Georgia state bar to launch lawyer incubator program
The State Bar of Georgia has approved a new lawyer incubator program for recent law school graduates.
The program, which is set to begin in January, will be open to recent graduates of Georgia’s five ABA-approved law schools who are interested in solo or small firm practice and committed to serving communities in need, the Fulton County Daily Report reports.
The state bar’s board of governors in June agreed to contribute $85,000 a year for three years to help fund the program. Each of Georgia’s five law schools has agreed to chip in another $25,000 toward the program’s first year of operation.
The program, which will be operated by a nonprofit entity called Lawyers for Equal Justice, will be modeled after successful business incubators designed to assist micro entrepreneurs in creating economically viable businesses, according to Hulett “Bucky” Askew, chair of the program’s board of directors. Askew is the ABA’s former consultant on legal education and was once the state’s director of bar admissions.
Participants in the program will receive training and office space in downtown Atlanta, Askew says. They also will be paired with a solo practitioner who can help mentor them.
Plans call for 10 new participants to begin the program every six months over 18 months, for a total of 30 participants. After six months, participants will be charged a flat fee for rent at less than the prevailing rate for office space. That fee will go up for the final six months.
Askew says the arrangement is necessary to make the program self-sustaining and to prepare participants for the expense of operating a solo practice.
A call for applications will go out by the end of September. Applicants will be required to submit a business plan with their application. They also must provide their own laptop and cell phone, and pay for their own malpractice insurance coverage.
