Six graduates of Chapman University Dale E. Fowler School of Law are participating in a new solo practice “incubator” program this year run by Legal Aid Society of Orange County. The year-long program, Lawyer Entrepreneur Assistance Program (LEAP), provides new attorneys with the resources they need to successfully strike out on their own including office space, training, mentorships and immediate access to clients through Legal Aid Society of Orange County. Solo practice incubators like LEAP are designed to increase legal services available to low income and modest means clients while also building a stronger generation of new attorneys. The first was started at The City University of New York in 2007.

Assistant Dean of Career Services Melissa Berry, who helps facilitate Fowler School of Law’s participation in LEAP, said the program offers uncommon benefits to help our graduates build their solo careers and compete in a competitive market. Within the program, 40 participants operate their own independent law firms and are offered the practical training to help gain experience and income while building their businesses.

“Typically when you start out on your own, you do not have access to resources like this program provides” Berry said. “The practical experience, substantive knowledge and connections in the legal community that our participants can gain through this program will prepare them well for a thriving solo practice. They are also filling a critical community need by providing legal services to low income and modest means clients.”

LEAP lawyers are expected to complete a “boot camp” of ethics and basic practice skills trainings. Last month Fowler School of Law hosted its first training of the program. The day-long session covered an introduction to bankruptcy law and included presentations by the Honorable Theodor C. Albert, United States Bankruptcy Court Judge and Fowler School of Law Adjunct Professor, and practicing bankruptcy lawyers Richard Heston, Richard Marshack, Misty Perry-Isaacson and Amrane Cohen.

In addition to a broad range of training opportunities, the incubator setting provides direct access to industry mentors, including weekly case review meetings with experienced attorneys and judges. Fowler Law participants are expected to provide 300 hours of pro bono service to Legal Aid Society of Orange County clients over the course of the year. Run by volunteers and partially funded by grants from the Orange County Bar Association Charitable Fund, American Bar Association Legal Access Job Corps Catalyst Grant, the State Bar of California Modest Means/Incubator Project, and the J.B. and Emily Van Nuys Charities, LEAP law school partners include Fowler School of Law, Whittier Law School, Western State College of Law and the University of California, Irvine School of Law.

There are currently five solo incubator programs in Southern California.

Read more about how LEAP began.

Get involved in LEAP as a new lawyer.