by Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP
In an effort to provide substantive legal counsel to the New York businesses and organizations most directly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP, together with partner law firms and legal aid organizations, has launched the Small Business Legal Relief Alliance (SBLRA).
The SBLRA is a collaborative effort between top law firms and legal services organizations to offer free counsel for qualifying small businesses, the self-employed, cooperatives and nonprofits. Pro bono legal guidance by SBLRA’s partners during telephonic consultations includes:
- Understanding loan and grant programs
- Tax
- Commercial leases
- Contractual issues
- Labor and employment
- Insurance
- Intellectual property rights
- General business issues
“SBLRA is a collaborative project that builds on existing relationships and expands capacity with built-in efficiencies tailored to the small-business community,” said Kevin Curnin, a Stroock partner and founder of the firm’s Public Service Project. “Our primary goal is to prevent closures with sound and timely legal advice, extending the lifeline of small businesses and nonprofits.”
Partner organizations include: VOLS (Volunteers of Legal Service); The Legal Aid Society; Legal Services New York; IMPACCT Brooklyn; New York Lawyers for the Public Interest; TakeRoot Justice; Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A; and Start Small Think Big. In addition to Stroock, SBLRA partner firms include: Akin Gump; Arnold & Porter; Davis Polk; Greenberg Traurig; Milbank; Morgan Lewis & Bockius; Morrison & Foerster; Ropes & Gray; Schulte Roth & Zabel; Shearman & Sterling; Sidley Austin; Simpson Thacher & Bartlett; Vinson & Elkins; and Morgan Stanley.
“Our hearts go out to small businesses and nonprofits across New York facing an unprecedented threat to their futures,” Curnin said. “Having advised small businesses for many years, and having worked collaboratively on their behalf in response to several prior major disasters, the Alliance is well-positioned to offer timely and practical help.”
“The small business community is vital to the city’s economic and social health,” said Dale Charles, Director of Community Economic Development at IMPACCT Brooklyn. “The Alliance has the resources, experience and commitment to make a real difference.”
For more information, businesses and nonprofits interested in determining their eligibility for the legal guidance offered by SBLRA are encouraged to visit the websites of the program’s participating legal aid organizations at www.SBLRA.org.
About Stroock
Stroock provides strategic transactional, regulatory and litigation advice to advance the business objectives of leading financial institutions, multinational corporations and entrepreneurial businesses in the U.S. and globally. With a rich history dating back 140 years, the firm has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.stroock.com.