Our latest accomplishments

Now Accepting Applications for Spring Food Biz 101 →

Food Biz 101 is now accepting applications for our Spring 2017 program! The course will run for 12 weeks from February 6th to May 1st. This course is an incredible opportunity to gain information and resources to help you launch and grow your food business -- from finance and labeling...

Join us in East Boston on November 16th for a Small Business Forum →

 

New Food Business Start-Up Program Helps Launch Women and Minority-Owned Businesses →

  Commonwealth Kitchen and the Economic Justice Project of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights have teamed up to launch a new Food Biz 101 class.  The ten-week series is taught by a dynamic range of industry experts, including pro bono attorneys from Goodwin, to guide aspiring entrepreneurs through the...

Lawyers’ Committee Urges Integrity In State’s Minority-Owned Business Program →

The Lawyers' Committee this week called upon the State's Supplier Diversity Office (SDO) to limit its equal opportunity program for public contracting to only those minority groups for which there is documented discrimination.  Massachusetts' "affirmative marketing program" is a critical means of ensuring that minority-owned businesses have equal opportunity to compete for public contracts....

Lawyers’ Committee Urges MBTA To Mitigate Impact Of Late-Night Service Cancellation →

LCCREJ is again urging the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) to mitigate the impact of its cancellation of late-night service on communities of color and low-income individuals.  Our previous advocacy on this issue highlighted the importance of transportation equity to the civil rights struggle and demonstrated how the MBTA's termination of late-night service disproportionately impacted...

LCCR Urges HUD To Investigate Airbnb For Fair Housing Violations →

In a letter issued today, the Lawyers' Committee calls upon the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to take immediate investigatory and enforcement action to ensure that Airbnb and its hosts fully comply with civil rights laws.  In our letter, we cite recent evidence that Airbnb renters with distinctively African-American names are approximately 16% less likely to be accepted by...

Credit Checks For Employment: A Discriminatory Barrier →

More and more employers now use credit checks to screen potential employees, even though credit history typically tells next to nothing about a person's ability to perform a job.  Not only is this practice unhelpful to employers, it is also often discriminatory, as it disproportionately impacts communities of color.  Find out...

LCCR Advocates For Transportation Equity; Calls on MBTA To Reverse Cancellation Of Late Night Service →

In a letter to Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) leadership and federal officials, the Lawyers' Committee called upon MBTA to reverse its decision to cancel late night bus and rapid transit service -- a decision that will disproportionately impact minority and low-income communities.  In our letter, we highlight the importance...

Solutions for Wealth Inequality: A Joint Statement from Civil Rights Leaders →

Solutions for Wealth Inequality:  A Joint Statement from Civil Rights Leaders and Organizations on Black History Month   As civil rights leaders and organizations, we stand together this Black History Month to call attention to the income inequality plaguing Boston’s communities of color.  The Brookings Institution recently reported that Boston is #1...

Priya Lane Appointed New Director of the Belin Economic Justice Project, featured in Bay State Banner →

  Priya A. Lane Appointed Director of LCCR's Economic Justice Project The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice (LCCR) announced the appointment of Priya A. Lane as its Director of the Belin Economic Justice Project. She will oversee the organization’s work providing free business legal support to small minority-owned businesses across Massachusetts. The...

EJP Celebrates the 5th Season of the Create Your Own Job Seminar →

Last Tuesday, April 14, the Lawyers' Committee's Economic Justice Project finished the 5th season of the Create Your Own Job Seminar. This semester we partnered with Roxbury Community College for the first time, as well as our longtime partner, Latham & Watkins. This 7-week Seminar is targeted to entrepreneurs who...

Legal Clinic with East Boston Neighborhood Business Institute →

The Economic Justice Project was excited to partner with WilmerHale and the East Boston Neighborhood Business Institute on Wednesday, March 25 for a business legal clinic. A business legal clinic is an opportunity for entrepreneurs to speak one-on-one with an attorney about their discrete, business legal issues. There were 7 entrepreneurs...

Catering Business Legal Workshop at Haley House Bakery Café →

Last week on March 25, The Economic Justice Project partnered with the Haley House Bakery Café, Goodwin Proctor, and SkyLab to bring a tailored Catering Workshop to entrepreneurs and small business owners. This Catering Business Legal Workshop provided entrepreneurs and small business owners with the ABCs of opening and operating...

Connecting with Hyde Park & West Roxbury Business Owners →

Last Thursday, March 19, the Economic Justice Project partnered with Foley Hoag, Hyde Park Main Streets, and West Roxbury Main Streets to provide a business legal workshop on entity formation. The workshop was led by Amanda Vendig and Patrick Connolly and attended by several small business owners, including a optical store owner,...

Highly Successful Collaboration in Chinatown →

The Economic Justice Project was excited to partner with Ropes & Gray and the Asian American Civic Association again on Wednesday, February 25 for another business legal clinic. A business legal clinic is an opportunity for entrepreneurs to speak one-on-one with an attorney about their discrete business legal issues. After weeks...