Pro Business

Mind and Matter

Vitt says he sees plenty of questions about taxation, contracts, employment policies, and liability at LegalCorps’s clinics. But he says there are a fair number of intellectual property issues that need resolution, too.

Jeffer Ali, an attorney at Minneapolis’s Merchant & Gould, a law firm that specializes in intellectual property, notes that trademarks can be crucial for nonprofits, too. “Tee It Up For The Troops is is a nonprofit [in Burnsville] established by the friends and family of a soldier who is serving in the Army,” he says. “The goal of the organization is to designate a national day of golf saluting those who serve, and to raise money for 9/11-related causes. We’ve secured trademark protection for the name and use of the name in conjunction with the way it’s used to raise money and awareness for the organization.”

Ali says there are numerous licensees around the country that use the Tee It Up name for their tournaments. Another organization applied for a mark that Merchant & Gould thought was too similar, so the law firm opposed it. Keeping the name safe protects both the organization and the public (who need to be certain that they’re donating money to the charity they intend to, and not to an impostor).

Another of pro bono client of Merchant & Gould’s is Maria’s Children International, an organization based in Savage that focuses on arts rehabilitation for children. Maria’s was contacted by an organization called Children International that was concerned about the similarity in the organizations’ names and Web domain names. The law firm worked out a deal between the two parties.

Similarly, pro bono real estate assistance is greatly in demand in the business community. Start-ups and microbusinesses need help purchasing, leasing, or selling buildings; financing mortgages; forming common-interest communities; and so on. A charter school recently sought help from Winthrop & Weinstine when it needed to negotiate a lease agreement for a new space.

Faegre & Benson has assisted the White Earth Land Recovery Project—a nonprofit that seeks to recover Native American lands and preserve cultural practices in northern Minnesota—for more than 15 years. Real estate has played a key role: The firm has helped transfer multiple parcels of donated or purchased land to tribal ownership. It also developed a master lease for tenants of a building that the recovery project acquired. The building now houses several small businesses, as well as a White Earth for-profit that sells Indian food and craft items.

Examples like these show clearly how pro bono work boosts the Minnesota economy. “Our hope is always that what we are doing is laying a good foundation for businesses to grow and become successful,” Duke says. “Through the partnerships that we have, we’re not just helping anyone—we’re helping people who’ve been through an educational process, so that when they do start their business, they are going to have a leg up and they are going to be more likely to succeed.”

Larison describes herself as a “real believer” in pro bono work. It opens doors for some small businesses, she says—particularly those that are minority-owned and woman-owned. And it is valuable in the nonprofit community as well. Charities couldn’t do a lot of the good work they do without free or reduced-cost legal advice, because the funds simply aren’t in their budgets.

“I grew up in Minnesota, and I always was taught that you give back,” she says. “There’s a history here of giving. I think the lawyers in this community fall back into that and say, ‘What else can I give?’”