This Directed Reading Course builds upon the Osgoode Venture Capital Clinical Project (OVC), which has for over eight years provided legal services to early stage entrepreneurial ventures in the financing and equity structuring stages of growth.
Osgoode students will work as Caseworkers directly with lawyers from Wildeboer Dellelce LLP, and the entrepreneurs or executives associated with the early-stage business ventures supported by the OCV. Students will gain valuable experience in drafting a retainer and scope of work agreement, client communications, client consultations, drafting legal agreements, corporate finance, employment matters, technology, and operational matters.
There will also be two training sessions conducted by Wildeboer lawyers at their offices downtown, one on best practices in client representation and communication; and the other on the substantive elements of typical representation of early stage companies. Osgoode students will not be providing legal advice.
Method of Evaluation: Two of the credits will be graded based on attendance/participation/discussion when classes are scheduled over the course of the year, plus a 3,500 word paper on a topic related to venture capital and start-ups to be submitted during Winter semester. The other half of the credits will be based upon credit/no credit practical work under the supervision of Wildeboer lawyers. The graded component of the Directed Reading course will involve readings about choices of entity structure, financing start-ups, special issues involved in family firms and social enterprises, and the professional responsibility issues involved in representing both the firm and its principals. The grade for the course – including graded academic related work and ungraded (credit/non-credit) related work for the practical aspects of the program – will all form part of one final letter grade, which will be listed as a Winter grade on each student’s transcript.