Law & Entrepreneurship Position at Pitt

The following position was posted the other day at PittSource, the employment site for the University of Pittsburgh:

Title:  Law and Entrepreneurship Program Director

The position ID is 0109293.  The position description is this:

The University of Pittsburgh School of Law seeks an individual to direct a program in Law and Entrepreneurship at the School, currently titled "the Innovation Practice Institute." The Program, which seeks to train law students to work effectively with entrepreneurs and early-stage businesses, includes both academic and nonacademic components.


Reporting to the Dean of the School, the individual will develop and manage relationships and partnerships within the Pittsburgh entrepreneurship community, the practicing bar, funders and local university communities. The Executive Director will work with a Faculty Director of the Program and with additional faculty at the School of Law and the Dean to develop the academic component of the Program, which is anticipated to include both classroom instruction elements and clinical or quasi-clinical learning elements permitting law students to work hands-on with start-up ventures under attorney or faculty supervision, as well as scholarly and other programming to connect the work of law students and faculty with communities devoted to the study of entrepreneurship, innovation, and economic development in Pittsburgh and beyond. The opportunity also exists for the Executive Director, working with the Faculty Director, to develop cross-disciplinary learning opportunities with other schools within the University as well as with other local Universities.

The potential exists for the incumbent to actively teach a portion of the developed classroom, clinical or quasi-clinical learning elements of the program. As part of the non-academic component of the Program, the Executive Director will (i) plan and coordinate one or more events or public programs annually relating to Law and Entrepreneurship (ii) in coordination with development staff, determine and develop opportunities for future funding, and prepare proposals for funding to support the long-term viability of the Program; (iii) serve as the advisor to the student entrepreneurship group; (iv) serve as the liason to other entrepreneurship programs at the University of Pittsburgh and other local universities; and (v) create opportunities for students to interact with local entrepreneurs.

For this position, the School of Law seeks an individual with a J.D. and at least 2-5 years experience practicing law in the areas of technology commercialization, corporate law, corporate finance, and/or advising start-ups. The individual will demonstrate initiative, creativity, entrepreneurial thinking, administrative skills, and a vision of the roles that law and entrepreneurship programming can play in preparing law students to practice and in supporting regional economic growth. The individual must both be able to work independently with little supervision and be able to deal effectively with a wide range of persons, including entrepreneurs, attorneys, students, and faculty. This position is currently funded for a one-year period beginning on the date of hire. Deadline for applications is November 1, 2010.

The "Faculty Director" to which the description refers is me.  I would be happy to answer questions about the Innovation Practice Institute, or IPI (the current website is here), and its future.  Email is usually best.