Impact

Sustaining Communities Through Small Business

Penn State Law’s Entrepreneur Assistance Clinic is improving Pennsylvania’s economic vitality by helping small businesses and entrepreneurs.

The Penn State Law Entrepreneur Assistance Clinic allows students to represent entrepreneurs, startups and nonprofit organizations in a setting similar to a small law firm. Under the direction of Professor of Practice Tom Sharbaugh, students provide legal services to the clinic’s clients in much the same manner as practicing lawyers. Credit: Michelle Bixby / Penn State. Creative Commons

For post-industrial towns throughout Pennsylvania, the departure of major manufacturing companies brought with it a host of challenges. Yet, for many, it has also created a new opportunity — the growth of small businesses and startups.

The hope these businesses bring has been a driving force for Tom Sharbaugh, professor of practice in Penn State Law and director of the University’s Entrepreneur Assistance Clinic, which provides free legal resources to small business owners and entrepreneurs around Pennsylvania.

READ MORE about Sharbaugh's work and the impact of the Entrepreneur Assistance Clinic at impact.psu.edu.

Last Updated May 21, 2019