The law firm of Baker Donelson is partnering with East Tennessee State University's Innovation Laboratory and the Northeast Tennessee Valley Regional Industrial Development Association to recruit international companies to the area and provide market entry assistance.
ETSU's Innovation Laboratory, a full service small business incubator, offers an array of business services for foreign firms entering the U.S. market. The Global Business Team of Baker Donelson provides ETSU's Innovation Laboratory with inbound legal services such as corporate formation, acquisitions, trade compliance, real estate and economic development, immigration, intellectual property, international arbitration and dispute resolution, government contracts, federal public policy, labor and employment and construction.
"Through this partnership, attorneys in Baker Donelson's Global Business Team and our Emerging Companies Group work with ETSU's Innovation Lab to help global high-growth companies enter the U.S. market and hopefully put down roots in Tennessee, creating jobs in the region," said John M. Scannapieco, co-chair of Baker Donelson's Global Business Team and a shareholder in the firm's Nashville office.
The ETSU Innovation Laboratory has been awarded the National Business Incubation Association Soft Landings International Incubator designation. Through its Soft Landings program, NBIA recognizes business incubators that are capable of assisting foreign companies as they enter the incubator's domestic market. Innovation Lab is one of only 26 business incubators worldwide that currently holds the designation. NBIA, which began the Soft Landings program in 2005, is the world's leading organization advancing business incubation and entrepreneurship.
"Our International Soft Landings Program is the collaborative partnership between ETSU and our extensive list of stakeholders, including Baker Donelson," said Dr. Audrey Depelteau, director of the ETSU Innovation Lab. "Baker Donelson's ability to provide services to global companies that enter the Soft Landings program was an important element in our receiving this designation and will contribute significantly to the program's success."