WilmerHale Supports Entrepreneurship & IP Clinic Summer Fellowship
Alexandra Noymer (’18) is gaining experience with the clinic over her 1L summer with help from the law firm.
A gift from WilmerHale has established a summer fellowship with Boston University School of Law’s Entrepreneurship & Intellectual Property Clinic. Rising 2L Alexandra Noymer (’18) was selected for the fellowship.
Launched in fall 2015, the Entrepreneurship & IP Clinic, a collaboration between BU Law and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has been working to bring MIT and BU student entrepreneurs together with BU Law students to help turn ideas into businesses. Since its launch in September, the clinic has assisted roughly 75 student entrepreneurs in the early phases of their startups.
“Entrepreneurship is the lifeblood of Boston—many lawyers here work in the startup economy,” says Ed Pease (’97), partner in the Emerging Companies Practice at WilmerHale. “Innovative programs like the one at BU Law create practice-ready lawyers who understand entrepreneurship and can provide sound business counsel from the start.”
Under the supervision of Entrepreneurship & IP Clinic Director Gerard O’Connor, Noymer is spending the summer working with MIT students at the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship and the MIT Sandbox. She helps students with issues of entity selection and formation, intellectual property, contracts, equity development, data security, finance, and employment matters. She will also give a presentation at MIT on a legal topic of interest to students starting their own businesses.
“Working directly with the MIT students has been a valuable learning experience,” she says. “I’m helping clients with their start-up companies, as well as building a solid foundation of skills that can be applied to general corporate practice.”
In addition to working with student entrepreneurs at MIT, Noymer and a second clinic fellow, Malavika Lobo (’17), have been invited to attend WilmerHale’s training sessions and social events for summer associates, which provide valuable instruction and networking opportunities for the clinic fellows.
“WilmerHale’s support for the Entrepreneurship & IP Clinic summer fellowship is a demonstration of the high value employers place on business knowledge,” says Dean Maureen A. O’Rourke. “We want our graduates to have a critical understanding of the environment in which their clients operate, and thus be better equipped to offer constructive legal advice. We are thrilled to offer Alexandra this opportunity for hands-on, practical experience.”
The Entrepreneurship & IP Clinic is the first of two clinics started in partnership with MIT. The Technology & Cyberlaw Clinic will launch in fall 2016 under the direction of former Harvard Law instructor Andrew Sellars.
