Upcoming Events

Be part of the movement for more just and resilient economies!We're always cooking up pay-it-forward legal advice, action-oriented workshops, and happy hours with engaging conversations on how to build just and resilient local economies. And we don't only provide in-person events for you to connect with us, we provide online trainings and travel across the country to support grassroots economic empowerment. Don't miss out!

Please, help us get the word out about our upcoming events. Share with your friends or networks on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn! If you're interested in an event, someone you know will probably be interested too. Share the love!

Find Sustainable Economies Law Center's events below!

  • Wednesday, December 04, 2024 at 12:00 PM PST
    Online via Zoom in Oakland, CA

    Online Legal Cafe

    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, December 11, 2024 at 12:00 PM PST
    Online via Zoom in Oakland, CA

    ¡Invitamos a todos los agricultores y protectores de tierras!

    Agroecology Commons Collective (Colectivo de bienes comunes de agroecología) Trabajando principalmente con el territorio no cedido Lisjan Ohlone (también conocido como Bay Area) Agroecology Commons se unió como conjunto de individuos que comparten una profunda solidaridad con la conexión entre la tierra y la liberación. Debido a nuestras experiencias como agricultores, educadores, artistas y propietarios de empresas cooperativas, compartimos un compromiso con la protección y justicia agroecológica de la tierra. Nuestros esfuerzos no son nuevos, ya que están arraigados por linajes indígenas, campesinas y organizativas de la comunidad que, desde tiempos inmemorables, han protegido la tierra y las prácticas agroecológicas. Honramos a todos aquellos que administran, protegen y al mismo tiempo arraigan estos esfuerzos en nuestras propias prácticas agroecológicas ancestrales.

    El Sustainable Economies Law Center (Centro de Derecho de Economías Sostenibles) ofrece apoyo jurídico directamente a las personas y los grupos que se esfuerzan por encontrar nuevas soluciones para las economías locales resilientes. Gracias a las donaciones, el Resilient Communities Legal Cafe ofrece asesoramiento jurídico económico a través de Zoom con cita previa.  Si necesitas orientación sobre cómo crear una cooperativa propiedad de los trabajadores, cómo convertir un negocio existente en una cooperativa, cómo organizar una cooperativa de viviendas o cómo establecer una organización sin fines de lucro u otra empresa social, ¡confirma tu asistencia a continuación! Estas son algunos temas que estaremos preparados para abordar:


    ❖ Derecho inmobiliario radical: Cómo establecer una cooperativa de viviendas, inmobiliaria o de viviendas sin fines de lucro. 
    ❖ Establecimiento jurídico para empresas pequeñas: Las normas y los requisitos que tu organización debe respetar para operar legalmente.
    ❖ Elección de entidad jurídica: Si tu organización debe ser con fines de lucro o sin fines de lucro, y qué entidad jurídica encaja mejor con tu visión.
    ❖ Derecho laboral: Si eres un empleador, un empleado o una cooperativa, podemos responder a preguntas sobre cómo prevenir o resolver problemas.
    ❖ Derecho fiscal: Las distintas formas que tu organización puede recibir la exención fiscal.
    ❖ Contratos: Revisión, redacción y negociación de contratos.
    ❖ Cuestiones de responsabilidad: Cuáles son tus requisitos de gestión para evitar culpabilidad.
    ❖ Derecho ambiental: Preguntas sobre cómo crear más espacios verdes en tu comunidad.
    ❖ Organizaciones sin fines de lucro gestionadas por los trabajadores: Cómo puedes dirigir tu organización sin fines de lucro de una manera similar a una cooperativa propiedad de los trabajadores.

    Importante: Invitamos especialmente a las comunidades afroamericanas, indígenas, de color y de bajos ingresos a que confirmen su asistencia. Nos enfocamos en cooperativas, organizaciones sin fines de lucro participativas o democráticas, fideicomisos de terrenos y grupos de apoyo mutuo. Si necesitas interpretación al español o al lenguaje de señas americano, envía un correo electrónico a Hope ([email protected]) con el asunto "Solicitud de interpretación - para el evento [mes/día/año]". Haremos todo lo posible por satisfacer tu petición.

    Recibirás un correo electrónico cuando confirmes tu asistencia. El correo electrónico contendrá la hora de tu cita, instrucciones sobre cómo acudir al Legal Cafe de manera virtual y un formulario de admisión que necesitamos que tú y tus socios completen.

    Formato: ¡Tú y/o tu grupo serán asignados a un abogado por 30-45 minutos para obtener respuestas a preguntas sobre el establecimiento de la entidad, los contratos, la gestión y mucho más! Como nuestra sede está en Oakland, los horarios de nuestros eventos están programadas según la hora estándar del Pacífico.


