The Entrepreneurship and Community Business Clinic empowers low- and moderate-income entrepreneurs to turn their business ideas into reality by removing legal barriers to entry.
If you're launching a small business, start-up or nonprofit but can't afford a lawyer, we're here to help. Our law students work under faculty supervision to provide practical legal guidance tailored to your venture's needs.
Is This Clinic Right for You?
We're looking for entrepreneurs and organizations with thoughtful business plans, defined goals, and limited access to outside funding. Whether you're opening your first storefront, formalizing a community initiative, or scaling a social enterprise, we provide the legal foundation you need to grow sustainably.
Long-term clients work with our clinic throughout a semester to address ongoing business matters that require sustained legal support, including:
Set up a business organization
Structure relationships among founders and investors
Negotiate a lease
Draft and negotiate contracts
Advise on employees and independent contractors
Protect intellectual property
Apply for licenses and permits
Understand and comply with regulations
Form and advise nonprofit organizations
We accept new long-term clients in August and January only. If we're a good fit, you'll come in for an interview, review a retainer agreement with us, and we'll get to work—at no cost to you. You'll only pay for government fees and filing costs.
Office hours provide focused, short-term assistance with specific legal tasks: help completing a government form, understanding a filing requirement, reviewing, understanding or drafting a single contract, or getting clarity on a particular legal question about your business. We can provide one focused service per office hour visit.
Sign up for office hour consultation on an ongoing basis throughout the year for quick, focused assistance with specific legal tasks.
We do not handle litigation, patents, complex tax matters, securities, public mergers or acquisitions, or international trade.
Our Team
Mariana Acevedo Nuevo is Assistant Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the Entrepreneurship and Community Business Clinic at Cardozo School of Law, where she has served since August 2024. She received her first degree from ITAM in Mexico City, where she was born and raised, and her LL.M. from UC Berkeley School of Law, where she was a clinical supervising attorney in the New Business Community Law Clinic. Since 2021, she has served hundreds of clients in California's Central Valleys. Prior to Berkeley, she practiced law in Mexico City and served as the Shriver Housing Attorney at Legal Access Alameda, where she advocated for housing rights for low-income residents.
