the Future of Change

Albany Law School has released a new, web-based tool to help lawyers serving non-profits that want to form under state law.  These tools can help a lawyer serving such non-profits create two documents critical to forming the non-profit: it’s certificate of incorporation and by-laws.  Using our two, digital, guided interviews, which walk the lawyer through a series of questions and invite lawyers to input a range of data about their clients and their clients’ desires for their organizations, the tools will generate these two documents that lawyers can then file with the Secretary of State of the State of New York for recognition.  The hope is that these tools will save lawyers time, make their work more efficient, and encourage lawyers who want to serve non-profits on a pro bono basis an easy way to do so.  The guided interviews are designed for use by lawyers admitted to practice in New York State, and only if they do not charge their clients for their services.  These tools were designed as part of the class at Albany Law entitled “The Law of Social Entrepreneurship and Exempt Organizations,” which introduces students to the law of non-profit organizations as well as the ways in which technology can be deployed to help improve access to justice .  If you are a lawyer admitted to practice in New York State, you can apply for access to the tools here.  You can also read more about the tools and our process through which they were built here.