Legal Cafe Dates and Locations

Legal_Cafe_Logo2.png

Please find all the dates and locations of the Law Center's Resilient Communities Legal Cafes and Teach-ins below. You can also view all of our events, including workshops, trainings, Happy Hours, and more on the Law Center's events page by clicking here. We look forward to seeing you at a future Law Center event where we provide not only resources but create the community relationships that will build the new economy!

  • Wednesday, June 10, 2026 at 12:00 PM PDT
    Online via Zoom in Oakland, CA

    Resilient Movements Legal Cafe

    Cartoon with advice booth and community members

    Sustainable Economies Law Center’s Resilient Movements Legal Café is a legal advice clinic for grassroots groups, nonprofits, and community organizations seeking to strengthen infrastructure resilience, operational continuity and preparedness, and legal compliance. These sessions offer a supportive container to work through practical questions related to governance, entity structures, and internal policies, and to demystify how to navigate periods of heightened scrutiny, helping groups move from uncertainty to grounded strategy and planning in support of their missions and day-to-day operations.

    Background

    These Legal Café sessions build on our broader work supporting groups and organizations with nonprofit protection, risk education, and proactive legal planning. Over the past year, we’ve developed training, resources, and hands-on support, often in partnership with aligned organizations, focused on organizational resilience, entity structure options, and risk-aware operations. In 2025, we offered these new resources to grassroots groups, alongside limited-scope consultations for organizations seeking  support. This year, we’re dedicating additional resources to monthly Legal Cafés to support durable structures and practices that help organizations sustain their missions over the long term.

    To RSVP, please click the RSVP link for the session you’d like to attend:

    What this space supports

    These sessions are for groups and organizations seeking proactive support to strengthen infrastructure resilience, operational continuity and preparedness, and legal compliance including groups navigating increased scrutiny or operational vulnerabilities. We welcome questions related to nonprofit governance (board/staff policies), entity structure considerations, resilience assessment, documentation practices, compliance, and operational planning.

    Note: This space is designed for proactive planning and capacity-building and is not intended for urgent, time-sensitive emergencies. If your organization is facing an immediate legal deadline or acute situation, we recommend seeking direct counsel right away. One of our partners, Muslims for Just Futures, has also put together an excellent Community Defense Resource Hub.

  • Thursday, June 18, 2026 at 03:00 PM PDT

    Shared Canvas, Shared Power: Legal Foundations of Creative Collectives

    RSVP below!

    Whether you’re starting an art collective, launching a cooperative studio, or exploring new ways to share resources and income, the legal structure you choose matters. This workshop introduces key considerations for creative collaboration, including governance, profit-sharing approaches, entity selection, as well as some other initial considerations. 

    Following a training with solidarity economy lawyer Renee Hatcher, team members from Question Culture and Groupmuse will talk about their entity selection journeys, from becoming a worker-run LLC (Question Culture) to starting a non-profit foundation (Groupmuse).

    This event is brought to you by the Artist Legal Cafe, an artist-led initiative that offers direct services and capacity-building to individual artists, artist collectives, and arts organizations. The ALC is a cross-sector partnership between SELC, Vital Arts, and Movement Law and is generously supported by the Kenneth Rainin Foundation, the Gerbode Foundation, the Zellerbach Family Foundation, and the City of Oakland.
    Co-presented with Art.coop

    About the Presenters

    RENEE HATCHER is a human rights and solidarity economy lawyer. She is the Director of the Community Enterprise and Solidarity Economy Law Clinic at UIC Law, a legal clinic that provides free legal support to grassroot organizations, cooperatives, and other solidarity economy enterprises. Currently, Renee is a Solidarity Economy Law Fellow with the Boston Ujima Project and a member of the Law for Black Lives (L4BL) movement lawyering squad. She previously served as the Co-Director of the Chicago Community Wealth Building Ecosystem and board member of the New Economy Coalition. Daughter of the late civil rights activist and first elected Black mayor of a U.S. city, Richard Gordon Hatcher, Renee is committed to advancing the Black Freedom Movement through her work with coops and communities. Her research and clinical work focus on solidarity economy and the law. 

    QUESTION CULTURE is an artist-owned cooperative and media production studio that integrates cooperative economics and transformative justice into popular culture. Operating as a fellow in the Art.coop Remember the Future program, they champion the Solidarity Economy by redistributing resources and power away from exploitative, corporate models. 

