Institute for Justice Clinic on Entrepreneurship—Significant Achievements for 2024-25

The Institute for Justice Clinic on Entrepreneurship (IJ Clinic) provides free legal assistance, support and advocacy for low-income entrepreneurs in Chicago. The IJ Clinic also trains the next generation of attorneys from the University of Chicago Law School to be vigorous and creative advocates for entrepreneurs. Elizabeth Kregor, Lecturer in Law, is the Director of The IJ Clinic. Below are the Clinic's significant achievements for 2024-25.

The IJ Clinic continued to be a lifeline for legal support and an active advocate for small businesses in Chicago in 2024-25 through our meaningful representation of low-income entrepreneurs, advocacy for economic liberty, and outreach to small businesses throughout the city. Particularly in the South and West Sides of Chicago, entrepreneurs and small business owners struggle to navigate the changing economic and regulatory landscape in both Chicago and the State of Illinois. IJ Clinic students and attorneys were able to provide invaluable guidance to clients and lawmakers so that the small businesses that are key to our economic future can survive and even flourish.

IJ Clinic Clients

Underserved Chicago Entrepreneurs

The IJ Clinic is delighted to work with Chicago entrepreneurs looking to transform their companies and communities. In our role as outside general counsel for a select group of client businesses founded by low-income entrepreneurs, we forge long-term relationships and are uniquely situated to gain insights into the business objectives and operations of clients. In 2024 we bid farewell to a few clients who graduated, and in 2025 welcomed six new clients with student participation in reviewing prospective client applications, interviewing candidates, selecting and onboarding them as clients. 

Our clients feature businesses across various industries and neighborhoods:

• a co-op grocery store in the formation stage aiming to provide a comprehensive, sustainable, community-based solution addressing food insecurity in an area designated as a food desert by the USDA on Chicago’s South Side.
• a maker of wine and mead using locally produced ingredients in a converted former industrial building near a forest preserve and bike path on the Far South Side of Chicago with a tasting room, patio, and production facility.
• a family run restaurant with multiple South Side locations, formerly in a caboose 20 years ago, it currently has brick & mortar restaurants in Greater Grand Crossing and the South Loop, and a food truck.
• a marketplace of local entrepreneurs with innovative businesses operating and selling from repurposed shipping containers.
• a designer sneaker and handbag company founded by a man who learned his craft in a prison workshop and determined to build a company around his talents when he came home.
• an urban agriculture business educating students from grade school to high school and the public about growing food in the city with regenerative farming practices.
• a solopreneur who manufactures and sells frozen treats and baked desserts through street vending and outdoor events.
• a business that manufactures gourmet egg rolls and provides coaching and consulting for smaller food manufacturing companies.
• a father and son operated business that delivers exceptional tree care on the Southwest Side.
• a business that provides mobile dance and fitness services to nonprofits, after school programs, and local businesses.
• a solopreneur that manufactures handmade soaps and salves.
• a vinyl record store with plans to evolve to offer on-site music experiences with innovative interactive technology and plans to develop neighboring vacant properties to better their neighborhood.

IJ Clinic Transactional Projects

The IJ Clinic advises on a wide array of transactional and regulatory issues including entity structures, finance, real estate, employment, IP strategy and protection, business licenses, zoning matters, regulatory compliance, and customer- and vendor-facing contracts. Students benefit from frequent client interactions, leading meetings, scoping out projects and delivering results. In addition to researching legal issues, students develop communication and organizational skills, including how to deliver creative solutions and sometimes unwelcome news. By providing free general counsel to our clients, they help clients transform their companies and communities. Details of our engagement with and representation of our clients are confidential, of course. But here is a sampling of some of the major projects students worked on for clients in the past year: 

