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In August, Paige Wilson will join Colorado Law as Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the Entrepreneurial Law Clinic. Prior to joining ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä, Professor Wilson directed the Entrepreneurial Business Law Clinic at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, where her students represented a mix of startups, small businesses, nonprofits, and student-athletes with NIL contracts. She also practiced corporate law at Gunderson Dettmer in New York City, where she represented high-growth technology companies and venture capital funds. Her research on venture capital and clinical pedagogy has been published in the Berkeley Business Law Journal and the Tennessee Journal of Business Law, respectively.Ìý

Wilson has a BA from Emory University and a JD from Yale Law School. Prior to law school, she received a Fulbright fellowship to teach English and conduct research on the environmental movement in Taiwan. She also co-founded a travel agency that arranges eco-tours in Tibet.ÌýÌý

What excites you most about life in Colorado?ÌýÌý

PW: I’m excited to plug into the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Boulder. I’m also looking forward to raising my two girls in the mountains!ÌýÌý

Can you share a bit about any current projects you are working on?Ìý

PW: I’m working on a project titled Legal Standardization for University Accelerators. This project examines the proliferation of university accelerators that fund student ventures and proposes guidelines and agreements to govern the relationship between these accelerators and their student participants. My goal is to share these agreements and guidelines with transactional clinicians and universities across the country.ÌýÌý

How does your past experience practicing law inform your approach as a clinical professor?Ìý

PW: My teaching philosophy is rooted in my experience practicing startup law. I want the ELC to function as a bridge between students’ law school course work and their legal careers. After completing the clinic, I want students to feel prepared Ìýand excited to represent transactional clients!Ìý

What drew you to working in this area of law?ÌýÌý

PW: Prior to law school, I co-founded a travel agency that arranges tours to Tibet. That project gave me insight into the entrepreneurial mindset. During law school, I served as a student director of the Non-Profit Organizations Clinic and learned how to set up 501(c)(3) organizations. These two experiences made me realize that I wanted to work with startup and nonprofit founders as a transactional lawyer. I love advising entrepreneurs on how to get their businesses started.ÌýÌý

What is your proudest career accomplishment so far?ÌýÌý

PW: My first publication! Regional Venture Deals is a qualitative empirical study that grew out of my work in The Ohio State University’s Entrepreneurial Business Law Clinic. In the article, I compare early-stage venture capital financings in the Midwest to those in the major innovation hubs on the coasts and find that Midwest deals contain more investor-friendly terms that provide investors with greater control over company actions and higher returns on early exits. Despite these differences, my study shows that startup lawyers are actively facilitating convergence between Midwest deal practices and coastal deal practices, and that this convergence is crucial to fostering rapid growth in emerging startup ecosystems such as the Midwest.Ìý

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