All entrepreneurs, innovators, and makers in for- and non-profit ventures belong in the EEILC: not only those engaged in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math), but anyone with a strong desire to transform the world with their creations or innovations. This includes weavers, farmers, chefs, designers, musicians, clothing designers, vintners, healers, and builders; professional and amateur (including student*) athletes; corner stores and other community-based small businesses in urban or rural areas; community organizations tending to neighborhoods; and beyond. 

If your work as an organization or individual undertakes significant risk – for whatever reason, in any industry – and/or intellectual property is a significant source of the value of your organization or idea, you may be eligible to work with the EEILC’s student attorneys. Entrepreneurs, innovators, and makers may be organized as community-based for-profit businesses, nonprofit organizations, and social enterprises in a variety of enterprise forms, at all stages of formation and operation.

The EEILC generally will not represent ventures concerning University-held intellectual property. Therefore, if your technology was invented or jointly invented by a MSU employee, you should consult MSU’s Office of Technology Transfer for advice concerning your technology.

*Per university policy, at this time neither MSU nor MSU staff members (including the EEILC, its faculty and its faculty-supervised student attorneys) "may be involved in the development, operation, or promotion of any student-athlete's name, image, and likeness activities." The EEILC otherwise offers its legal services to student-athletes on the same basis such services are available to the general student body.

The EEILC supports Michigan's transformative entrepreneurs, innovators, and makers to advance equity among Michiganders and communities in Michigan. In pursuit of this goal, the work and operations of EEILC clients takes place in Michigan -- especially Michigan's underserved communities across the state, as well as the communities to whom MSU Law is especially historically indebted (including Detroit, the home of MSU Law's predecessor Detroit College of Law, and the tribal communities whose land MSU Law occupies).  

It is not a requirement that EEILC clients are organized under Michigan law (and indeed, the EEILC may assist its clients in forming under Delaware or other state law). 

The alignment of a venture's needs and mission with the goals of the EEILC is an important client selection factor. 

The EEILC expansively considers equitable business practices to include those that for-profits, non-profits, and hybrid ventures alike use to: increase the representation of historically underserved entrepreneurs and innovators; serve or provide goods to historically underserved markets; promote cooperation and sharing of power and resources; focus on progress as quality of process, rather than quantity of output; or otherwise achieve socially just transformation. The EEILC also seeks to influence systemic change in the legal system, marketplace, and society more broadly, and considers among its selection criteria the potential for a client project to be a high impact transaction. Finally, as an educational institution, the EEILC also must consider the pedagogical value to students of the legal assistance to be provided.

At this time, the EEILC assists entrepreneurs, innovators, and makers in using private ordering through transactional law, such as those described in more detail on our “Typical Projects and Representative Clients” page. The EEILC does not represent entrepreneurs, innovators, or makers in litigation matters, though the EEILC sometimes will collaborate with co-counsel who do initiate litigation on behalf of EEILC clients as necessary to preserve legal rights and improve bargaining position. 

Entrepreneurs, innovators, and makers in for- and non-profit ventures contribute to equitable communities – yet they are often unable to address their transactional legal needs due to the inaccessibility of legal services. The EEILC seeks to strengthen such ventures and the communities they serve by providing free transactional legal assistance to those entrepreneurs, innovators, and makers that meet the EEILC’s financial, financial-related, and other selection criteria.

The EEILC recognizes that the cost of legal services varies according to project novelty, complexity, and other factors, and therefore the EEILC has no hard threshold for determining financial ability to pay for legal services. Clients who can demonstrate their financial need will, however, be prioritized for the EEILC's services. 

• For a for-profit venture, the household income of the business owners should not exceed 400% of the Federal Poverty Level. (For example, under the 2022 guidelines, 400% of the Federal Poverty Level equals $54,360 for a household of one, $73,240 for a household of two, $92,120 for a household of three, $111,000 for a household of four, etc.). 
• For a non-profit venture, the organization and project should satisfy the Association of Pro Bono Counsel’s “mission-matter-means” eligibility criteria. 
• For a social venture that is for-profit, as well as other ventures with legal issues that are so path-breaking or difficult to find equitable representation for, appropriate legal services providers may not be accessible even given an unlimited budget.

In any of these situations, the EEILC may be able to provide its legal services at no financial cost to you, though there may still be some associated fees such as filing fees. The EEILC may request financial information about the organization and any individuals who own and/or operate the organization, in order to assess financial need in determining whether the EEILC will accept your application. 

Because time is money, it is relevant to emphasize here that, because the EEILC is an educational course for students, it is possible that the legal services provided by the EEILC may take longer to complete than if the legal work were to be completed by a fee-based, private practicing attorney. The EEILC reviews applications on a rolling basis and may accept applications for representation year-round; however, we serve most clients during the academic year and generally accept new clients for direct client representation only at the start of each semester, and for community-based programming in the middle of each semester.