Businesses & Entrepreneurs

For low-income owners of small businesses or those who want to form a business, LegalCORPS volunteer attorneys can provide the sound pro bono legal advice that can be essential for business success. Our mission is to increase access to legal assistance for entrepreneurs and small business owners, especially those that strengthen Minnesota’s low-income communities.

LegalCORPS assists entrepreneurs and small businesses with transactional business law matters. This can include document drafting, general guidance, negotiation, and other non-litigation (court) services in many areas of business law. LegalCORPS does not help with matters in litigation, but we can arrange for advice and assistance that could help mitigate risk and prevent litigation down the line.

Our dedicated team coordinates multiple services that cover a broad spectrum of legal needs, including brief advice clinics and limited scope representation. To be eligible for limited scope representation via a pro bono attorney, an entrepreneur or small business owner must either live in Minnesota or be incorporating a business here, and their gross monthly household income must be at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines for the size of his or her household. (In addition to the free legal advice and assistance, we also offer educational opportunities to help small businesses thrive. For more information, please call (612) 206-0780 or info@legalcorps.org.

volunteer attorneys for small businesses in Wisconsin

Examples of legal issues for which LegalCORPS pro bono attorneys can provide advice and/or assistance:

  • Entity formation and guidance on corporate structure
  • Intellectual property – trademark, copyright, patent, trade secret, and licensing
  • Contracts and commercial leases
  • Taxation
  • Government regulation
  • Employment
  • Franchising
  • Risk management
  • Real estate
  • Director duties and internal organization
  • Commercial debtor/creditor rights and options
  • Other legal issues not involving participation in litigation
  • Entity formation and guidance on corporate structure
  • Intellectual property – trademark, copyright, patent, trade secret and licensing
  • Contracts and commercial leases
  • Taxation
  • Government regulation
  • Employment
  • Franchising
  • Risk management
  • Real estate
  • Director duties and internal organization
  • Commercial debtor/creditor rights and options
  • Other legal issues not involving participation in litigation

Frequently Asked Questions

No, LegalCORPS assists small businesses and nonprofit organizations throughout Minnesota. It is a statewide organization.

The answer will differ for every client, depending on factors that include the nature of the case, attorney availability, the presence of conflicts of interest, and the number of other cases awaiting placement.

LegalCORPS cannot guarantee that a case will be placed but will make a good faith effort to find representation for an eligible client.

Although placement often takes place within a week after LegalCORPS posts a pro bono opportunity with its volunteer attorneys, the placement process can take substantially longer.

If a matter is time-sensitive (for instance, it has a deadline) LegalCORPS will attempt to expedite the search process.

LegalCORPS does not have ready access to interpreters. We will try to arrange for an interpreter’s services when appropriate.

As long as you meet income eligibility, you present appropriate legal​ issues, and we have the volunteer capacity to place your matter, you may continue to receive our pro bono attorney services, within reason.

NOTE: Although a person can receive brief advice at a LegalCORPS clinic more than once, LegalCORPS will give priority to first-time users. LegalCORPS will act to prevent excessive return visits to clinics. A person also should be aware that multiple brief advice sessions will not result in the equivalent of limited scope representation assistance.

LegalCORPS provides pro bono services almost exclusively through the services of volunteers (we have one staff attorney). Our volunteers ask LegalCORPS for assurance that the clients LegalCORPS asks them to assist for free are clients that the attorneys would want to assist for free – and who would not have access to needed legal assistance otherwise. Income level is an important factor in determining that.

As part of the legal community, LegalCORPS respects the professional relationships attorneys enter with their clients. If you have worked with an attorney on the same or similar legal issue you are presenting to LegalCORPS, we will notify the attorney and ensure that there is no barrier to LegalCORPS providing representation. We will obtain your permission before contacting the attorney.

Each owner should have separate legal counsel to better ensure that his/her individual interests are adequately addressed.

If all owners are eligible for limited scope representation assistance, LegalCORPS can recruit separate attorneys for each owner. If owners want joint representation, LegalCORPS will require a written waiver of claims of conflicts of interest, signed by all owners.

If one owner of a business is eligible for full-representation assistance but another is not, LegalCORPS will consider all pertinent circumstances in determining whether to provide free assistance, and to whom, and whether that assistance will be limited.

In brief-advice settings, rules that govern the practice of law can limit or even prevent LegalCORPS attorneys from providing advice to more than one client at a time regarding the same business.

LegalCORPS determines a client’s eligibility each time the client applies for assistance. LegalCORPS matches attorneys with clients for each new application. For each attorney-client match LegalCORPS makes, the lawyer and client make a new client representation agreement. It is a good practice to formalize this representation through your own retainers and letters of representation as well.

LegalCORPS understands that attorney-client relationships often build over time and that an attorney and client might want to continue to work together. They certainly can do so through LegalCORPS, as long as the client meets eligibility criteria. Once a client is no longer eligible for LegalCORPS services, the attorney and client are free to continue their relationship without the involvement of LegalCORPS.

Yes. These two services are not mutually exclusive, although limited scope representation through a pro bono attorney does require income eligibility.

No. We do not provide referrals but recommend contacting the Minnesota Lawyer Referral Service at (612) 752-6699 or www.mnlawyerreferral.org.f

Your application will be sent to the attorney who has volunteered to assist you. He/she should contact you within a week or so. If you have not been contacted in that timeframe, please let LegalCORPS staff know. Effective legal representation relies upon the active involvement and participation of the client. Return your attorney’s calls, show up for appointments (or reschedule when you have a conflict), and provide all requested information in a timely manner. Communication and cooperation are key to a successful attorney-client relationship.

LegalCORPS is dedicated to supporting businesses with pro bono legal services that include drafting and reviewing contracts, filing patents, and offering general business legal advice. However, our scope does not extend to representing clients in legal disputes or lawsuits, including any matters that are or could become the subject of litigation.

Our mission is to assist in foundational legal matters, helping businesses and nonprofits understand their legal obligations and protect their interests in non-contentious matters. If you are currently facing a legal dispute or are involved in a matter that could result in litigation, we advise seeking the guidance of a legal professional who specializes in dispute resolution or court representations.