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:

❖ 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 Tia ([email protected]) with Subject Line "Interpretation Request - for [mm/dd/yyyy] event." We will do our best to accommodate your request.