Paul, Weiss, Apollo Collaborate on Pro Bono Clinic to Support Women-Owned Small Businesses

Paul, Weiss, in partnership with our client Apollo Global Management, hosted a virtual pro bono clinic to provide transactional legal counsel to women-owned businesses based in New York City, in observance of Women’s History Month.

Paul, Weiss and Apollo lawyers collaborated with Women Entrepreneurs NYC (WE NYC) to provide pro bono legal guidance to New York City-based women-owned businesses, who are currently facing challenges in accessing capital and legal assistance due to COVID-19. WE NYC is an initiative based out of the New York City Department of Small Business Services that is dedicated to helping women start and grow their businesses.

At the start of the clinic, pro bono attorney Emily Donohoe and WE NYC representative Emily Lindo introduced the work of WE NYC and highlighted the importance of assisting women entrepreneurs. Counsel Femi Austin and associates Anastasia Peterson and Alexandra Schiffrin then led a training program on the most common legal issues affecting small businesses. Following the training session, teams of Paul, Weiss and Apollo attorneys provided hour-long consultations with eight women-owned small businesses, ranging from a mental health-focused media company to a cultural innovation studio to an events company that hopes to host events celebrating New York City after the pandemic.

The Paul, Weiss team included, among others, corporate partners Matthew Goldstein, Victoria Forrester and Manuel Frey, counsel Femi Austin and associates Alexandra Schiffrin, Anastasia Peterson, Rolake Adeniran, Sam Griffith, Andrew Forgy, Matthew Battaglia, Noah Marks, Alexia Yang and Shimeng Cheng; and tax associates Valentine Lysikatos Carey, Sohail Itani and Noah Marks. The clinic was coordinated by pro bono attorney Emily Donohoe.