2L Kyle Geffon’s Career is Off to a ‘Fast Start’ Thanks to Startup Legal Garage

Kyle Geffon.

Through the Startup Legal Garage, second-year law student Kyle Geffon worked with clients specializing in AI and biotech and learned the skills to help startups navigate the challenges of launching a new company.

2L Kyle Geffon gained experience advising AI and biotech startups through UC Law SF’s Startup Legal Garage, developing key legal and business skills while navigating funding and risk assessment challenges.   

  • Through the Startup Legal Garage (SLG), Kyle Geffon gained exposure to the Bay Area startup ecosystem and worked with the founders of early-stage biotech and AI companies. 
  • He led client meetings weekly, prepared founders for a potential funding round, and worked on foundational business issues. 
  • UC Law SLG pairs students with a team of supervising attorneys and a startup client.  

2L Kyle Geffon:

The clients we work with in Startup Legal Garage are actual startups that are looking for legal help to get their company off the ground. It is great to help new founders pursue their passions and navigate the difficult process of starting a company. The startups I have worked with are led by great people who are striving to create useful products. 

We work with one client per semester. In the fall, I worked with a biotech startup, and I’m currently working with a startup in the AI space. I have been asked to perform a wide range of tasks, including forming a company’s legal entity, preparing clients for a potential Series A funding round, and agreements with third parties. There is pending litigation that may impact our current client, so we track those cases and provide them with updates.   

I grew up in the Bay Area, where the startup culture was a constant presence. It seemed so exciting to be involved in that field. Once I came to UC Law SF and discovered that I could be involved with startups from a legal perspective, I jumped at the opportunity. 

SLG has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of law school. I have learned a tremendous amount in a short period of time, and my confidence as a future attorney has grown because of the work we do in the program.    

Whether or not I pursue a career in this field, the skills I’ve learned are applicable to any kind of work. As a young attorney, it is unlikely you would lead a client meeting, but in SLG we do that on a weekly basis. I am very glad to have that head start.  

I have really enjoyed my time at UC Law SF, and I love the opportunity to live and work in San Francisco.  I learn so much from the founders we work with, and it is rewarding to be able to reciprocate that with my legal knowledge. Both of the startups I was paired with are great companies working to provide solutions to everyday problems people deal with. I feel very lucky to contribute to that mission.  

The Evidence of Success series highlights UC Law SF students as they share how the college’s opportunities equip them with the experience, skills, and confidence to excel in the legal profession.