Corporate Pro Bono Day 2008

On September 23, 2008, Philadelphia LawWorks, a project of Philadelphia VIP, sponsored the fifth annual Corporate Pro Bono Day (CPBD). CPBD provides microentrepreneurs the opportunity to discuss immediate and ongoing legal matters with corporate counsel from various Philadelphia-area businesses. Past volunteers include counsel from PECO Energy, Comcast Cable Communications, Pep Boys, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, and many others.

Corporate Pro Bono Day at The Enterprise Center

CPBD was hosted by The Enterprise Center, a minority business incubator program located in the historic American Bandstand Building in West Philadelphia. Prior to the counseling sessions, attorneys from Dechert LLP provided a continuing legal education seminar on the essential legal needs of small businesses.

From left: Eve Runyon of Corporate Pro Bono; Della Clark and Andy Toy of The Enterprise Center; Stefanie Seldin and Martin Costello of Philadelphia VIP/LawWorks

This year’s CPBD was the biggest and most successful to date, with small business owners receiving expert legal advice on the original dance floor of Philadelphia’s own American Bandstand. Past participants have counseled a variety of microentrepreneurs, including a clothing company, a wireless phone store, a clothing designer, a caterer, a photographer, and a handbag designer. Most of the microentrepreneurs attending the event are local minority and women business owners and operators located along newly revitalized commercial corridors.

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