Clinical Support

The Law and Community Foundation (LCF) has partnered with Charlotte School of Law (CharlotteLaw) to establish the Center for Law and Community Development (Center). The purpose of the Center is to conduct research and develop scholarship in the area of community development through symposia, colloquia and other educational programs. LCF will provide funding and guidance to the Center to develop clinics and other experiential learning programs that attend to the legal needs of the community.  The clinics will provide legal services to underserved local and regional populations with the supervision of CharlotteLaw Faculty and legal practitioners.   Through the work of the Center, students will gain valuable practical experience to enhance their skills as lawyers.

Current clinical offerings include:

BUSINESS LAW CLINIC

The Business Law Clinic has partnered with Central Piedmont Community College’s Institute for Entrepreneurship (www.cpcc.edu/e-institute) to provide essential legal services to emerging businesses in the Charlotte region. The Institute serves 3,000 clients yearly and conducts over 20 seminars for aspiring entrepreneurs and start-up business owners. CharlotteLaw’s Business Law Clinic will complement those services by providing assistance with:

  • Business formation processes
  • Purchase/lease agreements
  • Employee/consultant contracts


PARENT REPRESENTATION CLINIC

In NC, indigent parents who have lost custody of their children due to allegations of abuse, neglect or dependency are entitled to free legal advice, advocacy and legal representation by appointed counsel.  In collaboration with the Neighborhood Advocacy Center, the CharlotteLaw Parent Representation Clinic trains law students to represent these parents. Students represent parents by addressing the legal and other obstacles that block at-risk parents from improving their lives sufficiently to regain and maintain custody of their children.  Students learn how to secure necessary services for the parents, to ensure they have appropriate case plans, and to advocate for the parents in and out of court.  Students typically work on at least two cases during the course of a term.  The classroom component addresses abuse, neglect and dependency substantive law; advocacy skills and ethical issues in representation of parents; and cultural sensitivity.