About

Professor Fermín Miguel Méndez is the founding director of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign College of Law’s first transactional law clinic, the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Clinic. He is a corporate law and securities law expert whose practice experience spans startups, venture capital, technology, and mergers & acquisitions. His research focuses on various aspects of securities law, including democratizing startup investments, creating equitable access to capital, and increasing economic participation of excluded persons.

Prior to joining the College of Law, Professor Méndez directed the Community Economic Development Clinic at Albany Law School, and he co-taught the Entrepreneurship Clinic at the University of Michigan Law School. At Albany Law School, he built the technology, intellectual property, financing, and wealth generation practice areas from the ground up, and became the preferred referral partner for local university tech transfer offices. He also served as an attorney at Varnum LLP and Clark Hill PLC, where he counseled clients across the corporate lifecycle, including budding entrepreneurs, seed-stage and venture-backed companies, and private equity buyers. Professor Méndez regularly advises companies and entrepreneurs on employee onboarding, intellectual property strategy, intellectual property licensing and commercialization, securities offerings, and other core business matters. While at Varnum LLP, he functioned as both a service provider and brand ambassador for the firm’s startup/economic development initiative.

Professor Méndez earned his JD from the University of Michigan Law School in 2015. He served as an articles editor of the Michigan Telecommunications and Technology Law Review and a student attorney in the Entrepreneurship Clinic for three semesters. Professor Méndez also earned his AB from Harvard University in 2011 (the comparative study of religion with a focus on interreligious dialogue, Roman Catholicism, and Buddhism), and he wrestled for Harvard’s D1 Varsity Wrestling Team. During his years in Albany, Professor Méndez served as a board member of the Community Loan Fund of the Capital Region and regularly judged local business competitions. Additionally, he works with various stakeholders across the national wrestling community to increase equitable access to the sport for women, girls, and communities of color.

Education

JD, University of Michigan Law School
AB, Harvard University

Corporate Law
Securities Law
Venture Capital
Startups
Regulation Crowdfunding
Entrepreneurship
Licensing
Nonprofit Law
Clinical Teaching

Innovation & Entrepreneurship Clinic