McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC announces that its Legal Equity Advancement Program (LEAP), which initially launched in Pennsylvania, has expanded to include Ohio. Through the program, two Black-owned or Black-controlled businesses in the state will be awarded a grant for one year’s worth of legal services. McNees will accept first-round applications for LEAP from October 18, 2021, to October 29, 2021.
McNees launched LEAP last year in Southcentral Pennsylvania as it acknowledged that most new businesses, particularly Black-owned or Black-controlled businesses, lack access to the sophisticated legal services needed to launch and grow a business. The firm saw this as an opportunity to play a meaningful role in helping the Black business community overcome certain barriers to entry caused, in part, by institutional racism.
The two businesses selected for the 2021 Ohio Legal Equity Advancement Program will each be allotted up to one year of free legal services during their first year of engagement with McNees. The 2020 LEAP clients utilized legal services for matters involving general business, tax, employment, real estate, intellectual property and contract review, among several others.
For more information on eligibility and the application process for the Ohio Legal Equity Advancement Program, click here.