Florida Community Development Legal Project

The Community Economic Development (CED) Unit at Legal Aid Service of Collier County (LASCC) provides statewide free legal services to small businesses and nonprofits through the Florida Community Development Legal (FCDL) Project*.

Eligibility for FCDL Project:

  1. The FCDL Project provides free legal services to small businesses owned by low to moderate-income* entrepreneurs, AND
  2. nonprofits providing critical services to low-income** communities that cannot afford an attorney.

If your business or nonprofit is not eligible under the FCDL Project, please visit collierlegalaid.org/SBLR to see if it qualifies under another program.

Free Legal Services Provided

Essentially, FCDL attorneys act as corporate or in-house counsel for clients addressing legal needs within certain its practice areas. The FCDL Project offers a wide range of legal services to achieve these goals including, but not limited to:

 

 

  • Entity selection and limiting liability;
  • Organizational documents with the state (articles of
    incorporation or articles of organization and
    amending these documents)
  • Business governing agreements (bylaws, operating agreement, or partnership agreement):
  • Review agreements already in use by the business to ensure they
    are still in compliance with best practices and current laws;
  • Succession planning for your organization;
  • Fictitious name/ DBA advice and registration;
  • Instructions on filing Annual Reports and other
    required state filings;
  • Contract drafting/ review/negotiation;
  • Template agreements for customer services;
  • Commercial lease drafting/ review/negotiation/ renegotiation;
  • Florida trademark advice and registration;
  • Non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements;
  • Non-compete agreements;
  • Legal governance training;
  • Business acquisition representation;
  • Real estate closings;
  • Financial closings;
  • Dispute resolution;
  • Referrals to local free or low-cost business counseling services;
  • And more.

Intake:

Clients are assisted by appointment only. For assistance or to schedule an appointment, call 239-775-4555 or email [email protected].

*Funding for the FCDL Project is provided in part by the Florida Bar Foundation through the statewide Florida Community Development Legal Project.

**A low to moderate-income individual means the individual has a household income of up to 140% of the Area Median Income (AMI) as determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

***Low income means a full-time equivalent individual making up to 50% of the AMI as determined by HUD.