Legal Advice

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When a student interacts with a company (e.g., for internships, consulting, or licensing), it is common for the student to feel out-gunned: the company is represented by a skilled law firm or house lawyer whose job is to obtain the best advantage for the company, whereas the student is either un-represented, or advised by OTL (whose staff do not pretend to be lawyers).

Even when interacting with OTL -- which, I swear, is heavily focused on protecting student interests -- a student may understandably feel somewhat naked -- is this agreement truly reasonable, or not?

One solution is that, for serious negotiations (e.g., licensing), it is sometimes the case that the company will provide funding for the student to hire a lawyer. Several of our startups have done this.

As an alternative, three strong tech law firms have offered to provide limited pro bono legal services to CSE graduate students who feel nervous or in over their heads. In each case, I (Ed Lazowska) have been asked to act as an intermediary in establishing the initial contact, to keep things from getting out of control. But if you'll contact me, I'll be happy to help you get rolling.

	Computer Science & Engineering University of Washington Box 352350 Seattle, WA  98195-2350 (206) 543-1695 voice, (206) 543-2969 FAX [comments to lazowska]