    MS. LORETTA FIELDS-POWELL (QUESTION CULTURE) (she/her/hers) is a daughter of revolution, hailing from Altadena, California. By day, she is a professional bookkeeper who specializes in bookkeeping, tax preparation and administrative services. By night, she is a student of life, art, and wisdom. Ms. Loretta began her career working for AT&T as a branch results manager & specialist. After 24 years, she retired and began a career in private client services with Wealth & Tax Advisory Services. When the recession hit, she made another career pivot and began offering bookkeeping, tax & notary services to small businesses in LA County. In addition to the work she’s done in her field, Loretta has held positions in retail, healthcare and risk management so that she could provide the best experience for her clients when it came to starting her own business. Though her professional merits shine bright, what is most effervescent about Ms. Loretta is her dedication and commitment to her family, community, arts, mental health advocacy, mentorship, and mutual aid. Ms. Loretta is and has been a proud Inglewood resident for over thirty years but one of the things she is most proud of is helping to establish and maintain the Inglewood Community Fridge (located at the Crenshaw Dairy Mart) during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    GROUPMUSE is a worker- and musician-owned cooperative seeking to uplift artists and strengthen broader community bonds through live, intimate performances of historically-rooted music. At first glance, Groupmuse is an online platform where hosts and musicians organize concerts (which we call "groupmuses") in non-traditional spaces, such as living rooms, backyards, church basements, and public parks. But ask any long-time groupmuser, and you’ll learn that Groupmuse is about so much more. It’s about building real, in-person community. It’s about bringing friends along and making new ones. It’s about giving and receiving gifts seen and unseen. It’s about closing your eyes and being transported during a particularly powerful passage of music. It’s about feeling connected to yourself, your local community, and the world.

    KYLE SCHMOLZE (GROUPMUSE) is an entrepreneur, musician, software-engineer, political activist, and coop-enthusiast living in Oakland, California. He is rarely seen without a border collie named Stella somewhere within earshot. He is the co-founder of the platform coop Groupmuse.

    Both Question Culture and Groupmuse are "Remember the Future" Fellows with Art.coop. 

    Artist Legal Cafe Partners

    The Sustainable Economies Law Center provides direct legal support to individuals and groups who are working to create new solutions for resilient local economies. The Resilient Communities Legal Cafe provides sliding-scale donation-based legal advice by appointment. 

    Vital Arts envisions a world in which groundbreaking arts and culture that are essential for the continued health and vitality of society at large are recognized and cultivated. We seek to bring this about by implementing projects to meet the needs of low income artists in the Bay Area.

    Movement Law, the client-centered law practice of Hope Mohr, builds power with artists, changemakers, and mission-driven organizations.


    Want to attend an Artist Legal Cafe? RSVP here to receive a free 30-45 minute legal consultation. 

    Questions? E-mail [email protected]!

  • Thursday, June 18, 2026 at 04:00 PM PDT
    Online - Zoom in Oakland, CA

    Online Artist Legal Cafe

    RSVP below!

    In partnership with:

    The Sustainable Economies Law Center provides direct legal support to individuals and groups who are working to create new solutions for resilient local economies. The Resilient Communities Legal Cafe provides sliding-scale donation-based legal advice by appointment. 

    Vital Arts envisions a world in which groundbreaking arts and culture that are essential for the continued health and vitality of society at large are recognized and cultivated. We seek to bring this about by implementing projects to meet the needs of low income artists in the Bay Area.

    Movement Law, the client-centered law practice of Hope Mohr (she/her), is dedicated to supporting artists, changemakers, and mission-driven organizations.

    Got any questions? E-mail [email protected]!

    Here are some questions we will be prepared to answer:

    ❖ Radical real estate law: How to form a housing cooperative, real estate cooperative, or nonprofit housing? 
    ❖ Legal formation for small businesses: What are the regulations and requirements to have your organization legally function?
     Legal entity choice: Should your org be a for profit, non-profit, and which legal entity fits best with your vision?
     Employment law: Whether you're an employer, employee, or a cooperative, we can answer questions on how to prevent or resolve issues?
     Tax law: What are the ways to receive tax exemption for your org?
     Contracts: Contract review, drafting, and negotiation
     Liability issues: What are your governance requirements to avoid liability?
     Environmental law: Do you have questions about how to create more green spaces for your community?
    ❖ Worker Self Directed Nonprofits:  How can you run your nonprofit organization more like a worker-owned cooperative?

