NOTE: As of late 2022, L4GG’s COVID-19 Small Business Remote Legal Clinic has concluded.
Hundreds of thousands of small business owners, many of whom already operate on very narrow margins, are struggling with questions about how their businesses will survive the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only do these businesses provide necessary services in communities all over the country; they provide employment, job training, and other benefits. Their survival is essential to strong neighborhoods.
To support these small businesses, Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG) built a nationwide coalition of more than 150 law firms, corporate legal departments, and non-profit organizations.
Our clinics build economic resilience in local communities by providing critically needed legal advice regarding grants and loans, the stimulus bill, commercial landlord-tenant laws, and other questions to microbusinesses and nonprofits. In building the clinic, we streamlined the way that law firms and legal aid organizations serve businesses with their legal needs by providing a scalable platform able to serve thousands of entities across the country at the same time, remotely.
We launched the COVID-19 Legal Clinic in 11 regions (Alaska, Boston, Connecticut, Metro Detroit, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Washington). In each region, L4GG partners with local legal service organizations and provides law firms with resources and tools to manage the program. More than 1,500 attorneys from 150 law firms and corporations have signed up to provide pro bono services. During this time, we have completed more than 1,500 pro bono consultations for microbusiness owners and nonprofits, worth more than $1,000,000 in legal fees.
To date, 461 clients have provided us with feedback on their experience. On average, the answer to the question, “How helpful was the clinic?” is 9.2/10, and the answer to, “How likely are you to recommend the clinic to others?” is 9.4/10.
COVID-19 Small Business Remote Legal Clinic In the News
