In his latest video message to campus, UND President Andrew Armacost is joined by Paul Traynor, assistant professor of Law.

Traynor talks about the development and mission of UND’s new Business & Non-Profit Law Clinic. In partnership with the Center for Innovation, the clinic provides free legal assistance to small businesses, entrepreneurs and nonprofits that can’t afford legal services.

The work of the clinic is performed by second- and third-year law students under the supervision of licensed attorneys, such as Traynor. In addition, students earn experiential credits for their services to the business community.

Armacost and Traynor discuss how the new clinic helps to foster start-up businesses and nonprofits that in turn are likely to have ties to UND and grow to strengthen the local and regional tax base.

A faculty member for the past six years, Traynor is a UND graduate, first studying history and Latin before enrolling in the School of Law. He remarks that he’s one of several members of his extended family who graduated from UND’s School of Law.

An expert in many matters of business law, Traynor is also the author of the third edition of “Insurance Law and Practice: Cases, Materials and Exercises,” which UND students are now using in their coursework. Traynor is also a classically trained cellist and an on-call musician for the Greater Grand Forks Symphony Orchestra.