    Note: We especially encourage Black, Indigenous, people of color, and low-income communities to RSVP. We focus on cooperatives, participatory or democratic nonprofits, land trusts, and mutual aid groups. If you need Spanish Language or American Sign Language interpretation, please email Hope ([email protected]) with Subject Line "Interpretation Request - for [mm/dd/yyyy] event." We will do our best to accommodate your request.

    Keep an eye out for an e-mail when you RSVP. The e-mail will have your appointment slot, instructions on how to attend our Legal Cafe remotely, and an intake form that we need you and your partners to fill out. 

    Format: You and/or your group will be paired with a lawyer for 30-45 minutes to get answers to questions about entity formation, contracts, governance, and more! Since we're based in Oakland, our event times are listed as Pacific Standard Time.

    Only one person per group needs to RSVP.

  • Thursday, June 18, 2026 at 04:00 PM PDT
    Online - Zoom in Oakland, CA

    WAITLIST Online Artist Legal Cafe

    RSVP below!

    In partnership with:

    The Sustainable Economies Law Center provides direct legal support to individuals and groups who are working to create new solutions for resilient local economies. The Resilient Communities Legal Cafe provides sliding-scale donation-based legal advice by appointment. 

    Vital Arts envisions a world in which groundbreaking arts and culture that are essential for the continued health and vitality of society at large are recognized and cultivated. We seek to bring this about by implementing projects to meet the needs of low income artists in the Bay Area.

    Movement Law, the client-centered law practice of Hope Mohr (she/her), is dedicated to supporting artists, changemakers, and mission-driven organizations.

    Got any questions? E-mail [email protected]!

    Here are some questions we will be prepared to answer:

    ❖ Radical real estate law: How to form a housing cooperative, real estate cooperative, or nonprofit housing? 
    ❖ Legal formation for small businesses: What are the regulations and requirements to have your organization legally function?
     Legal entity choice: Should your org be a for profit, non-profit, and which legal entity fits best with your vision?
     Employment law: Whether you're an employer, employee, or a cooperative, we can answer questions on how to prevent or resolve issues?
     Tax law: What are the ways to receive tax exemption for your org?
     Contracts: Contract review, drafting, and negotiation
     Liability issues: What are your governance requirements to avoid liability?
     Environmental law: Do you have questions about how to create more green spaces for your community?
    ❖ Worker Self Directed Nonprofits:  How can you run your nonprofit organization more like a worker-owned cooperative?

    Note: We especially encourage Black, Indigenous, people of color, and low-income communities to RSVP. We focus on cooperatives, participatory or democratic nonprofits, land trusts, and mutual aid groups. If you need Spanish Language or American Sign Language interpretation, please email Hope ([email protected]) with Subject Line "Interpretation Request - for [mm/dd/yyyy] event." We will do our best to accommodate your request.

    Keep an eye out for an e-mail when you RSVP. The e-mail will have your appointment slot, instructions on how to attend our Legal Cafe remotely, and an intake form that we need you and your partners to fill out. 

    Format: You and/or your group will be paired with a lawyer for 30-45 minutes to get answers to questions about entity formation, contracts, governance, and more! Since we're based in Oakland, our event times are listed as Pacific Standard Time.

    Only one person per group needs to RSVP.

  • Thursday, July 09, 2026 at 12:00 PM PDT

    A Training with Dean Spade! Working Together Joyfully: Preventing and Addressing Patterns of Resentment in Collaborations

    RSVP below!
    This event is brought to you by the Artist Legal Cafe, a cross-sector partnership between SELC, Vital Arts, and Movement Law, an artist-led initiative that offers direct services and capacity-building to individual artists, artist collectives, and arts organizations. The ALC is generously supported by the Kenneth Rainin Foundation, the Gerbode Foundation, the Zellerbach Family Foundation, and the City of Oakland.
    DESCRIPTION : WORKING TOGETHER JOYFULLY

    Many collaborative relationships and group projects, as well as personal relationships, become mired in toxic resentment. In this session, we'll look a what resentment is, why it is so common, how it is formed, how it can masquerade as empowerment, and how we might work through it in order to reconnect to authentic choice in our work and relationships.

