A Business Commitment Project

State Bar of Georgia - 030106

Abstract Number: 030106

May 2003

The State Bar of Georgia, Georgia Legal Services Program, and the Pro Bono Project implemented the A Business Commitment (ABC) Project in 1998 to use volunteer business attorneys to provide pro bono business law services to community-based Georgia nonprofit organizations. The ABC Project provides legal assistance and guidance in the following areas of law: business contracts, leases, real estate issues, tax law, intellectual property, corporate structure, and employment law. In creating this project, the State Bar and GLSP sought to take advantage of the large number of business attorneys in Atlanta and share their expertise with non-profit organizations serving low-income people throughout the state.

Non-profit organizations seeking legal assistance can apply for services by downloading an application from the ABC Project's website. The ABC Project's priorities are to locate pro bono attorneys for non-profit organizations providing direct services to Georgia's low-income community and to organizations coming out of the low-income community. Generally to receive services, applicants usually either have a strong history and commitment to working in the non-profit world or have completed a micro-enterprise training program. Applicant's whose proposals need more work are referred to organizations such as the Georgia Center for Non-Profits or to GLSP in-house attorneys where they can locate additional resources to further develop their application. The ABC project also offers trainings to non-profit organizations in substantive areas such as corporate structure and non-profit operations.

The ABC Project concept began through a partnership with the American Bar Association's Section on Business Law and National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA). This partnership sought to implement an urban and a rural model project. The urban project was implemented in Washington DC and the Georgia Bar and GLSP implemented the rural project. For more information, visit the ABC Project's website at: http://www.abc-georgia.org/.

Contact Information:

Michael L. Monahan
State Bar of Georgia Pro Bono Project Director/
Access to Justice Committee Staff Liaison
104 Marietta Street, NW, Suite 100
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
Phone: (404) 527-8762/8763
Fax: (404) 527-8717
Mike@gabar.org

Additional Information:

• Daniel Cox, "Atlanta's 'ABCs' Of Justice: Corporate Attorneys Donate Legal Help to Nonprofits in Need by Making 'A Business Commitment,'" Legal Services Corporation's Equal Justice Magazine 2, No. 2 (Summer 2003).
• Georgia's ABC Project Website
• ABA's ABC Project
• The ABC Manual: Starting and Operating a Business Law Pro Bono Project ( 1.13mb)

back to top ^