By: Amy Barefoot-Graedon
Marjorie White’s transactional law clinic has served more than 20 North Carolina businesses this year alone, from coffee companies to microgreens farms.
In fall 2025, UNC School of Law’s Startup N.C. Law Clinic reached a significant milestone, teaching its 100th student since the clinic’s founding six years ago. Under the leadership of White, clinical professor of law and director of the Startup N.C. Law Clinic, the clinic has become a vital resource for entrepreneurs and small businesses across North Carolina, while providing Carolina Law students with hands-on experience in business law.
“It’s hard to believe,” said White. “I tell my students at the beginning of each semester that the clinic is their own little law firm for the next three months, so we are really always in startup mode. In that sense, I always feel like we are just beginning our journey every semester, with new students and new clients. And yet somehow six years have gone by, and we now have this amazing network of 100-plus clinic alumni who are out there in the world really making a difference.”
The clinic’s impact extends far beyond campus. This year alone, Startup N.C. Law Clinic students completed more than 40 projects for approximately 20 North Carolina-based businesses located in the Triangle, the broader region, and rural areas throughout the state.
By design, the clinic serves a remarkably diverse client base. “The hallmark of Startup N.C. is the breadth of our practice. I like to say that we work on everything from cupcakes to crypto,” said White. “We represent startups, entrepreneurs, and small businesses throughout the state who need our legal help, be they farmers or physicists.”
Recent clients have included a videographer, a coffee company, an AI app in the health care field, a sustainable microgreens farm, a dry cocktail bar pop-up business, an agritourism and pick-your-own blackberry business, a ceramics artist, an artisanal chocolate startup, a dental device inventor, a web designer and cybersecurity specialist, an online speech therapy business for children, and an organic pre-workout supplement startup.
The clinic has developed particularly strong relationships with entrepreneurs in underserved communities. Creative Natives, a Native American jewelry and regalia business with offerings by Lumbee artists, worked with the clinic on multiple business law projects. The business was introduced to the clinic by former Startup N.C. student, Gabrielle James ’22.
Treehouse Creations, a mother-daughter custom printing business operating out of Leasburg in Caswell County, received help with governance and contract issues. Lea and Louise Gilbert started the business, which also works with artists across the state to create and sell exclusive artist collections online.
In Pitt County’s Winterville, Brittney Grillo came to Startup N.C. for contract help with her small business, CPR United, which provides CPR lessons to individuals and employees of various organizations. Grillo learned about the clinic through the Bertie Business Network, which has provided business mentoring and support to several clinic clients.
Another client, an inventor who creates circuit boards for teaching electronics to high school students, received legal guidance on corporate compliance and operational issues.
“It is part of our mission to serve rural communities as well as our local ecosystem,” said White. “It is also vitally important for our students to work with people from all parts of the state, confronting various legal and logistical challenges in getting their businesses off the ground.”
For students, the clinic represents a transformative learning experience. “I always say that Startup N.C. is a cross between boot camp and finishing school for law students, specifically for students going into business law or collateral legal fields,” explained White. “Students learn to identify and prioritize their clients’ legal needs and then give nuanced, bespoke advice based on that assessment, after a lot of legal research and thought. In the clinic, they make a giant step in their transition from being students to becoming trusted, knowledgeable professionals.”
The clinic’s alumni network continues to grow, with former students reaching out with client referrals and updates about their careers. Some have contacted White about starting pro bono programs at their firms.
“It’s wonderful to have this network of special Carolina Law connections fanning out at firms, businesses and agencies across the state and beyond,” said White.
Startup N.C. Law Clinic works closely with UNC-Chapel Hill’s broader entrepreneurial ecosystem under Innovate Carolina. The clinic also collaborates with local incubator programs for startups, including Launch Chapel Hill, 1789 Venture Lab, and programs at the Kenan-Flagler Business School and the Kenan Institute for Private Enterprise, including N.C. Growth. Additionally, the clinic supports various business networks and small business and technology development centers throughout the state.
The clinic maintains partnerships with North Carolina’s network of small business centers at community colleges across the state, expanding access to legal support for entrepreneurs in every corner of North Carolina.
As the clinic enters its next chapter, White sees continued opportunities for growth and innovation. “As a startup clinic, we’re always doing something new,” said White. “Of course, we have clients who are now doing amazing things with AI, so it’s exciting and intellectually challenging to be at the forefront of that pivotal work and the legal issues it raises.”
The clinic plans to expand its collaborations with entrepreneurship programs and continue finding new ways to provide rich learning opportunities for students while extending legal support to North Carolina’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
With 100 students trained and so many small businesses served, the Startup N.C. Law Clinic has firmly established itself as both an essential educational experience for Carolina Law students and a critical resource for entrepreneurs building the future of North Carolina’s economy.
