Start-ups and founders come in all shapes and sizes and qLegal is delighted to provide support to a wide selection of businesses.
However, there may be an additional level of satisfaction for students and external supervising lawyers where the start-ups are social enterprises or have been set up by people from under-represented groups. The focus then is not just on the immediate output or even outcome of the qLegal support but on the potential for wider impact.
qLegal is making a conscious effort to raise awareness of its services among communities who may not be used to receiving legal support. One recent example was participation in an event on International Women’s Day run by Capital Enterprise as part of their OneTech programme to support female founders. At the event a team of five qLegal students were on hand to help founders identify where they may have a legal issue, appreciating that law may not be at the forefront of their minds, but by having solid legal foundations the businesses may prevent future problems arising. The event was a success in generating enquiries for help on specific legal questions through the qLegal 1-1 advisory clinic.
The theme is carried through to qLegal’s Public Legal Education programme, where by partnering with incubators and accelerators who support under-represented groups, qLegal students are able to have a wider demographic reach. An example of this is qLegal’s collaboration with Hatch, an organisation supporting women, social impact and BAME entrepreneurs. qLegal students developed and delivered workshops on intellectual property and choice of business structures to start-ups within the Hatch umbrella. Similar workshops will also be covered by students as a further follow up to the founders via OneTech.
The fact that the legal support is being delivered by students can help founders feel less intimidated by the law and seeking legal advice. A recent client expressed it in this way: ‘[I was] very pleased to be able to access this service. Coming from an under-privileged, under-represented minority group it feels very empowering and qLegal have now given me the confidence to move forward.’