By Stacie Jones
Economic Enablers Educating Lawyers to Advance Prosperity in the American West
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he University of Idaho College of Law is preparing its students to fulfill this vital role. In August, the State Board of Education approved the college’s new emphasis in business law and entrepreneurism. The emphasis is designed to provide law students at both the Moscow and Boise campuses with the specialized legal skills and practical business knowledge they need to advise clients in such areas as commercial and economic development, choice of entity for the enterprise, and intellectual property and technology. “This is a very well-thought-out curriculum that is suited to producing attorneys who are well versed in not only the technical aspects of business law, but
also how businesses work,” said Michael Satz, associate dean and professor of business law. Wendy Couture, professor of business law, noted that expertise in business law and entrepreneurism is particularly relevant in Idaho, which recently ranked ninth among all states for its startup activity on the Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity, a leading indicator of new business creation in the United States. “When you are looking to start up a company, you need legal talent to assist you with things like what type of entity you are going to establish, how you are going to raise capital, negotiating business and real estate contracts, and protecting your intellectual property,” Couture said. “What’s exciting about our business law program is that it is designed to train lawyers to help Idaho’s entrepreneurs and to address the specific needs of the startups and small businesses that have such an important impact on Idaho’s economy,” she said. The curriculum will further prepare students to join the ranks of the many College of Law alumni
2012
As home to some of the world’s largest global companies, long-standing family businesses, a robust entrepreneurial culture, and a booming metropolitan core, the state of Idaho demands lawyers who have the special expertise to guide sound business practices and healthy economic development.
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