It was announced today that UCC has become the first university in Ireland to offer free legal information to startups with the launch of its new IT Law Clinic. 
 
The IT Law Clinic at UCC, part of iLINC, the European Network of Law Incubators, collaborates with successful, established IT clinics in cities including Amsterdam, Hamburg and New York.
 
The clinic’s co-directors, Dr Darius Whelan and Professor Maeve McDonagh from UCC’s School of Law, are aiming to bring together the talent within the Irish startup scene and the university. The clinic provides a valuable opportunity for postgraduate law students to apply abstract legal knowledge to real-life situations.
 
Twelve postgraduate law students will work together with academic staff and established law firms including McCullagh Wall, Ronan Daly Jermyn and O'Dowd Solicitors, responding to legal questions from startups, from protecting copyright to ensuring websites comply with data protection law.
 
Professor McDonagh commented, "Startups don’t have the funds to pay for expensive legal services, so by providing free information we save them that extra expense.

"We hope that this service will reduce legal barriers for innovative startups and drive startup growth."
 
Source: www.businessworld.ie