Ropes & Gray Volunteers Assist Small-Business Owners at BizGrow 2019

 A team of Ropes & Gray associates, summer associates and interns from the firm’s Boston office recently attended BizGrow 2019, an event designed to connect current and aspiring small-business owners with free legal and business support. The team spent the day meeting with pro bono clients to discuss legal topics of interest to small-business owners, including incorporation, filing, tax and intellectual property. The event took place on July 18 at Suffolk University Law School in Boston.

Hosted annually by Lawyers for Civil Rights, an organization that fosters equal opportunity and fights discrimination on behalf of people of color and immigrants, BizGrow offers attorneys a unique opportunity to support underserved populations on a pro bono basis while networking with business executives and fellow attorneys. In addition to providing small-business owners with free one-on-one legal assistance, volunteer lawyers lead workshops on topics ranging from entity formation to leases and contracts. Executives from local companies also lead discussions on important business issues for small businesses, including business planning, insurance and e-commerce.

The Ropes & Gray volunteer team was led by corporate associate Melicia Morris and included corporate associates Tyler Cash and Will Little; summer associates Vania Cornelio, Shirley Duquene, Becca Gottesdiener, Debbie McElwaine, K.P. Pierre, Connie Shen, Meredith Sterritt and Mallory Ursul; and SEO interns Courtney Brunson and Genesis Ruano.

Left to right, former corporate associates Anthony Lombardi and Jordan Bryant are joined by summer associates Shirley Duquene, Debbie McElwaine, Connie Shen and K.P. Pierre at BizGrow 2019.