Students and faculty at two University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School clinics are increasing access to legal services for local businesses that work to improve their communities.
The Entrepreneurship Legal Clinic and the Detkin Intellectual Property and Technology Clinic provide free legal counsel to Philadelphia entrepreneurs working to address social issues. Guided by law school faculty and practicing attorneys, second- and third-year law students work with clients who could not otherwise afford legal services.
Penn Carey Law professor and DIPTC director Cynthia Dahl told The Daily Pennsylvanian that there are a variety of resources and legal firms available for local businesses. However, she said, legal help “can be expensive, particularly in this area.”
Praveen Kosuri, ELC director and a Penn Carey Law processor, told the DP that the clinic receives around 250 applications for each cycle and is only able to work with 16-20 at a time. When deciding upon possible clients, Kosuri said, he “wanted to make sure we were doing work that was translating into positive social impact or a positive social good.”
Kosuri added that clients often fall into three categories: low- to moderate-income entrepreneurs who lack “traditional access to legal services,” non-profits leading community-focused projects, and businesses with more resources whose underlying mission is to benefit society.
“Students can learn just as much by representing a corner store as they can in representing Walmart,” Kosuri said. “I’ve always looked for good teaching vehicles — that first and foremost is the objective.”
Kosuri highlighted a boarded-up grocery store that ELC helped a West Philadelphia nonprofit buy and transform into a food business incubator. Previously vacant for six years, the incubator has served the community for more than a decade.
“That social impact piece is what makes us different, he said. “Some people adopt it wholeheartedly, other people do it softer, but we do it really well.”
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Both DIPTC and ELC — two of Carey Law School’s nine Gittis Legal Clinics — allow law students to apply their legal skills to practical scenarios.
“My goal is to introduce the students in a safe, controlled way to this area of law,” Dahl told the DP. “When students come to realize that this is an area of law that they love to practice, that ignites a passion in them. There’s nothing better.”
Kosuri likened the law clinics to clinical rotations for medical students. Unlike traditional classrooms, students working in the clinics communicate with clients and investigate relevant legal issues.
After receiving the basic “scaffolding,” Kosuri said that law students participate in simulated scenarios with clients and conduct recorded mock interviews. They then analyze those recordings with faculty, which he compared to athletes watching game film.
“We are helping our students develop their professional identities,” Kosuri said. “They’re learning how to be professionals, they’re learning what kind of professional they want to be, they’re learning about client service."
During the 2025-26 academic year, ELC and DIPTC students provided more than 7,000 hours of free legal services to their clients, according to a statement from Gittis Legal Clinics communications and legal projects coordinator Anthony Marqusee.
Though both clinics provide free counsel to local businesses and community members, they differ in their legal specialties. DIPTC addresses issues relating to intellectual property, such as copyrights, trademarks, and patents. Meanwhile, Kosuri said that ELC operates more broadly to assist “people who are either starting or operating businesses.”
He added that ELC, which was founded in 1982, is “one of the oldest transactional clinics in the country.”
After winning the 2023 President’s Innovation Prize, 2025 Engineering graduates Sophie Ishiwari and Gabby Daltoso worked with ELC to build the legal foundation for their startup, Sonura Care. The venture creates beanies designed to provide auditory protection and parental connection for premature infants.
In an interview with the DP, Daltoso said that she continues to reference slides provided to her by students at ELC.
“They were very professional,” Daltoso said. “The relationship of attorney to client felt very real, respected, taken care of.”
While ELC and DIPTC are limited in how many clients they can work with per semester, they both offer additional resources for increased reach. According to Kosuri, ELC provides “do-it-yourself material” for businesses they are unable to accept as clients.
Meanwhile, DIPTC partners with the Free Library of Philadelphia to offer 45-minute counseling sessions. These sessions, Dahl said, are “open to everyone” and assist with inquiries that aren't “appropriate for a full semester engagement.”
Kosuri said the biggest transformation he sees in his students is in their confidence. He sees himself as a “personal trainer,” Kosuri added, and the clinic as a place for students to begin “getting reps” to improve their legal skills.
“If there’s one thing I want them to take away from a clinical experience, it’s the ability to teach themselves whatever they need to know,” Kosuri said.
