farmers market sales to a national distribution deal with Palermo Villa, Inc. “The LEC is proud to have supported (Funky Fresh founder) TrueMan McGee with a range of legal services during the early stages of his company’s journey,” Hammons says.
Many alumni, including Robinson, have returned to support the clinic through pro bono work. “Returning to the clinic as a practicing attorney in the start-ups and venture capital space has reinforced that truly meaningful work is done by Nathan and the clinic students, and I’m proud to support them in their mission to narrow the justice gap,” she says.
Looking to the future, Hammons sees continued innovation. “Our vision for the next phase of the LEC is to build on our strong foundation while embracing new tools and opportunities to better serve students, entrepreneurs and the broader community,” he says. That includes integrating generative artificial intelligence platforms into student training and client services, preparing graduates for a rapidly evolving legal landscape.
For Ackerman, the clinic’s value is clear. “If you are interested or even thinking of practicing in the transactional space, I would highly recommend participating in the LEC,” she says. “Nathan has a wealth of knowledge and you will be a better attorney in practice because of it.”
