​Entrepreneurship Law Clinic

Information for Potential Clients

Bring Your Business to Life

How Can We Help You?

The Entrepreneurship Law Clinic primarily assists with forming the following types of business entities:

• Corporations (S and C)
• Limited liability companies
• Partnerships
• Joint ventures
• Sole proprietorships

Our services include assistance with selecting the most appropriate entity for your needs, preparing and filing documents required to form that entity, and drafting other documents needed to do business effectively, such as bylaws, operating or shareholder agreements, meeting minutes and related notices or waivers.

We can also help with drafting the following business-oriented agreements:

• Confidentiality agreements
• Non-disclosure agreements
• Independent contractor agreements
• Employment agreements

Am I eligible for ​clinic assistance?

Texas residents with limited financial resources in need of legal counsel related to the formation or operation of a business located in Texas are encouraged to apply. The clinic generally defines limited financial resources as annual gross income from all sources amounting to less than 300 percent of the federal poverty level. You can access a table showing the precise dollar amounts for this year here.

Once the financial guidelines above are met, clients are selected based on a variety of factors, including financial need, educational value to the law students, potential for positive impact in the community, and timing. Although our legal services are provided at no charge, clients are responsible for certain fees and other costs that may be necessary. For example, clients are responsible for the fees payable to the Secretary of State when filing a certificate of formation to effectively start a corporation. All such fees will be paid directly to the particular government entity or other third party provider by the client.

When is help available?

The clinic operates only from January – April (spring) and August – November (fall), corresponding with the semesters in our academic calendar. While many matters can be handled in a single semester, the academic calendar means there will be delays between periods of work for matters that take longer than a single semester to complete, and those delays can range from five weeks (in the winter) to three months (in the summer). If your matter requires urgent or ongoing attention without delays, we suggest you contact another legal services provider.

Who works on my case?

Our services are provided by law students working under the supervision of experienced attorneys. While we try to handle matters in the course of a single semester (either spring or fall, as outlined above), it is possible that matters taking more than one semester could result in a different student (or students) and perhaps a different supervising attorney taking over. 

How do I apply?

To apply, please complete a Entrepreneurship Law Clinic Request for Services form and submit it online. and submit it online. Our clinic does not accept client applications in person or over the phone.

The Entrepreneurship Law Clinic is unable to assist you with the following:

• Forming entities in a state other than Texas
• Fundraising or financing from outside investors (e.g., venture capital)
• Foreign investments
• Complex tax issues
• Industry-specific licenses (e.g., TABC licenses)
• Litigation
• Non-Profit Corporations
• 501(c)(3) Applications