    ABOUT DEAN SPADE

    Dean has been working in movements for queer and trans liberation, and against war, police, prisons and borders for the past 25 years. He’s the author of Normal Life: Administrative Violence, Critical Trans Politics, and the Limits of Law, and Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next) the director of the documentary “Pinkwashing Exposed: Seattle Fights Back!.” His new book is Love in a F*cked-Up World: How to Build Relationships, Hook Up and Raise Hell Together, and he is the host of a new podcast with the same name.

     

    ARTIST LEGAL CAFE PARTNERS

    The Sustainable Economies Law Center provides direct legal support to individuals and groups who are working to create new solutions for resilient local economies. The Resilient Communities Legal Cafe provides sliding-scale donation-based legal advice by appointment. 

    Vital Arts envisions a world in which groundbreaking arts and culture that are essential for the continued health and vitality of society at large are recognized and cultivated. We seek to bring this about by implementing projects to meet the needs of low income artists in the Bay Area.

    Movement Law, the client-centered law practice of Hope Mohr (she/her), is dedicated to supporting artists, changemakers, and mission-driven organizations.

    Want to attend an Artist Legal Cafe? RSVP here to receive a free 30-45 minute legal consultation. 

    Got any questions? E-mail [email protected]!

  • Thursday, July 09, 2026 at 12:30 PM PDT
    Online - Zoom in Oakland, CA

    Online Artist Legal Cafe

    RSVP below!

    In partnership with:

    The Sustainable Economies Law Center provides direct legal support to individuals and groups who are working to create new solutions for resilient local economies. The Resilient Communities Legal Cafe provides sliding-scale donation-based legal advice by appointment. 

    Vital Arts envisions a world in which groundbreaking arts and culture that are essential for the continued health and vitality of society at large are recognized and cultivated. We seek to bring this about by implementing projects to meet the needs of low income artists in the Bay Area.

    Movement Law, the client-centered law practice of Hope Mohr (she/her), is dedicated to supporting artists, changemakers, and mission-driven organizations.

    Got any questions? E-mail [email protected]!

    Here are some questions we will be prepared to answer:

    ❖ Radical real estate law: How to form a housing cooperative, real estate cooperative, or nonprofit housing? 
    ❖ Legal formation for small businesses: What are the regulations and requirements to have your organization legally function?
     Legal entity choice: Should your org be a for profit, non-profit, and which legal entity fits best with your vision?
     Employment law: Whether you're an employer, employee, or a cooperative, we can answer questions on how to prevent or resolve issues?
     Tax law: What are the ways to receive tax exemption for your org?
     Contracts: Contract review, drafting, and negotiation
     Liability issues: What are your governance requirements to avoid liability?
     Environmental law: Do you have questions about how to create more green spaces for your community?
    ❖ Worker Self Directed Nonprofits:  How can you run your nonprofit organization more like a worker-owned cooperative?

    Note: We especially encourage Black, Indigenous, people of color, and low-income communities to RSVP. We focus on cooperatives, participatory or democratic nonprofits, land trusts, and mutual aid groups. If you need Spanish Language or American Sign Language interpretation, please email Hope ([email protected]) with Subject Line "Interpretation Request - for [mm/dd/yyyy] event." We will do our best to accommodate your request.

    Keep an eye out for an e-mail when you RSVP. The e-mail will have your appointment slot, instructions on how to attend our Legal Cafe remotely, and an intake form that we need you and your partners to fill out. 

    Format: You and/or your group will be paired with a lawyer for 30-45 minutes to get answers to questions about entity formation, contracts, governance, and more! Since we're based in Oakland, our event times are listed as Pacific Standard Time.

    Only one person per group needs to RSVP.

  • Thursday, July 16, 2026 at 12:00 PM PDT
    Online via Zoom in Oakland, CA

    Online Legal Cafe

    Cartoon drawing of advice booth with sign that says "Support is Online"

    The Sustainable Economies Law Center provides direct legal support to individuals and groups who are working to create new solutions for resilient local economies. The Resilient Communities Legal Cafe provides sliding-scale donation-based legal advice, via Zoom, by appointment. 

