Tools to Grow

Roz Freeman recognizes and values the connection between civil rights and economic justice, which is why she’s gratified by the work being done by BizGrow, an arm of Massachusetts-based Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR).

LCR was born during the Civil Rights era, said Freeman, entrepreneurship manager for Lawyers for Civil Rights, noting that it sprung from the broader, national movement known as the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “We work through the law to fight for justice. We have a team of litigators who litigate civil rights in collaboration with law firms that are doing pro bono work to support these cases.”

LCR was created in 1968 (more on that later), but about 20 years ago, it established BizGrow, which provides free legal assistance, business support, and technical assistance to minority, immigrant, and women business owners, aiming to ensure they encounter fewer obstacles and more opportunities. Assistance can come in many areas, including starting a business, growing an enterprise, shifting ownership, managing transactional issues, or any other challenge small businesses are faced with.

Now, LCR has launched a new partnership with Springfield City Library aimed at transforming the support landscape for small-business owners and entrepreneurs in and around the city. The collaboration will kick off with the free BizGrow Conference on Thursday, Oct. 10 from noon to 4 p.m. at the library, located at 220 State St.

At the BizGrow Conference, modeled after a similar annual event in Boston, current and aspiring small-business owners will have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with volunteer attorneys for free legal advice, connect with local and state organizations that provide essential resources and support to small businesses, and network with other local business owners. Dozens of business owners and entrepreneurs, pro bono attorneys, and providers of business technical assistance are expected to attend.

Roz Freeman

“We work through the law to fight for justice. We have a team of litigators who litigate civil rights in collaboration with law firms that are doing pro bono work to support these cases.”

“We are thrilled to deepen our connections to Springfield and offer this valuable event to the small-business community,” said Priya Lane, BizGrow director at Lawyers for Civil Rights. “Free legal support and business networking are crucial tools to help close the opportunity gap and fuel the small businesses that are the engines of our Commonwealth.”

Birth of a Notion

LCR traces its national roots back to June 1963, when President John F. Kennedy and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy met with 250 leading American lawyers at the White House to discuss the role lawyers could and should play in the deepening civil-rights crisis.

The nation recently had been shaken by television and news accounts of police-led violence against peaceful demonstrations led by Martin Luther King Jr., and by the spectacle of U.S. Army intervention to enforce court orders requiring the University of Alabama to admit Black students against a defiant Gov. George Wallace.

The Kennedy brothers made an appeal to the lawyers to mobilize the voice and work of the legal profession to support the struggle for civil rights in the nation. Locally, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law of the Boston Bar Assoc. was formed in 1968. Funded with a grant from the Ford Foundation and contributions from major Boston law firms, it became the first of eight independent affiliates of the national Lawyers’ Committee. The only Lawyers’ Committee in the country affiliated with a major bar association, it rebranded as Lawyers for Civil Rights in 2018.

But before that, BizGrow developed from a recognition that social justice also means economic opportunity, and LCR had a role to play there as well.

Priya Lane

“Free legal support and business networking are crucial tools to help close the opportunity gap and fuel the small businesses that are the engines of our Commonwealth.”

“After many years, we wanted to connect fighting for justice with economic justice and wealth creation for disadvantaged communities,” Freeman explained. “Lawyers for Civil Rights and BizGrow partner with law firms that provide pro bono opportunities to support small businesses. Businesses, in turn, get a free legal network to support them.”

Sheila Coon, owner of Hot Oven Cookies, which has locations in Sprngfield and Chicopee, speaks well of her experiences working with lawyers through LCR, and says others should reach out.

“The attorneys I’ve connected with through LCR and BizGrow have been invaluable to solving key issues for my small business,” she noted. “I am so excited that this amazing resource is coming to Springfield.”

Hot Oven is just one of roughly 1,600 different businesses Lawyers for Civil Rights has worked with in 2024 alone through workshops, free legal clinics, and its Boston conference, Freeman told BusinessWest.

And many one-on-one connections made at the conference between entrepreneurs and attorneys will be forged before the event itself, to ensure that each volunteer lawyer has the background needed to help a particular business owner.

“We match businesses with the right attorneys in the area; we talk ahead of time to make sure the questions are clear and they’re able to make most of the meeting with the attorney during the conference,” she explained. “Then, if they need long-term legal representation, we can make a match for free legal support. Any questions that don’t get answered within a 30-minute session during the conference, we can follow up with support.”

Support for the Journey

Of course, BizGrow’s presence in Springfield will extend well beyond one conference.

“We are reaching out to small-business owners to make sure they’re getting the wraparound supports that businesses need. So we offer workshops and legal clinics, too,” Freeman said. “But the reason for the in-person conference is we want to not only bring resources on the ground in Springfield, but also provide a networking opportunity for small businesses. That’s why we partnered with the library.

“Fifteen different small-business resource partners will be there. So entrepreneurs can come to the event and get the support they need and make connections with many of those business resources in the region,” she added. “We’re looking to support Western Mass. businesses in a way we haven’t before.”

The partnership with Lawyers for Civil Rights promises to be “a fantastic opportunity for Springfield’s small-business community,” said Elizabeth McKinstry, programming and training librarian for the 167-year-old Springfield City Library.

“We are thrilled to host the BizGrow Conference and bring such vital resources to our local entrepreneurs,” she added. “For many small-business owners, access to legal advice and business networks can be a game changer. We are hopeful this event will have a lasting impact on the growth of small businesses in our community.”

To register for the BizGrow Conference Springfield, visit bit.ly/BizGrowSpringfield2024.