The King County Bar Association is joining with the University of Washington Business School’s Business and Economic Development Program (BEDP) again this year to assist inner city and minority-owned businesses. This will mark the seventh year of the collaboration during which time KCBA panels have provided pro bono legal advice to 75 companies.

The BEDP has, since 1995, worked with small businesses in Seattle’s Central Area, Rainier Valley, Beacon Hill, Chinatown/International District, and White Center neighborhoods. Through this work, teams of students, Business School alumni, and mentors from the Seattle Rotary Club have helped companies create and retain more than 300 jobs and $12 million in new revenues. Participating attorneys from the King County Bar have been a key component of the BEDP’s ability to offer a comprehensive set of services to inner city businesses.

The KCBA is currently recruiting attorneys to help advise the 16 inner city businesses that are part of the 2004-2005 BEDP business assistance program.

To kick off this year, the BEDP will hold an intensive day of business analysis for business owners on December 9, 2004 at the UW campus. As part of this Business Advising Day, 16 business attorneys, recruited by the KCBA, will spend 1-1/2 hours with a business owner to confidentially review legal issues the company is facing. The volunteer attorney will then provide the business with a short written report outlining the legal issues it faces and suggested steps for addressing them. Should additional consultation be needed, the attorney will provide up to an additional four hours of pro bono advice. Following this, the attorney can either refer the advisee to KCBA’s Lawyer Referral Service or continue advising the business on a pro bono or fee-for-service basis, depending on the desires of the volunteer attorney.

The KCBA is currently looking for attorneys who have experience in advising companies in the following industries:

• Construction contracting
• Restaurants
• Manufacturing (specialty food and metal fabrication)
• Retail

Additional expertise in the following areas would be greatly valued:

• Employment law
• Contracts and distribution agreements
• Product liability
• Trademarks and intellectual property

The KCBA will hold a brown bag orientation at noon on Monday, November 8 in the large conference room at it offices at 1200 Fifth Avenue, Suite 600, Seattle, for new and returning advisors prior to the December 9 Business Advising Day. (Please bring your lunch to this orientation.)