The Drake Legal Clinic offers Drake University Law students the opportunity to apply their legal education and represent real clients in a first-class clinical setting. The clinic, which opened its doors more than 30 years ago, continually looks for ways to expand its programs to benefit Drake students and the Des Moines community.
Most recently the program added the Transactional and Nonprofits Clinic, providing comprehensive legal services to entrepreneurs who intend to start or who already operate a nonprofit organization.
“The Transactional and Nonprofits Clinic is a great addition to our clinical program because it gives students interested in a non-litigation practice an opportunity to gain real world experience,” says Allan Vestal, dean of the Law School.
The Law School hired Des Moines attorney Chip Lowe to lead the clinic. Lowe is a former attorney for Howe, Cunningham, Lowe & Kelso, P.L.C. His legal experience spans more than 30 years and his practice includes working with companies to solve business-related problems, business organizations and transactions, sale transactions, and business disputes. He has represented business clients in both state and federal courts to protect their rights arising from commercial transactions, partnerships, and contract law.
“We are very pleased that Chip has joined us. He will bring a practical, practice-oriented approach to this new experiential program,” says Vestal.
Lowe is looking forward to providing guidance to Drake Law students and nonprofits in need of legal advice.
“We design the legal framework, so nonprofits have a legal structure to operate under and can carry out their business affairs,” says Lowe.
He hopes the clinic’s services will help nonprofits better understand the law and how to comply with the often complicated legal regulations.
“The transactional and nonprofits clinic is another example of how Drake Law is providing its students hands-on experience,” says Lowe. “Other institutions are just now catching on to the benefits of experiential learning, and we’ve been doing it for years at Drake. Through the Transactional and Nonprofit Clinic, students represent organizations concerning a variety of legal issues. Student attorneys analyze and solve clients’ legal matters—in short, they actually practice the law and gain valuable experience in the process.”