    If you need advice about starting a worker-owned cooperative, converting an existing business into a cooperative, organizing a housing cooperative, founding a nonprofit or other social enterprise, please RSVP below! Here are some questions we will be prepared to answer:

    • Radical real estate law: How to form a housing cooperative, real estate cooperative, or nonprofit housing?

    • Legal formation for small businesses: What are the regulations and requirements to have your organization legally function?

    • Legal entity choice: Should your org be a for profit, non-profit, and which legal entity fits best with your vision?

    • Employment law: Whether you're an employer, employee, or a cooperative, we can answer questions on how to prevent or resolve issues?

    • Tax law: What are the ways to receive tax exemption for your org?

    • Contracts: Contract review, drafting, and negotiation

    • Liability issues: What are your governance requirements to avoid liability?

    • Environmental law: Do you have questions about how to create more green spaces for your community?

    • Worker Self Directed Nonprofits:  How can you run your nonprofit organization more like a worker-owned cooperative?

    Note: We especially encourage Black, Indigenous, people of color, and low-income communities to RSVP. We focus on cooperatives, participatory or democratic nonprofits, land trusts, and mutual aid groups. If you need Spanish Language or American Sign Language interpretation, please email Hope ([email protected]) with Subject Line "Interpretation Request - for [mm/dd/yyyy] event." We will do our best to accommodate your request.

    Keep an eye out for an e-mail when you RSVP. The e-mail will have your appointment slot, instructions on how to attend our Legal Cafe remotely, and an intake form that we need you and your partners to fill out. 

    Format: You and/or your group will be paired with a lawyer for 30-45 minutes to get answers to questions about entity formation, contracts, governance, and more! Since we're based in Oakland, our event times are listed as Pacific Standard Time.

    Got any questions? E-mail [email protected]!

     

    Only one person per group needs to RSVP.

  • Wednesday, July 22, 2026 at 12:00 PM PDT
    Online via Zoom in Oakland, CA

    Online Legal Cafe

    Cartoon drawing of advice booth with sign that says "Support is Online"

    The Sustainable Economies Law Center provides direct legal support to individuals and groups who are working to create new solutions for resilient local economies. The Resilient Communities Legal Cafe provides sliding-scale donation-based legal advice, via Zoom, by appointment. 

    If you need advice about starting a worker-owned cooperative, converting an existing business into a cooperative, organizing a housing cooperative, founding a nonprofit or other social enterprise, please RSVP below! Here are some questions we will be prepared to answer:

    • Radical real estate law: How to form a housing cooperative, real estate cooperative, or nonprofit housing?

    • Legal formation for small businesses: What are the regulations and requirements to have your organization legally function?

    • Legal entity choice: Should your org be a for profit, non-profit, and which legal entity fits best with your vision?

    • Employment law: Whether you're an employer, employee, or a cooperative, we can answer questions on how to prevent or resolve issues?

    • Tax law: What are the ways to receive tax exemption for your org?

    • Contracts: Contract review, drafting, and negotiation

    • Liability issues: What are your governance requirements to avoid liability?

    • Environmental law: Do you have questions about how to create more green spaces for your community?

    • Worker Self Directed Nonprofits:  How can you run your nonprofit organization more like a worker-owned cooperative?

    Note: We especially encourage Black, Indigenous, people of color, and low-income communities to RSVP. We focus on cooperatives, participatory or democratic nonprofits, land trusts, and mutual aid groups. If you need Spanish Language or American Sign Language interpretation, please email Hope ([email protected]) with Subject Line "Interpretation Request - for [mm/dd/yyyy] event." We will do our best to accommodate your request.

    Keep an eye out for an e-mail when you RSVP. The e-mail will have your appointment slot, instructions on how to attend our Legal Cafe remotely, and an intake form that we need you and your partners to fill out. 

    Format: You and/or your group will be paired with a lawyer for 30-45 minutes to get answers to questions about entity formation, contracts, governance, and more! Since we're based in Oakland, our event times are listed as Pacific Standard Time.

    Got any questions? E-mail [email protected]!

     

    Only one person per group needs to RSVP.