    ¿Tienes alguna pregunta? ¡Envía un correo electrónico a [email protected]!


    Sólo una persona de cada grupo tiene que confirmar su asistencia.

    CUÁNDO
    El 28 de marzo de 2024 de 12:00pm a 1:30pm PDT
    DÓNDE
    En línea por Zoom
    Oakland, CA
    Estados Unidos
    Mapa de Google y direcciones

    CONTACTO
    Hope · [email protected]
    ¿Vas a venir?
    Primer nombre
    Apellido
    Correo electrónico
    Número de teléfono celular (opcional)

    No publiquen mi asistencia en la página web

  • Thursday, December 12, 2024 at 12:00 PM PST
    Online via Zoom in Oakland, CA

    Online Legal Cafe

    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, January 09, 2025 at 12:00 PM PST
    Online via Zoom in Oakland, CA

    Online Legal Cafe

    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, January 15, 2025 at 10:00 AM PST · $50.00 USD · 3 rsvps
    Zoom

    Creating Liberatory Organizations (Module 1a Collaborate to Co-Liberate -C2C)

     

    In our solidarity economy and social justice movement left organizations, we hold ambitious visions for building a more liberatory future.  Many of us are also experimenting with creative organizational structures that allow us to live those liberatory visions more fully.

    Join our friends at Harmonize in the opening module of Collaborate to Co-Liberate 2025 to ask ourselves: what structure will best serve us to achieve our vision in the world?  

    Learn why organizational change fits into our bigger purpose of building the more beautiful world we dream of, and explore ways to maintain equal focus on the goals of internal change and external change, without falling into the key pitfalls of overemphasis on one or the other.

    This offering is essential for:

    • Changemakers building the case for more liberatory organizational structures within their home organizations
    • Organizations committed to creating values-aligned structures in a way that doesn’t compromise their external work in the world
    • Organizations committed to a purpose-driven change journey, in order to establish a solid grounding in the core purpose of building liberatory structures

    Collaborate to Co-Liberate: Structures and Practices for Democratic Organizations (C2C) is a year-long learning journey designed for solidarity economy and  social justice movement left organizations who are building organizations with democratic, participatory, and liberatory leadership structures.  

    To join the entire year-long journey, register here instead of signing up for this one-time event.

    To view the other events in the series click here.

  • Wednesday, January 15, 2025 at 12:00 PM PST
    Online via Zoom in Oakland, CA

    Online Legal Cafe

    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.

  • Tuesday, January 21, 2025 at 12:00 PM PST
    Online via Zoom in Oakland, CA

    Online Legal Cafe

    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, February 05, 2025 at 10:00 AM PST · $50.00 USD
    Zoom

    Governance and Scale: What we can learn from Ecology and Global Social Movements (Module 1b Collaborate to Co-Liberate -C2C)

    When thinking about governance in our movement homes, what can we learn from principles of ecology?  How can we build movements that can govern not just within our organizations, but at the appropriate scales necessary for truly transformative change. 

    Join Gopal Dayaneni, co-founder of Movement Generation: Justice and Ecology Project and movement comrade in many formations (including Climate Justice Alliance, ETCgroup, the Center for Story-based Strategy and People’s Solar Energy Fund) for an exploration of core ecological principles that can inform how we build our organizations.  We’ll explore how the ecological principles of “form follows function”, “resilience, diversity and redundancy”, and others can help us think about how to build the deep democracy we need to win.  We’ll also draw on examples from global social movements, informed by eco-feminism, indigenous sovereignty, food sovereignty, land reform and peasant rights models of organizing, to see these principles in practice.

    This offering is essential for organizers, activists, and movement practitioners (new and seasoned) hoping to:

    • Build a sharper, more developed understanding of how to build resilient, effective governance into our movement homes
    • Orient strategically toward governing at different scales in our liberatory movements
    • Draw key lessons from global social  movements
    • Agitate and politicize your movement spaces to build movement organizations that are less captured by the nonprofit sector in the US

     

    This is part two of our opening module of Collaborate to Co-Liberate 2025.

    Collaborate to Co-Liberate: Structures and Practices for Democratic Organizations (C2C) is a year-long learning journey designed for solidarity economy and  social justice movement left organizations who are building organizations with democratic, participatory, and liberatory leadership structures.  

    To join the entire year-long journey, register here instead of signing up for this one-time event.

    To view the other events in the series click here.

  • Wednesday, February 12, 2025 at 12:00 PM PST
    Online via Zoom in Oakland, CA

    Online Legal Cafe

    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, February 13, 2025 at 12:00 PM PST
    Online via Zoom in Oakland, CA

    Online Legal Cafe

    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.

Thanks to our Partners and Collaborators: