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Public: Recent News

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.

Special recognition was extended to lawyers from the firm of Batts, Batts and Bell: from left, Wendy Wilson, Jeffrey Batts and Tracy Smith.

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.

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, www.ncbar.org, or by contacting Milan Pham, Director of NC LEAP (919-677-0561, 1-800-662-7407); mpham@ncbar.org