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Entrepreneurs to benefit from Akron Law's, Youngstown groups' collaboration
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
It takes only a few seconds for a start-up business owner to sign a bad contract, killing his or her venture before it gets going.
But a collaboration among the University of Akron School of Law, the Youngstown Business Incubator, Youngstown State University and the Ohio Small Business Development Centers at YSU aims to keep that from happening.
Matthew J. Wilson became dean of UA’s law school in July and already has visited Youngstown twice.
The law school’s Small Entrepreneur and Economic Development Legal Clinic has been conducting office hours at the SBDC and YBI. Second- and third-year law students, with guidance from attorneys, meet with emerging businesses and offer legal support and advice.
“All of the pieces fit,” said Patrick Gaughan, executive director of the Innovation Practice Center at the law school.
He formerly taught at YSU and had a business in YBI.
Wilson has 25 years’ experience in international business and law. His experience spans matters in the United States, Japan, Korea, the Philippines and the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
“There’s a lot of synergy among law, technology and business,” Wilson said.
That fits well into the Youngstown community with YSU and YBI which supports many new technology companies.
Annal Vyas, visiting professor of clinical law at UA, said there’s no other place in the country besides Silicon Valley where that relationship exists.
“Youngstown is a population of creators,” he said.
At the same time, though, those creators likely aren’t lawyers.
“On a micro level, a start-up can make a fatal mistake in less than five seconds or however long it takes to sign a name to something,” said James W. Cossler, YBI chief executive officer.
Wilson met Friday with YSU President Jim Tressel, Martin Abraham, the interim provost and vice president for academic affairs, and Betty Jo Licata, dean of the Williamson College of Business Administration, about collaborating. There’s even discussion of a three-plus-three bachelor’s law-degree program between the two schools, Wilson said. Graduates would be able to earn both degrees in six rather than seven years.
Patricia K. Veisz, director of the SBDC at YSU, said the relationship among the various entities and the office hours provided by the SEED Clinic make it convenient for new businesses.
The clinic works with start-up businesses that don’t have the funds to pay legal fees. It’s not trying to compete with the paid legal community, Wilson said.
Gaughan said the collaboration also could help reverse the brain drain. If new businesses are supported, they’re more likely to remain in the area rather than those entrepreneurs starting their companies in other cities.
Elizabeth Emanuel, a Girard native and graduate of Ursuline High School and Walsh University who is a UA law school student, agreed. “People don’t leave Youngstown because we want to leave Youngstown,” she said. “This gives me the chance to be back here.”