Sound legal advice is essential for success in business and preventing costly troubles that can ruin an enterprise.  LegalCORPS assists low-income owners of small businesses with free, high-quality legal services.

LegalCORPS' knowledgeable legal volunteers lend a hand to low-income individuals as they start and grow their business in Minnesota.

Information on this page includes:

LegalCORPS' brief-advice legal clinics for small businesses
Full-representation assistance
Frequently asked questions
Others who can provide business advice
Requirements and Application form

 Legal issues facing a microenterprise include:

• What legal form it should operate under
• Duties owners owe to each other
• Managing liability risks
• Taxation
• Contracts, and deals with other businesses
• Employment policies
• Real estate leases, acquisition and taxes
• Intellectual property (trademark, copyright, licenses)
• Government regulations
• Mergers and joint ventures
  

Brief Legal Advice

LegalCORPS volunteer lawyers provide brief, no-charge consultations (up to 30 minutes) to owners of small businesses at regular clinics. Their locations and times:

• St. Paul: From 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. every Tuesday at the U.S. Small Business Administration's Business Planning Center at 2324 University Ave. W, Suite 112 of the Midtown Commons Building.  (No appointment necessary; sign up at site for 30-minute session.
• Minneapolis: From 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month, at the Small Business Center of the Minneapolis Central Library (300 Nicollet Mall, 2nd floor) (No appointment necessary; sign up at site for 30-minute session.)
• St. Cloud: From noon to 2 p.m. on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month at the Small Business Development Center, 616 Roosevelt Road, Suite 100.  To schedule a 30-minute session, call 320-308-4842 by the end of the work day the preceding Monday.
• Mankato: From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the 3rd Wednesday of each month at the Small Business Development Center -- located in the Technology Plus Center at 1961 Premier Drive in Mankato. To schedule a 30-minute session, call 507-389-8875 by the end of the work day the preceding Monday.  [Clinics start Oct. 15.] 
• Rochester: Beginning in 2009.  Check back for details.

NOTE: When you visit a drop-in clinic, before you can consult with a LegalCORPS volunteer lawyer, you will be required to fill out a form much like this.   Besides providing identifying information, you will need to sign the acknowledgement of the limits of the attorney-client relationship that the brief consultation will create.

If you are located far from any drop-in clinic site, you can call 1-888-454-5267 (toll-free) to request a brief consultation by phone with a LegalCORPS volunteer lawyer.  (Note: In this process, a lawyer would call you; no lawyers would be available for immediate consultation.)

Full-Representation Assistance

To receive assistance from LegalCORPS' volunteer attorneys for more than brief legal advice, the owner of a small business in Minnesota must meet low-income guidelines, have developed a business plan, and have acquired adequate capital and taken other steps indicating the enterprise has potential for success.   LegalCORPS works closely with other organizations that provide advice and other assistance to small businesses,  so we can direct those who do not yet qualify for our volunteer attorneys' services to helpful resources.

Business owners who meet LegalCORPS eligibility requirements (96 KB) need to complete an application form (73 KB) (or Word version) and return it to LegalCORPS for review, along with a $50 administrative fee (unless the applicant previously has requested and received a waiver of that fee).

F.A.Q. 

Click here for Frequently Asked Questions by clients.

Others Who Can Provide Advice 

LegalCORPS frequently relies on community partners – collaborators – to refer cases to our program. Several Minnesota-based organizations collaborate with LegalCORPS.  Individuals and organizations can work with appropriate collaborator for further guidance in determining eligibility for our program and to receive information about other possible community resources.

Click to view a list of our collaborators.

In addition to updates about trainings and events LegalCORPS collaborators will receive an e-mail newsletter with a calendar and updates on matters of interest.

Requirements and Application 

Eligilibity Requirements (96 KB)

Small Business Application (Word)
Small Business Application (73 KB)