Birmingham law firm offering free legal advice to small Black-owned businesses

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) – Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP (Bradley) partnered with Legal Services Alabama to offer accessible and affordable business-oriented legal services to local Black small businesses and nonprofits throughout Birmingham.

“For people who are thinking about creating a business or who have establish businesses and just have some help that they may need it to consult with attorneys on,” Pro bono counsel with Bradley Tiffany Graves said. 

Graves said The Birmingham Black Small Business and Nonprofit Community Clinic will consist of a series of hour long consultations throughout 2022 to help with a multitude of legal topics.

The Birmingham clinic is modeled after Bradley’s highly successful Black-owned Small Business and Nonprofit Clinic in Nashville that opened in January 2021.

“[For example] Look at documents… can you get these contracts that we put together to make sure that they are correct? Or, we are about to enter into a lease  and we would appreciate for someone to look at this lease and let us know if it’s a good idea,” Graves explained. Should you setup your business up as an LLC or S Corp.? They can answer questions like that as well, Graves said, and help you get started.

“Just having someone to talk about your ideas with and get some input and feedback from a legal standpoint can be crucial, ” she said.

Graves said the program is specifically targeting Black owned businesses to help break down barriers and keep more Black businesses open. “Black businesses statistically fail within the first few years of being formed. The idea behind this clinic is to provide support,” Graves said.  “We recognize the historic and systemic racial inequities that have made it challenging for the Black business community to thrive in Birmingham,” said Bradley Birmingham Office Managing Partner Dawn Helms Sharff. “Our partnership with LSA is an opportunity for Bradley to join the cause for racial equity and to make a lasting impact in the local community.”

The Birmingham Black Small Business and Nonprofit Community Clinic opens virtually on Friday, April 29 from noon to 1 p.m. and is by appointment only. Succeeding clinics will be offered on the fourth Thursday of each month through December 22. Appointments are initially virtual, with plans to transition to in-person operations in the coming months.

To sign up, you can click here.

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