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2008 News Articles › NC LEAP Officially Enters Eastern N.C.
NC LEAP Officially Enters Eastern N.C.
Article Date: Monday, February 04, 2008
Written By: Russell Rawlings
Formal announcement of NC LEAP's expansion into 21 eastern North
Carolina counties transpired Jan. 28 at the Edgecombe County
Business Industrial Incubator in Battleboro.
NC LEAP dignitaries, front from left, Jeffrey Batts, Milan Pham,
Merland Wright and Joyce Dickens; back row, Patrick Johnson,
Lorenzo Carmon and Lamont Wiggins. |
The North Carolina Lawyers for Entrepreneurs Assistance Program
(NC LEAP), a project of the North Carolina Bar Association and the
NCBA Foundation, provides free legal services to income-eligible,
low-wealth business owners.
Rocky Mount Mayor Pro Tem Lamont Wiggins, a member of the NCBA,
provided welcoming remarks. Official remarks were also provided by
Lorenzo Carmon, county manager for Edgecombe County; Merland
Wright, ECBII manager; and Joyce Dickens, director of the Rocky
Mount/Edgecombe Community Development Corp.
Raleigh attorney Patrick Johnson, chair of NC LEAP, and Director
Milan Pham spoke on behalf of the NCBA endeavor. Pham concluded the
program by recognizing Wright and the ECBII for its support of the
project, and Jeffrey Batts of Batts, Batts and Bell, LLP, which
spearheaded the effort to bring NC LEAP to this area.
Batts cited attorneys Wendy Wilson and Tracy Smith for their
leadership roles on behalf of the firm.
Special recognition was extended to lawyers from the firm of
Batts, Batts and Bell: from left, Wendy Wilson, Jeffrey Batts and
Tracy Smith. |
Later in the day, the business of assisting low-wealth
entrepreneurs got under way with 14 clients utilizing the services
of eight volunteer attorneys. David Clapsadl, David Green, David
Boyles, William Etheridge, William Solomon Jr. and Kim Bayliss
provided pro bono legal assistance, as did the aforementioned
Wilson and Smith.
Counties comprising the new NC LEAP service area are: Beaufort,
Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Edgecombe, Gates, Greene,
Halifax, Hertford, Hyde, Martin, Nash, Northampton, Pitt,
Pasquotank, Perquimans, Tyrell, Washington and Wilson.
With the announcement of NC LEAP's expansion, this signature
project of the NCBA's Business Law and Corporate Counsel sections
is making significant progress toward its commitment to community
growth and development in all 100 N.C. counties over the next six
months.
Additional information on NC LEAP is readily available through
the NCBA Web site, http://www.ncbar.org/, or by
contacting Milan Pham, Director of NC LEAP (919-677-0561,
1-800-662-7407); mpham@ncbar.org