Interview with Zoe Hunton, Social Enterprise & Nonprofit Law Attorney [AUDIO]

Attorney Zoe Hunton, shares something in common with many of her social entrepreneur clients. Not only is she their attorney, but she is a fellow entrepreneur as well. It wasn’t always that way, after completing her undergraduate studies at Brown, attending law school at University of California, Davis, and clearing the California bar exam, Zoe took the fairly-traveled path of accepting a role at a law firm.However, after a persistent sense that her job didn’t mirror her core values, she took a detour.

Meet Zoe Hunton

Zoe left the firm and started her own solo practice, Hunton Law,  specifically focused on social enterprise and nonprofit law.

photo adapted from Full Circle Fund image
here: goo.gl/UQ86a2

It was a bold decision for a newly-minted attorney to devote her practice to a still-emerging space. In doing so, she has had to adopt the mindset of an impact-minded entrepreneur—in addition to understanding their legal needs.

With a renewed sense of purpose and alignment with her personal values, she is not only making her decision work—but is also contributing to creating an ecosystem within the social enterprise law space through her efforts outside of her practice.

In 2012, Zoe and Natalia Thurston (audio interview here) launched the Impact Law Forum (ILF) in the SF Bay area.

Innov8Social has covered interesting ILF events in the past including a brainstorming session at StartX led by the founders of LawGives, and a talk on human-centered design in law by the General Counsel of IDEO.org.

Listen to Zoe’s Interview

Innov8social had a chance to catch up with Zoe to ask her about her experience being a solo practice attorney and the (nonlinear) path that led her to the space. The interview explores trends that Zoe has noticed with the various company formation options social enterprises have in California and her advice for legal professionals and law students looking for a spot at the social enterprise table.