The Business Law Section of The Florida Bar held its fourth annual Nonprofit Organizations Legal Services Forum Tuesday at Florida Coastal School of Law with the help of professor Karen Millard.
Representatives of 17 organizations registered to participate in this year’s legal consultation opportunity, making this the effort the most successful to date.
The nonprofits serve our community with a wide range of services including youth development, counseling and support services for children and families, rehabilitating ex-offenders, dropout prevention for Duval County Public Schools, preserving and restoring Jacksonville’s silent film studio, teaching basic literacy skills and ending poverty and hunger.
Their legal concerns included, among others, land ownership disputes, corporate filings, copyright questions and employment matters.
Each organization received a one-hour consultation with an attorney with the relevant expertise. At their request, the organization also received a “legal check-up.” The check-up provides a guide for evaluating whether the organization has developed a sound corporate structure.
The attorney and organization representative discussed a checklist describing guidelines for state corporate requirements, IRS requirements, record-keeping and disclosure, insurance, intellectual property, and financial practices.
Coordinated by David Brown, law students of the Business Law Society assisted by providing administrative support. Those students were David Brown, Roselle Pujols, Kiara Young, Jesse Boyce, Tim Cox, Marissa Constant, John Parady, Amanda Lynch, Dina Hunter, Latrice Bell, Janelle Reid and Rachael Owinje. They were joined by Tiffany Pereira from Florida Coastal’s newly formed Business and Entrepreneurial Clinic.
Recruited by John Macdonald, 13 local attorneys provided guidance to nonprofit representatives. They were Alexandria Hill, Jim Nolan, Doug Milne, Charlee Lane, Tom Harper, Mark Kloeppel, Kathy Hartland, Howard Caplan, Micheal Kirwan, Gardner Davis, Ivan Colao, Ray Driver and Alan Howard.
The forum provides organizations with guidance that helps them overcome barriers and maintain sound business practices as they serve our community.
These organizations are filling needs and solving problems that reach far beyond the capabilities of government resources alone.
Pro bono legal guidance eliminates one more expense and helps those in service to our community to do what they do best as they provide stability and hope to so many.
Attorneys who would like to know more about pro bono opportunities throughout the 4th Circuit are encouraged to contact Kathy Para, The JBA Pro Bono Committee chair, at [email protected].