  • Thursday, July 23, 2026 at 12:00 PM PDT
    Online via Zoom in Oakland, CA

    Resilient Movements Legal Cafe

    Cartoon with advice booth and community members

    Sustainable Economies Law Center’s Resilient Movements Legal Café is a legal advice clinic for grassroots groups, nonprofits, and community organizations seeking to strengthen infrastructure resilience, operational continuity and preparedness, and legal compliance. These sessions offer a supportive container to work through practical questions related to governance, entity structures, and internal policies, and to demystify how to navigate periods of heightened scrutiny, helping groups move from uncertainty to grounded strategy and planning in support of their missions and day-to-day operations.

    Background

    These Legal Café sessions build on our broader work supporting groups and organizations with nonprofit protection, risk education, and proactive legal planning. Over the past year, we’ve developed training, resources, and hands-on support, often in partnership with aligned organizations, focused on organizational resilience, entity structure options, and risk-aware operations. In 2025, we offered these new resources to grassroots groups, alongside limited-scope consultations for organizations seeking  support. This year, we’re dedicating additional resources to monthly Legal Cafés to support durable structures and practices that help organizations sustain their missions over the long term.

    To RSVP, please click the RSVP link for the session you’d like to attend:

    What this space supports

    These sessions are for groups and organizations seeking proactive support to strengthen infrastructure resilience, operational continuity and preparedness, and legal compliance including groups navigating increased scrutiny or operational vulnerabilities. We welcome questions related to nonprofit governance (board/staff policies), entity structure considerations, resilience assessment, documentation practices, compliance, and operational planning.

    Note: This space is designed for proactive planning and capacity-building and is not intended for urgent, time-sensitive emergencies. If your organization is facing an immediate legal deadline or acute situation, we recommend seeking direct counsel right away. One of our partners, Muslims for Just Futures, has also put together an excellent Community Defense Resource Hub.

  • Wednesday, August 05, 2026 at 03:30 PM PDT
    TBD in Oakland, CA

    IN PERSON Artist Legal Cafe

    RSVP below!

    In partnership with:

    The Sustainable Economies Law Center provides direct legal support to individuals and groups who are working to create new solutions for resilient local economies. The Resilient Communities Legal Cafe provides sliding-scale donation-based legal advice by appointment. 

    Vital Arts envisions a world in which groundbreaking arts and culture that are essential for the continued health and vitality of society at large are recognized and cultivated. We seek to bring this about by implementing projects to meet the needs of low income artists in the Bay Area.

    Movement Law, the client-centered law practice of Hope Mohr (she/her), is dedicated to supporting artists, changemakers, and mission-driven organizations.

    Got any questions? E-mail [email protected]!

    Here are some questions we will be prepared to answer:

    ❖ Radical real estate law: How to form a housing cooperative, real estate cooperative, or nonprofit housing? 
    ❖ Legal formation for small businesses: What are the regulations and requirements to have your organization legally function?
     Legal entity choice: Should your org be a for profit, non-profit, and which legal entity fits best with your vision?
     Employment law: Whether you're an employer, employee, or a cooperative, we can answer questions on how to prevent or resolve issues?
     Tax law: What are the ways to receive tax exemption for your org?
     Contracts: Contract review, drafting, and negotiation
     Liability issues: What are your governance requirements to avoid liability?
     Environmental law: Do you have questions about how to create more green spaces for your community?
    ❖ Worker Self Directed Nonprofits:  How can you run your nonprofit organization more like a worker-owned cooperative?

    Note: We especially encourage Black, Indigenous, people of color, and low-income communities to RSVP. We focus on cooperatives, participatory or democratic nonprofits, land trusts, and mutual aid groups. If you need Spanish Language or American Sign Language interpretation, please email Hope ([email protected]) with Subject Line "Interpretation Request - for [mm/dd/yyyy] event." We will do our best to accommodate your request.

    Keep an eye out for an e-mail when you RSVP. The e-mail will have your appointment slot, instructions on how to attend our Legal Cafe remotely, and an intake form that we need you and your partners to fill out. 

    Format: You and/or your group will be paired with a lawyer for 30-45 minutes to get answers to questions about entity formation, contracts, governance, and more! Since we're based in Oakland, our event times are listed as Pacific Standard Time.

    Only one person per group needs to RSVP.

Thanks to our Partners and Collaborators: