ABA Section of Business Law

The past 20 years have seen substantial growth in law schools' involvement in pro bono work. More recent than that, law schools have begun to see the benefits of offering nonlitigation pro bono work to students and partnering with area volunteer lawyers. These efforts have paralleled the tremendous growth in nonlitigation pro bono work generally, some of which has been showcased in this column. One example comes from Oregon.

On Aug. 28, 2006, Portland's Lewis & Clark Law School opened its Small Business Legal Clinic. The clinic was made possible through the joint efforts of members of Portland's political, business and legal communities. The clinic offers local business lawyers and business law students the opportunity to provide pro bono services to Portland small business owners in need of low-cost or free legal services.

Lewis & Clark Assistant Dean Lisa LeSage organized the clinic. She first conducted a Portland-area legal needs assessment. Area small businesses were not receiving the low-cost or free legal assistance they needed, and no such assistance was available in neighborhoods in which the businesses were located.

LeSage drew up plans for a clinic that would serve small business clients in distressed areas who could not afford legal help. Her proposal contemplated local volunteer business lawyers meeting with clients at the clinic, then partnering with Lewis & Clark Law School students to provide pro bono services. Law student volunteers would be available to the volunteer lawyers through the law school's pro bono program.

LeSage secured generous funding commitments from Portland-area law firms, banks, business organizations as well as the city of Portland. In addition, the Portland Development Corp. offered office space in Portland's Pearl District — a developing area — at no charge.

LeSage also sought the support of the Oregon State Bar (OSB). She requested and received OSB pro bono certification for the clinic. As a result, Oregon-licensed lawyers volunteering at the clinic receive OSB Professional Liability Fund coverage free of charge for their clinic activities, and lawyers with active emeritus or active pro bono status may count their clinic volunteer hours toward eligibility for an exemption from OSB MCLE requirements.

Although some students are enrolled in the clinic for credit, others participate as volunteers. Volunteer students either commit to work in the clinic a certain number of hours per semester or assist volunteer lawyers with discrete, clinic-related projects as they arise.

Working with clients and volunteer lawyers, students have the opportunity to practice and improve their client interviewing, counseling and advocacy skills as well as their legal research, writing and drafting. Students performing 30 or more hours of pro bono service during their law school career receive pro bono honors for their clinic and other work. Their law school transcripts bear recognition of this honor, and the students are recognized at graduation for their contributions.

The clinic began accepting clients in August, but held a ribbon-cutting ceremony in October. Clinic clients are referred by local small business assistance centers and generally must satisfy clinic financial requirements. Start-up clients must come to the clinic with a prepared business plan. Clinic clients include business enterprises owned by minorities, women, Native Americans and immigrants.

LeSage serves as the clinic director and Maggie Finnerty, an experienced corporate finance lawyer, serves as clinical law professor. Thanks to LeSage's efforts and the support of Portland's legal, political and business communities, Portland business lawyers and Lewis & Clark business-law students have a rich opportunity to volunteer their time and talents to small business owners in need of help.