Information for Clients
The SBLC offers four programs through which small business clients receive transactional legal help. To qualify for any of the four programs, potential clients must:
- Demonstrate financial need
- Have, or plan to start, an Oregon business or nonprofit organization
- Request help within the scope of SBLC services
Potential clients must first complete an online intake form, followed by a 15-20 minute phone intake. They are then tracked into one or more of the available programs.
Pro Bono Project
The Pro Bono Project is run in conjunction with local volunteer attorneys. Clients placed in our Pro Bono Project are matched with an attorney according to the attorney’s area of expertise. There is currently a waitlist to meet with an attorney. Services are free and clients only have to pay a small administrative fee.
Intern Program
The Intern Program is staffed by clinical law professors and upper-division law students. The program is open year-round but clients may have to wait until the start of a new semester before receiving assistance.
Patent Program
The Patent Program is a part of the Intern Program, and allows entrepreneurial inventors to receive assistance with provisional patents, non-provisional patents and patent office actions. There is often a waitlist to meet with a student and professor. Services are offered for a flat-fee on a sliding scale.
Rural Entrepreneur Program
The Rural Entrepreneur Program is designed for entrepreneurs or small businesses located in towns of less than 35,000 people or Native American reservations. Services are free and clients only have to pay a small administrative fee.
Staff Attorney Program
The Staff Attorney Program provides legal assistance for nonprofit organizations and for-profit small business clients across Oregon. The program is year-round and clients may obtain an appointment within a week of completing the intake process.
The Staff Attorney Program helped with the improvements for The Julian Hotel Apartments, a historic apartment building located in downtown Corvallis that provides affordable studio and one-bedroom rentals to elderly or disabled households who qualify and are earning 50% or below the area median income (AMI) in Benton County.