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Public: Recent News

Patrick Johnson cuts the ribbon, joined from left by Clark Smith, Milan Pham, Mark Davidson and Sam Funchess.

GREENSBORO – NC LEAP got off to a rousing start Monday morning, thanks in part to an excellent turnout among community partners and bar volunteers but perhaps more so to a resounding response from the low-wealth entrepreneurs for whom the program was designed.

The need, undoubtedly, was there, and now, so too, is the North Carolina Lawyers for Entrepreneurs Assistance Program. Following formal ribbon-cutting ceremonies at the Nussbaum Center for Entrepreneurship, volunteer attorneys began providing pro bono legal audits to small business owners.

Every slot on the consultation schedule was utilized, a rewarding response for all who have endeavored over the past four years to bring NC LEAP to fruition.

NC LEAP is a project of the NCBA and the NCBA Foundation, spearheaded initially by the Business Law Section and joined in its formative stages by the Corporate Counsel Section.

Patrick Johnson, chair of the NC LEAP Steering Committee, had the honor of cutting the ceremonial ribbon. He was joined on the program by Mark Davidson, chair of the Business Law Section; Sam Funchess, CEO of the Nussbaum Center, which has signed on as a community partner; NC LEAP Director Milan Pham; and NCBA President Clark Smith.

“The enthusiastic response to our first services in this nine-county region speaks clearly to the need and importance of this program for entrepreneurs of limited means,” said Pham, “but it speaks more deeply to the commitment, leadership and foresight of the attorneys responsible for creating the program and providing the hundreds of hours of work towards its beginning.

“The beauty of NC LEAP is that it provides necessary help to people committed to helping themselves, their families and their communities and the program is helping to build North Carolina's economy one business at a time. For the attorneys involved, it demonstrates well the Winston Churchill truism, which they well know: We make a living by what we get, but we make life by what we give.”

Among those individuals credited Monday for their efforts in making NC LEAP a reality was Charlotte attorney Marion Cowell who played the lead role in raising over $300,000 in start-up funding commitments.

In addition, more than 2,800 pro bono hours have already been committed by North Carolina attorneys, including Nickolas Bakatsias, Michael Drye, Murray Greason, Andy Haile, Kip Johnson, Patrick Johnson, David Sar, Mark Davidson and Craig Taylor who conducted the initial NC LEAP consultations Monday afternoon.

Following the regional rollout of the statewide pro bono business and transactional law program for low-wealth, small business owners, NC LEAP will accept clients who have existing businesses or who plan to open businesses in Alamance, Caswell, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Guilford, Randolph, Rockingham and Stokes counties.

Additional regions and the counties contained therein will be served through subsequent NC LEAP rollouts across the state.

Approximately 40 individuals representing law firms, law schools and seven community partner organizations attended the ceremony. Twenty-one entrepreneurs received consultation from NC LEAP volunteers and an additional eight small business owners called NC LEAP to request appointments. Those eight entrepreneurs who were not able to be seen during the scheduled legal clinic were encouraged to fill out an NC LEAP application to be matched with a pro bono attorney.

Of the small businesses that received consultation from NC LEAP attorneys, 62% were owned by women or people of color and their household incomes ranged from $11,316 for a single person household to just under $45,000 for one entrepreneur with an eight-member household. Those businesses hailed Alamance, Guilford, Forsyth, Davie and Rockingham counties.

Clients must apply for NC LEAP services and must meet the income and asset guidelines. While the legal services will be delivered free of cost, clients will need to pay the cost of any filing fees or administrative costs associated with their legal issue.  Individuals must make no more than 80% of the state median income for a family of their size and must generally have less than $8,000 in savings.

Establishment of NC LEAP is built upon the belief that entrepreneurship is a key to North Carolina’s economic future because traditional North Carolina businesses are declining as the state grows. In addition, despite the state’s anticipated growth, rural areas of the state continue to have high concentrations of poverty.

Thus, entrepreneurship may indeed be the key to North Carolina’s continued economic growth and to assisting individuals or families in improving their economic reality.  North Carolina’s economy is changing. As more and more traditional North Carolina businesses down-size or close, the employment base in many rural counties has been decimated.

Additional information on NC LEAP is readily available under the Featured Items section on the homepage of the NCBA Web site, www.ncbar.org. Background information is also available via the document attached to electronic distribution of this release. Questions may also be directed Milan Pham, Director of NC LEAP (919-657-1559); mpham@ncbar.org