Welcome to NC LEAP

Thanks for your patience! NC LEAP is now accepting applications from qualified business owners and qualified nonprofit organizations. At the start of the application, you will be asked to identify whether your business is for profit or nonprofit in order to move to the correct application. APPLY NOW by clicking here.

Click here to access important Ounce of Prevention entrepreneurial-related fact sheets.

NC LEAP (North Carolina Lawyers for Entrepreneurs Assistance Program) strives to be the premier provider of business-related legal services to low-wealth entrepreneurs and business owners in North Carolina. Through one-on-one representation, community education, and self-help materials, NC LEAP empowers low-wealth business owners to build businesses in North Carolina that create jobs, improve communities, and boost participants out of the poverty cycle.

NC LEAP is a public service program of the North Carolina Bar Association Foundation which is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

Your donations ensure that NC LEAP will continue with its mission of helping North Carolinas low-wealth entrepreneurs. Please click here to learn more.

NC LEAP provides pro bono legal services to low-wealth entrepreneurs who are starting or expanding their businesses in North Carolina. These free services are provided by North Carolina business and transactional lawyers who seek to give back to their communities. Services range from basic transactional legal needs as struggling entrepreneurs strive to establish their businesses and create jobs, to potential long term client-counselor relations as their businesses grow.

NC LEAP and our volunteer attorneys offer a full range of transactional legal services to low-wealth entrepreneurs including:

Legal counsel and advice in startng and organizing a new business;
Drafting and/or reviewing documents, including articles of organization, by-laws, contracts, leases, loan documents, franchise agreements and vendor agreements;
Assistance in negotiating contracts;
Legal advice regarding business permits and licenses, and other applicable laws and regulations;
Protection of intellectual property through copyright, patent (limited cases), and trademark;
Referral to community partners including micro-lenders, entrepreneurial training programs and technical assistance programs; and
Trainings and presentations on legal issues for small business owners.

NC LEAP increases pro bono opportunities for North Carolina's business lawyers in their areas of expertise, increases the chances of success for low-wealth entrepreneurs and prepares North Carolina communities for success in our changing economy.

Join the NC LEAP Honor Roll! Below are the firms and organizations statewide that have contributed to the NC LEAP Fundraising Campaign during 2010-2013.

Bahnson, Inc.	NCBA Corporate Counsel Section
Bank of America	NCBA International Law & Practice Section
Bell Davis & Pitt	Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough
BlueCross/BlueShield of NC	Parker Poe
Brooks Pierce	Purrington Moody Weil
Carruthers & Roth	Rayburn Cooper & Durham
DLA Piper	Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson
Duke Energy	Schell Bray Aycock Abel & Livingston
Hunton & Williams	Smith Anderson
Hutchinson Law Group	Smith Moore Leatherwood
K&L Gates	The Van Winkle Law Firm
Kilpatrick Stockton	The Wachovia Wells Fargo Foundation
Lenovo	Williams Mullen
Lord Corporation	Wishart Norris Henninger & Pittman
Manning Fulton	Womble Carlyle
McGuireWoods	Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton
McGuire, Wood & Bissette	Young Moore & Henderson
Moore & Van Allen
Myers Bigel Sibley & Sajovec
NCBA Business Law Section