Client Spotlight - La Casa de Mamá
When the family behind La Casa de Mamá began growing their business, they knew they needed to build a strong legal foundation to support their next chapter. For this Latino-owned, family operated vegan Mexican panadería and catering service, preserving their recipes, protecting their ideas, and creating clear agreements among team members were essential steps towards sustainable growth.
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La Casa de Mamá first learned about the Small Business Legal Clinic (SBLC) while one of its founders was an undergraduate student at Lewis & Clark College. After hearing about the clinic through Political Science and Entrepreneurship courses, the SBLC remained a resource they remembered when their family launched the business in 2021 and needed affordable legal assistance.
“We found ourselves needing legal documents with limited resources, the SBLC was the first place I thought to reach out to,” they shared. “I’m so glad we did, we had a wonderful experience with our team!”
Through their work with the SBLC, La Casa de Mamá received assistance in drafting an operating agreement and a non-disclosure agreement for team members joining the business. These documents became important tools as the company continued to grow, helping to establish clear expectations and protect the recipes and processes that make their products unique.
“Having an NDA in place as our team grows has given us tremendous peace of mind,” they explained. “Knowing that our recipes and processes are protected allows us to bring people into our kitchen with confidence.”
One moment that stood out during their experience with SBLC was the personal connection they felt with their legal team. As a family that primarily speaks Spanish at home, they appreciated being able to work with a student advocate who spoke Spanish and had even experienced trying their products at a local event.
“It created an immediate, genuine connection and made our whole family feel at ease throughout the process,” they said.
As La Casa de Mamá approaches its fifth year in business, the family is proud of how far they have come—from launching their panaderia to building a growing business supported by strong legal foundations. Their experience highlights the importance of seeking legal guidance early, even when a business is still finding its footing.
Their advice to other small business owners is simple: get your legal documents in place if you think you need them.
“We had been talking about formalizing our operating agreement since the very beginning, but it kept getting pushed aside as other priorities took over,” they shared. “As our business grew and we began applying for funding, having that agreement in place became increasingly essential, it opened doors to a much larger pool of opportunities and made every application process significantly smoother.”
For La Casa de Mamá, working with the SBLC was about more than just completing legal documents, it was about gaining the confidence and support needed to continue growing their family business.
By Ava Deng - SBLC Intern
