Start Smart is a series of legal education seminars for entrepreneurs.  It is year-round, free, and open to the public.  It is hosted by the University of Pittsburgh Law School,  CMU Project Olympus, and Pitt's Big Idea Center for Student Innovation.
 

START SMART LAW: How to Start a Business on an F-1 Student Visa

Thursday, February 25, 2021

5 P.M., Zoom

Students with an F-1 Visa can legally start businesses as well as work on a startup team. Come learn the details of how to do this without violating your student status. (In the past we have also talked about other visas, including H1B).

Panelists: 

David Kalson, Dentons Cohen & Grigsby, Director of the Emerging Business Group

Larry Lebowitz, Dentons Cohen & Grigsby, Director of the Immigration Group

Linda Gentile, CMU, Director, Office of International Education.

START SMART LAW: Accelerating Growth Through Third Party Relationships/Contracts

Thursday, March 4, 2021

5 P.M., Zoom

Topics covered in this seminar include:

- What are strategic relationships?
- Why enter into strategic relationships?
- General framework and common issues
- Closer look at certain strategic relationships

Presenter: David Lehman, K&L Gates

START SMART LAW: Hiring and Firing

Thursday, March 25, 2021

5 P.M., Zoom

Learn the ins and outs of staffing a company, including: hiring of employees and/or retaining independent contractors, interns and volunteers, important terms of employment or retention, restrictive covenants, and the use of employee equity to attract and retain personnel.

Presenter: Mike Pavlik, K&L Gates

START SMART LAW:  HOW TO HANDLE YOUR (AND OTHERS') INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Thursday, April 1, 2021

5 P.M., Zoom

Learn how to deal with intellectual property issues, including:               

- What are copyright, patents, trademarks, and trade secrets 

- Developing an IP strategy (e.g., which type of IP protection is best for your startup?)

- How to protect your company's IP

- How not to infringe on another's IP

- How to handle IP created by class projects when one or more students want to pursue commercialization

- How to handle IP created by your employees, including non-compete clauses

- What to expect after filing a patent (time and expenses)

- Tips on searching the US Patent Office database

Presenters: George Dickos and Lauren Murray, K&L Gates. 

 START SMART LAW: Worst Mistakes Made by Startups

Thursday, April 8, 2021

5 P.M., Zoom

A panel of lawyers will share the ‘horror stories’ of mistakes that startups have made and their consequences. Learn from the mistakes of others so you can avoid the pitfalls.

Potential Panelists

John Rodney – Clark Hill

Mary Beth Shaw – CMU

Deborah Walker – IW

David Kalson – Cohen & Grigsby

Heather Batzel – Batzel Law