• Drafted a term sheet for production of a cross-licensed product.
• Researched how state cooperative laws, federal and state securities laws, and federal tax laws interact in order to draft a cooperative’s bylaws and policies.
• Drafted bylaws for an unusual entity in compliance with state law, securities law, and federal tax provisions and presented to a meeting of business owners to guide their votes on this governance structure.
• Rewrote the operating agreement for a family-owned LLC.
• Advised on the intersection of the First Amendment and the right of publicity.
• Registered a trademark for a catchy slogan used by a client.
• Negotiated a complex agreement for a restaurant space.
• Advised retail business on city licensing for adding a beverage service offering.
• Shaped a client’s negotiation for renting commercial space and drafted the LOI.
• Advised clients on terminating employees who broke company policy.
• Drafted and assembled materials for an extensive zoning variation application to the Zoning Board of Appeals.
• Closed on the acquisition of seven vacant lots to transform this space adjacent to the client’s retail operation into an openair event space.
• Support efforts of a client to identify a city-owned vacant lot for an urban farm that will satisfy community needs and grant requirements.
• Researched the effects of fluctuating tariff negotiations on a client’s supply chain
• Advised on international manufacturing arrangements and drafted contracts with offshore producers.
• Applied for and successfully obtained key trademarks for clients, overcoming questions raised by the USPTO about potentially conflicting marks.
• Counseled a client on the decision to terminate a major contract and negotiated a favorable termination.
• Advised on service contracts connected to a ribbon cutting event for a newly renovated retail space to welcome the community and public officials to celebrate success to date.
• Guided a client how to set up and utilize an advisory board.
• Draft brand ambassador agreement for student interns to support growth of a smart vending machine offering of hair and beauty products.

For multiple start-up clients, we:

• Reviewed organizational documents and counseled on entity governance compliance, board duties, and elections.
• Counseled clients on entity formation and proposed restructurings taking into account tax implications.
• Recommended best practices on employment and independent contractor arrangements.
• Researched and advised on compliance with various federal regulations, including FDA and FTC guidance for product marketing.
• Reviewed complex rules for complying with various grants including the Neighborhood Opportunity Fund and Chicago Recovery Grant to support clients in successfully complying with grant terms and receiving critical grant funds.
• Advised on compliance with Chicago regulations for retail businesses.
• Analyzed strategy for trademark protection, in view of competitors’ similar marks.
• Created master forms of contracts for clients to use with customers and vendors.

IJ Clinic Client Testimonial

As one of our clients expressed to our student team this summer, “It’s moments like this that make me proud of being part of what IJ does for students. You are going hard into the research about what might happen legally. You go hard for me and treat me like Adidas. It’s the white glove treatment. I love it!”

IJ Clinic Regulatory and Policy Projects

The IJ Clinic continues to act as a watchdog, advocating for legislative and policy reforms to dismantle excessive regulatory barriers that keep entrepreneurs from making their dreams a reality.

In the academic year 2024-25, the IJ Clinic researched, analyzed, strategized, and advocated for policy reforms at both the state and city levels, including these key regulatory and policy projects:

• Led the CLIMB task force (Comprehensive Licensing Information to Minimize Barriers): drafted the report’s content, layout, and recommendations; combined statistical analysis with personal narratives to illustrate how occupational licensing burdens low- and moderate-income workers.
• Leveraged the CLIMB report in Springfield to support a record-breaking package of four bills—hair braiding licensing reform, second-chance licensing, sunrise review, and apprenticeships—securing sponsors and building key alliances even as each bill ultimately stalled, yielding critical insights for future sessions.
• Conducted grassroots outreach to hair braiders and small-business owners: organized in-person listening sessions (including bake-shop meetups), promoted “Freedom Hair” screenings with star Melony Armstrong, and gathered firsthand stories to inform policy strategies and cultivate community advocates.
• Blocked a protectionist Chicago zoning proposal that would have prohibited beauty-supply stores within 1,500 feet of salons: mounted a full-court press in the Zoning Committee, influenced City Council floor debates, and secured withdrawal of the ordinance.
• Campaigned to improve window-sign regulations: developed deep code analyses, compelling visual aids, and sympathetic storytelling to push back against a city sponsored ordinance that limits window signs to 25 percent coverage (initially proposed as a per window restriction)—while preparing a media strategy to highlight small-business impacts.
• Monitored implementation of the Mayor’s “Cut the Tape” report and tracked progress on zoning reform, reductions to burdensome fines and fees, vacant-property processes, and Public Place of Amusement licensing, laying the groundwork for future city-level reforms.
• Advised on reforming rules for food vendors on Chicago sidewalks: Drawing on our longstanding expertise to consult with vendors and city officials about ways to expand the possibilities for food cart vendors in Chicago while addressing food safety.
• In addition, the IJ Clinic is leading continuing efforts to root out inequities in occupational licensing across Illinois. Through CLIMB, we are working to ensure the General Assembly is fully informed of the unintentional burdens imposed by current licensing regimes—and to draft and advocate for future legislation that expands economic liberty for low- and moderate-income entrepreneurs.

