David Kinsinger serves as the University of Oklahoma's inaugural Entrepreneurial Law Center executive director.
NORMAN, OKLA - In an effort to address critical business and legal support needs for entrepreneurs and small businesses, the Michael F. Price College of Business at the University of Oklahoma, in partnership with the OU College of Law, has launched Oklahoma’s first-ever entrepreneurial law center.
The OU Entrepreneurial Law Center provides free, early-stage counseling to entrepreneurs and small businesses. Under the guidance of executive director David Kinsinger and with accreditation insight and design support offered from OU College of Law colleagues, OU ELC completed its first pilot clinic by supporting three startup clients over OU’s spring 2023 semester.
“Opening the Entrepreneurial Law Center is imperative to our purpose of ensuring the enduring global competitiveness of Oklahoma and the nation,” said Corey Phelps, Price College dean. “A crucial resource that early-stage startups and small businesses need is inexpensive access to legal expertise and business advisory services on matters of intellectual property, legal organizational form and commercial relationships. The OU ELC provides these services, reducing the barriers to entrepreneurship and empowering startups to develop their ideas into sustainable businesses.”
Katheleen Guzman, dean of the OU College of Law, stated, “The Price College of Business recognized the specific type of interprofessional, community-engaged collaboration that is critical when facing complex and rapidly changing environments. OU ELC allows business and law students to sharpen design-thinking skills together through integrated options and solutions for real clients. Moreover, it furthers both business and law’s commitment to the sort of sophisticated, contextualized education that experiential opportunities like this program offer.”
The OU ELC primarily works with clients on a 15-week basis during OU’s fall and spring semesters and is uniquely positioned as the state’s first entrepreneurial law center.
“The OU Entrepreneurial Law Center is the first of its kind in the state of Oklahoma,” said Kinsinger, who received his juris doctor from OU in 1989 and has more than 30 years experience representing corporations on intellectual property matters and corporate transactions. “While there are a lot of resources throughout the state that are designed to help startups, there aren’t any that provide this type of free legal and business support.”
The OU ELC also provides both Price College and OU College of Law students with the opportunity to gain valuable, real-world experience in structuring the business and legal needs of a new company.
The Entrepreneurial Law Center is housed in the Tom Love Innovation Hub, located on the OU Research Campus, and is currently recruiting clients for the fall semester. Companies interested in applying for OU ELC’s services can contact the staff at elc@ou.edu.
The University of Oklahoma Michael F. Price College of Business has experienced significant growth over the past five years, becoming OU’s second-largest college with over 5,800 students. The college offers highly ranked undergraduate, master’s, executive and doctoral programs across six academic divisions. More information is available at price.ou.edu
