1. Meeting the legal needs of student entrepreneurs
Dr. John McArdle
2017 ALT Annual Meeting
Portsmouth, UK
April 11, 2017

2. Context
Students who study entrepreneurship benefit from exposure to legal concepts and practical legal problems
Traditional entrepreneurship education employs experiential education in a variety of forms
However, most programs do not provide students with hands-on legal training, nor do they expose students to actual problems of practice
Most programs have one required general business law course
This is a missed opportunity

3. The Setting: A comprehensive New England public university
Salem State University, Salem Massachusetts
9000 students, 7500 undergraduate, 1400 business, 100 or so concentrating in entrepreneurship
For the Major: 18 courses (54 credits), eleven of which are common across the business core. One introductory law course
For the Minor: 5 courses (15 credits). No required law course
Both program tracks have a required experiential component
Both programs tracks are under review this summer, I am Program Leader
15 member academic department, 3 entrepreneurship faculty

4. Director, Enterprise Center (Incubator)
University President
Dean, Business School
Director, Enterprise Center
(Incubator)
Director, Small Business Development Center
Academic Department and Curriculum
Volunteers and local firms (attorneys and businesses)

5. Statement of the Problem
Entrepreneurship students needed practical, experiential opportunities to learn applied law
The University had a number of unique elements which are natural competitive advantages. However, they did not interact with each other.
If barriers could be broken, natural synergies could occur.

6. Center for Entrepreneurship
University President
Donors and Community
Center for Entrepreneurship
Business Curriculum
SBDC
Enterprise Center

7. Restatement of the Problem, and a Solution
Entrepreneurship students needed practical, experiential opportunities to learn applied law
The university had a number of unique attributes which, when combined, provided for leverage
If we had funding, we could create a program
Solution:
University Strategic Planning Grant
Donor Funding

8. Program Design
Entrepreneurially-minded students are provided a credit bearing experiential learning opportunity
SBDC recruits and brokers relationships between volunteer clients and volunteer attorneys
Faculty Director supervises the clinical program
Students are employed in the capacity of “intake clerks” for the volunteer attorneys and/or SBDC. They do not dispense legal advice, but write issue briefs and provide support for attorneys
Students have the opportunity to develop critical reasoning and critical writing skills, and see law in action
Attorneys have the opportunity to provide “two-way” pro-bono service
Clients benefit by receiving legal advice

9. Takeaways
In order to develop an experiential entrepreneurship program, you have to think entrepreneurially
Students benefit from a practice-based pedagogical model
Crafting “issue spotting” or “argument-developing” assignments can pay dividends
Students need to have opportunities for critical reflection

10. Next Steps
Now that we have a structural model, we need to develop an assessment model
That model needs specific learning outcomes and targeted reflective assignments
We may have issues with capacity and program sustainability
In the future, we may wish to partner with a local law school clinic

11. Contact Information
Dr. John McArdle