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7 Resources to Help Your Small or Solo Firm During the Pandemic

While many law firms are situated to weather the impact of COVID-19, some small firms and solo practitioners are not as fortunate. Here are some resources that could help your practice survive the pandemic.

  1. Economic Injury Disaster Loan. Small business owners can apply for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan advance of up to $10,000. This advance will provide economic relief to businesses that are currently experiencing a temporary loss of revenue due to COVID-19.
  1. Paycheck Protection Program. The Paycheck Protection Program is a loan designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll. The Small Business Administration will forgive loans if all employees are kept on the payroll for eight weeks and the money is used for payroll, rent, mortgage interest, or utilities.
  1. Legal Relief Fund. Clio, the cloud-based practice management system and a State Bar of Michigan member benefit partner, has pledged $1 million to help lawyers and firms navigate the challenges they face in light of the pandemic. If your law firm needs support to run remotely, the company is offering financial support for Clio licenses. They also have resources for lawyers on how to work from home.
  1. Free Legal Research. The State Bar of Michigan provides free access to the legal research tool Casemaker to all Michigan lawyers. Casemaker provides case law, constitution, and statutes for all 50 states, including the District of Columbia, as well as Michigan primary law, administrative code, state court rules, federal court rules, attorney general opinions, and the model civil jury instructions. To access this SBM benefit, log in to the member area and select the Casemaker tab on the right. Here is a Casemaker user guide, and here are answers to some frequently asked questions about it.
  1. Business Planning Tips. MyCase, a State Bar of Michigan partner, has advice to help you create a path forward during this uncertain time.
  1. Join a Section. State Bar of Michigan sections continue to be the place for attorneys to share resources, ask and answer questions, and provide guidance specific to their practice areas—about COVID-19 or anything else. To join a section, log in in to e.michbar.org, then select Section Membership under the heading Quick Links.
  1. COVID Rapid Response Panel Lawyer Referral Service (coming soon). Certain practice areas may experience heightened demand as a result of COVID-19. Target areas were identified in a meeting with section chairs last week. These include: Custody/Parenting Time/Guardianship, Estate/Disability Planning, Garnishment Defense and other Consumer Matters, Labor, and Employment issues. We will be posting more information about the LRS Rapid Response Panel soon. Meanwhile, learn more about joining the LRS and serving in your practice area.

Here are some other resources we have compiled to help Michigan lawyers throughout the pandemic:

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Please let us know what more we can do to support you during this unprecedented time.