Carl Gulbrandsen '81, a longtime University of Wisconsin–Madison leader who was instrumental in creating UW Law School's Law & Entrepreneurship Clinic, passed away Monday, Oct. 17.

Gulbrandsen, 75, worked for two decades for the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), the University’s independent licensing and patenting arm; he served as managing director from 2000 until his retirement in 2016.

Gulbrandsen initiated the idea of the Law & Entrepreneurship Clinic to promote WARF's goal of developing businesses and technology from research done on campus, as well as foster entrepreneurship in the community, according to a fall 2011 Gargoyle story.

“As someone who's taught many business law courses and realizes the limitations of classroom teaching in giving students hands-on experience, I’m particularly thrilled that students can have this opportunity with the Clinic to integrate their classroom experiences with the opportunity to work with real clients,” said Dean Kenneth B. Davis of the 2010 commitment.  

The Law & Entrepreneurship Clinic provides free legal services to about 300 nascent entrepreneurs and early-stage companies each year through the work of law students supervised by faculty and private sector attorneys.

Gulbrandsen also delivered the 2006 Robert W. Kastenmeier Series lecture, "The Law in Action: What the Bayh-Dole Act Means to the University of Wisconsin and the State of Wisconsin, and to an Effective National Science Policy."

Submitted by Law School News on October 20, 2022

This article appears in the categories: Alumni, Features