A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT
CLIMB utilizes a network of volunteer lawyers from Charlotte law firms and corporate legal departments to provide free non-litigation business law services to many entrepreneurs who would never be able to afford these services. With your support, we can expand access to the legal system in our community and advance economic mobility and social justice.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
CLIMB attorneys provide pro bono legal advice to pre-screened clients in the following areas
+ BUSINESS ENTITY FORMATION
+ CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
+ EMPLOYMENT MATTERS
+ FINANCING TRANSACTIONS
+ CONTRACTS
+ COMMERCIAL LEASES
CLIMB attorneys handle cases independently and/or work with a team of volunteer attorneys depending on the agreed upon legal services provided. Each assigned case will require an average of 15-25 hours. Volunteers are encouraged to close assigned matters within 90 days.
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“Principally speaking, what motivates me to volunteer with CLIMB is the clarity and focus of its important mandate. CLIMB understands that for the economic life of Charlotte to truly thrive, it’s critical that we expand access to justice, especially to historically underrepresented entrepreneurs and small business owners of limited means. Beyond this, CLIMB benefits immensely from its team of local collaborators and supporters — all of whom are committed to the success of the non-profit’s mandate.”
CLIMB VOLUNTEER LAWYER
MCGUIRE WOODS
VOLUNTEER FAQS
What kinds of volunteer opportunities does CLIMB offer?
Volunteer attorneys can work with CLIMB in three ways. One, you can accept an individual matter for representation. The majority of this work is done by attorneys in our partner firms; if your firm is not a partner firm and you would like to discuss supporting our work in this way, please reach out to Casey Burke at casey.burke@climbnc.org. Volunteers can also participate in legal clinics, or volunteer by providing educational programming at one of our seminars. For information about upcoming legal clinics, please click here. To learn more about CLIMB’s educational programming, please click here.
What kinds of volunteer opportunities does CLIMB offer?
Currently, we are grateful to the following firms for providing volunteer and financial support for our work: Alston & Bird Bradley Cadwalader King & Spalding Mayer Brown McGuire Woods Moore & Van Allen Robinson Bradshaw Womble Bond Dickinson Lawyers with these firms are encouraged to reach out to your office’s pro bono coordinators for details about working with CLIMB.
Does CLIMB provide malpractice insurance?
Yes, all attorneys providing their services on a pro bono basis to CLIMB clients are covered through our malpractice insurance policy.
Do I need to be licensed in North Carolina to volunteer?
For those matters governed by North Carolina law, you do not need to be licensed in North Carolina so long as you are paired with a North Carolina licensed attorney who supervises your work. North Carolina does permit lawyers licensed in other states to petition for pro bono practice in North Carolina, which would allow you to practice under the supervision of a legal service organization like CLIMB. You can learn more about this process here.
What is the time commitment required to volunteer?
For individual matters, the average amount of time spent per matter is 15-20 hours. For educational seminars, volunteers can offer as much or as little of their time as they are able to give. All of our legal clinics are brief advice/limited representation only and are day-of events.
No, unfortunately, CLIMB only supports small businesses and entrepreneurs launching for-profit ventures.
