Help for Small Businesses

Since 1999, the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center has operated the Small Business Legal Assistance Program to provide legal assistance to the District’s small businesses. It provides the following services:

• Small Business Brief Advice Legal Clinic. The purpose of the Clinic is to provide brief legal information to small business owners and prospective entrepreneurs who operate in economically disadvantaged areas or who have limited financial resources. The Clinic provides current and aspiring business owners with an opportunity to speak with an attorney volunteer one-on-one. Attorney volunteers help review legal documents and answer questions about starting a business, taxation, commercial leases, employment law, intellectual property, and other legal issues common to small business owners. Please note: Attorney volunteers at the Clinic provide brief advice and typically cannot appear at court dates or provide other on-going legal assistance.
   
• Small Business Trainings. We conduct trainings in conjunction with small business counseling centers, government agencies, and law firms in order to educate small businesses on important legal issues. Topics include employment law, government contracts, commercial leases, and other legal issues. The events calendar is updated as these sessions are announced. View recordings of past webinars in our online archive.
   
• Small Business Legal Resources. The Small Business Legal Assistance Program offers free guides, alerts on law changes, a trainings archive, and other useful legal information on our online resource center, through the LawHelp website.

If you have any questions, please contact us.