UNC School of Law COVID-19 Response Project Addresses Legal Needs of Nonprofits

A team of law students is offering help—under the supervision of licensed attorneys—to charitable organizations facing coronavirus-related issues.

The UNC School of Law COVID-19 Response Project was created to serve the legal needs of North Carolina nonprofit organizations as they adjust to the COVID-19 pandemic and to provide rich, practical educational experiences for Carolina Law students.

The project focuses on the legal needs of small, under-resourced charitable nonprofit organizations in North Carolina. Although many nonprofit organizations are distressed during this prolonged difficult time, the project’s priority is to serve organizations that cannot otherwise afford to pay for legal services and have nowhere else to turn.

The scope of the project’s representation depends on the volume of requests but anticipates working on matters arising directly or indirectly from the COVID-19 pandemic such as:

• CARES Act loans and loan forgiveness
• employment law and risk reduction strategies
• liability issues (public, employee and volunteer safety)
• vendor and real estate contracts
• other matters concerning the law and non-profit organizations

Carolina Law students Jacob Brannon 3L, Phoebe Bulls 3L, Zach Corenblum 2L, Jake Farrell 2L, Richard Hanson 3L, Donte Jones 3L, Alex Krause 2L and Nisha Shah 3L have received extensive training and are working with Professor Thomas Kelley in partnership with attorneys from Troutman Sanders and Pepper Hamilton (which will merge effective July 1, 2020, to form Troutman Pepper) to address these unmet legal needs.

The project will run through mid-July. Charitable nonprofit organizations seeking assistance should contact Professor Kelley at takelley@email.unc.edu. The email should include a brief description of the organization, including its size and its mission, along with a summary of the organization’s legal challenge(s).