Charity People

Building for Good Launches National Platform

Boston – As charitable organizations work to improve inadequate facilities or build new ones, legal bills may hold them back from their mission.  Building for Good, Inc. (B4G), a national, web-based platform linking nonprofits and charities with skilled, volunteer construction lawyers, launched this month in Massachusetts, Florida, New Jersey, and Minnesota.  B4G will help organizations in need of construction law assistance find qualified, local attorneys to provide pro bono construction law services.

A group of attorneys from the American Bar Association (ABA) Forum on Construction Law recognized the untapped potential of expertise among the Forum attorneys who wanted to give back to their communities.  Prior to the launch of B4G, there was no channel linking lawyers to nonprofit organizations in need of pro bono construction law services.

The goal of B4G is to help worthy community organizations save resources and focus on their mission and encourage skilled construction lawyers to join the B4G Network to give back.

Charitable organizations with construction-related legal issues and a financial need can contact B4G for more information and eligibility requirements.  Examples of eligible organizations include foodbanks; domestic violence and homeless shelters; organizations helping citizens with physical, emotional, or mental disabilities; schools serving underserved populations; conservation and art organizations promoting access to the arts and outdoors by people of all backgrounds; and animal protection organizations.

Volunteer construction attorneys, who are members of American Bar Association Forum on Construction Law, may provide legal services ranging from transactional work such as drafting and negotiating construction and design agreements, to assisting clients in construction litigation, mediation, or arbitration relating to design or construction defects.