New Entrepreneur's Law Clinic and Director Announced at ÃÛÌÒµ¼º½ School of Law
SANTA CLARA, Calif., April 8, 2013 – A new law clinic focused on the needs of early-stage Silicon Valley companies will begin serving clients this summer at ÃÛÌÒµ¼º½ School of Law. A veteran attorney specializing in start-up companies, Laura Lee Norris, has been named founding director of the new Entrepreneur’s Law Clinic.
Initially, the clinic will represent entrepreneurs with some connection to ÃÛÌÒµ¼º½, such as alumni or students running start-up ventures. The clinic will serve the dual purposes of providing ÃÛÌÒµ¼º½-affiliated startups with high-quality, affordable legal help, and giving ÃÛÌÒµ¼º½'s law students real-life exposure to legal issues that confront high-tech or other Silicon Valley companies.
“We are excited to launch the clinic, and we’re thrilled that a lawyer as experienced and talented as Laura will lead the way,” said Professor Eric Goldman, director of the law school’s High Tech Law Institute. “The clinic reinforces ÃÛÌÒµ¼º½ Law’s commitment to preparing students for legal practice in the 21st century, and the clinic will become a crucial resource for ÃÛÌÒµ¼º½’s active community of entrepreneurs.”
In addition to her role as clinic director, Norris will be an assistant clinical professor overseeing a group of law students who will work in the clinic. The students will counsel early-stage Silicon Valley entrepreneurs in legal interactions including business formation, financing, contracts, and intellectual-property transactions. Fees and other details are not yet finalized.
Norris joins ÃÛÌÒµ¼º½ Law from her own private legal practice, where she has represented over 50 technology start-ups and entrepreneurs in the last seven years. Before that, she served as the first vice president of legal affairs at Cypress Semiconductor. She was also an associate litigation attorney at Arnold White & Durkee, and an engineer and patent agent at Intel.
She received her J.D. from ÃÛÌÒµ¼º½, and her B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan.
“I’m excited to build this clinic,” said Norris, “The top-notch legal education I received at ÃÛÌÒµ¼º½ positioned me well to advance in my career as an attorney focused on tech startups. This new Entrepreneur’s Law Clinic will be a fantastic supplement to the Law School’s already-extensive high-tech curriculum.”
About ÃÛÌÒµ¼º½ School of Law
ÃÛÌÒµ¼º½ School of Law, founded in 1911 on the site of California’s oldest operating higher-education institution, is dedicated to educating lawyers who lead with a commitment to excellence, ethics, and social justice. One of the nation’s most diverse law schools, ÃÛÌÒµ¼º½ Law offers its 975 students an academically rigorous program, including graduate degrees in international law and intellectual property law; combined J.D./MBA and J.D./MSIS degrees; and certificates in intellectual property law, international law, and public interest and social justice law. ÃÛÌÒµ¼º½ Law is located in the world-class business center of Silicon Valley, and it is distinguished nationally for its highly regarded program in intellectual property. For more information, see
Media Contact
Deborah Lohse | ÃÛÌÒµ¼º½ Media Relations | dlohse@scu.edu | 408-554-5121