EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Small Business & Nonprofit Clinic, one of four public-interest clinics operated by the Michigan State University College of Law, will be able to expand its services to small businesses and nonprofit organizations thanks to a $49,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

The MSU law clinic provides counseling and legal advice to start-up and existing small businesses and nonprofits in the greater Lansing area – Ingham, Eaton and Clinton counties – as well as throughout Michigan. Currently, the clinic is serving a growing number of clients whose needs for legal counsel vary.

“Our goal as a clinic is to offer an exceptional legal education to MSU law students while providing proficient legal counsel to the rising, yet underserved, small businesses and nonprofit organizations in Michigan,” said Nicole Dandridge, an MSU clinical professor and attorney.

The clinic is staffed by Dandridge, who supervises second- and third-year law students. Under Michigan Court Rule 8.120, these students are eligible to practice law under the supervision of Dandridge, who is a member of the State Bar of Michigan.

The small-business sector is a significant and growing part of the U.S. economy and a source of more new jobs than the large corporate sector. Yet, small businesses traditionally have been underserved by the legal community, in part because the small-business owner is often unable to afford effective legal counsel, according to Dandridge. This lack of counsel can be one critical reason for the failure of the business. The clinic charges a nominal fee for its services.

The nonprofit sector also is under-represented by legal counsel, for much the same reason as small businesses. Nonetheless, the government is looking to nonprofits to assume a greater responsibility for education, social, cultural, religious and health services in the community, especially for those in need, Dandridge said. The clinic applies the same fee structure to nonprofits as it does to small businesses.

The Small Business & Nonprofit Clinic may be contacted at (517) 337-4518. The clinic is located at 541 E. Grand River Ave., East Lansing. Information about each of the MSU law clinics – Rental Housing Clinic, Tax Clinic, Chance at Childhood Law & Social Work Clinic and Small Business & Nonprofit Clinic – may be found online at http://www.msulawclinics.org.

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The W.K. Kellogg Foundation was established in 1930 and targets its grants toward specific areas: health; food systems and rural development; youth and education; and philanthropy and volunteerism. Grants are concentrated in the United States, Latin America, the Caribbean and southern African countries.

MSU College of Law was founded as the Detroit College of Law in 1891. The college affiliated with Michigan State University in 1995 and moved to MSU’s East Lansing campus in 1997. Today, the college is one of only two private law schools to be affiliated with a research university and one of the oldest continuously operating independent law colleges in the nation.