Community Outreach and Big Stage for South Side Entrepreneurs

The IJ Clinic provides educational seminars and community events aimed at offering entrepreneurs practical advice on starting and growing a business, with a healthy dose of inspiration along the way. 

South Side Pitch

The IJ Clinic continues to shine a spotlight on innovation and inspiration from Chicago’s South Side entrepreneurs. South Side Pitch is a pitch competition for smaller South Side based businesses that culminates in the finalists facing off before a panel of prominent judges, Shark Tank style. In 2024, we held the final stage of competition at the Polsky Exchange North Center with a live audience of over 120 attendees. Cofounders, Amanda Moutrage, Astin Hayes, and Rendel Solomon of InHeirit, Inc., through their unique pitch and venture, won First Place and went home with $14,000. Second Place went to Marquinn Gibson of 7323 Chicago Cafe, who also took home the Community Favorite Award, and the Rustandy Center Social Impact Award totaling more than $12,500. In this eleventh annual event, we reviewed more than 97 applications, and we introduced thousands of Chicagoans to the twenty-five semi-finalists who posted video pitches and five finalists whose businesses contribute so much to their South Side neighborhoods. Often, South Side Pitch participants are prospective clients and allies for the IJ Clinic. We look for opportunities to further support their business visions and growth as lawyers or lobbyists for small business owners. 

Pitch Perfect

Pitch Perfect is a biannual opportunity for Chicagoland businesses of all stages to develop and hone the all-important business elevator pitch hosted in the Green Lounge. In June 2024, our first Pitch Perfect of the year was open to any Chicago area business. As one participant noted “Thank you so much for last week's Pitch Perfect event! I appreciated the opportunity to sharpen my pitch and I look forward to attending other Pitch Perfects in the future!” We also held another Pitch Perfects in August in the Green Lounge for South Side Pitch applicants. Overall, nearly 35 participants attended both Pitch Perfects. 

Workshops

Throughout the 2024-25 school year, the IJ Clinic has already hosted three workshops to the public at the Law School, one focused on trademark and intellectual property protection considerations for small businesses. The IJ Clinic collaborated again with 2022 South Side Pitch finalist CJ Harris of That’s So Creative, LLC to host the workshop “Make Your Website Work For You!” The IJ Clinic also hosted a roundtable with community leaders and local entrepreneurs who have encountered obstacles to obtaining city-owned vacant lots and who wish to reform the acquisition process. The group plans to reconvene to consider any progress made by the city which has announced initiatives to streamline certain city processes to help make sure vacant lots in disinvested communities are given back to those community members. 

Deepening Connections with IJ Clinic Alumni

We continued to deepen and extend our connections with our growing network of alumni. Thanks to alumna, Rachel Cohn, Class of 2016, we hosted our 25th Anniversary Celebration of the IJ Clinic at Skadden Arps LLP’s Chicago office and hosted more than 25 Chicago based alumni, former clients, and current clients. It was a wonderful opportunity to reflect with gratitude on our journey and our ongoing mission.

During the school year, IJ Clinic alumni were guest speakers in our seminar meetings. One spoke about her experience as a lawyer and advocate for businesses in the cannabis industry, and a pair of alumni shared their career paths before and into their roles as inhouse counsel in a sports team, a financial firm, and a food services business.

Reflections from IJ Clinic Students

While we are very proud of our achievements for our clients and community, we are also proud of all the aha moments when our students’ skills take a leap forward, when they make new connections between the classroom and the world, when they deliver difficult news, when they identify solutions to clients’ problems in a creative but practical way. Those moments of reflection and discovery are significant achievements too. Here is how some of our students described the experience:

“I always thought that small businesses were important to the local community, so I love that the IJ Clinic partners with these people who have dreams of creating a business in order to better their community.”