The NYC Pro Bono Center proudly features Rolando Gonzalez as our summer volunteer spotlight.  Rolando is a staff attorney based in the Harlem Community Law Office in the Community Development Project at the Legal Aid Society and in this piece, shares his experience working with pro bono volunteers and assisting low-income entrepreneurs.  

Related Resources

• Learn more about volunteer opportunities at the Legal Aid Society

• Explore our community development/non-profit practice area, hosted by Lawyers Alliance for NY

• Access the Legal Aid Society's Non-Profit Incorporation training (December 2015)

• Read our previous volunteers - Osvaldo Garcia's immigration pro bono, or Justine Rousseau's experience in family law

• NYC Pro Bono Center Homepage

Rolando Gonzalez
Staff Attorney, Legal Aid Society
Community Development Project

Last year, The Legal Aid Society partnered with over 3,000 pro bono attorneys, paralegals, and other legal professionals to represent low-income New Yorkers across a variety of civil, criminal, and juvenile rights matters. This successful public/private collaboration enhances the Society’s ability to secure fundamental legal rights for low-income New Yorkers in critical need of counsel.

An integral component of the Pro Bono Practice is the supervision and mentoring by Legal Aid staff. Rolando Gonzalez is a Staff Attorney with the Society’s Community Development Project (CDP) which provides business and transactional legal services to low-income small businesses and community based nonprofit organizations.

Based in the Harlem Community Law Office, Rolando has worked closely with many pro bono volunteers and in explaining their importance to the CDP, stated: “By leveraging the resources and expertise of the private bar, our project is able to effectively provide high-quality legal services to a larger number of individuals and assist with a greater number of legal issues.”

Rolando’s motivation for a career as a public interest attorney was a desire to make a difference in the lives of low-income individuals.  Initially serving as Deputy Counsel for Planning and Economic Development for Congressman Jose E. Serrano, Rolando later joined Harlem Legal Services, Inc. as a housing attorney.  In 2000, Rolando began his work at Legal Aid in the Society’s Housing Development Unit representing tenant associations in building-wide litigation, including rent strikes and housing preservation actions. Soon thereafter Rolando became a member of the Society’s 9/11 Small Business Legal Assistance Project, representing small businesses in Lower Manhattan facing eviction as a result of the events of September 11, 2001. That role ultimately led to his role with the CDP.

CDP’s attorneys provide advice and legal representation, conduct legal clinics and community workshops, as well as legal training for business counselors throughout New York City. These small businesses include restaurants, cafes, bodegas, beauty salons, online businesses and worker coops.  CDP’s nonprofit clients include health and human service providers, economic development organizations, immigrant services agencies, after-school programs, and arts and cultural organizations, all of which provide services that substantially improve communities and the lives of low-income people. The unit also represents Housing Development Fund Company (HDFC) cooperatives that develop and work to preserve affordable housing by providing ownership opportunities to tenants who would otherwise be unable to own their home.

"...pro bono attorneys help level the playing field... In order for low-income entrepreneurs to have the same chances of success as all other businesses, they need access to the same range of professional services other businesses routinely obtain, including legal advice."

Rolando believes that pro bono attorneys help level the playing field.  “Due to low-income entrepreneurs’ limited access to traditional sources of capital and the small revenue base of many of these businesses, in many instances they are unable to afford professional services to overcome these obstacles. In order for low-income entrepreneurs to have the same chances of success as all other businesses, they need access to the same range of professional services other businesses routinely obtain, including legal advice.  Without access to legal advice the likelihood of starting a successful business diminishes tremendously.”

Most of the pro bono attorneys who volunteer to assist with CDP matters are transactional attorneys with broad business law experience. Rolando explains, “Every basic issue facing a start-up enterprise has a legal dimension, such as permitting and licensing, securing capital, choosing the appropriate legal tax entity, tax, zoning considerations, intellectual property, commercial leasing, and contracts. The need for legal assistance is just as great for low-income entrepreneurs as it is for any other business.”

Rolando also firmly believes that partnering with pro bono attorneys not only results in superior representation of CDP’s clients but also can often provide a learning experience for CDP staff: “In representing small businesses and non-profit organizations we address issues that are not commonly confronted in a traditional poverty legal services law practice”. Rolando credits his pro bono partners with helping him to develop additional legal skills, “co-counseling matters has allowed me to take on a larger number of cases and assist a larger number of individuals. It has also allowed me to provide assistance in specialized areas such as tax, employment and intellectual property that are not my areas of expertise.  We have been able to expand our practice knowing that we have the support of the private bar to provide our clients with advice and representation in specialized areas”.

He stressed that a successful pro bono relationship requires ongoing active participation with both volunteers and clients. “The relationship should be viewed as a partnership. We should be available to the pro bono attorneys and provide guidance in working with low-income individuals. This includes attending meetings with the client, participating in conference calls and reviewing documents prepared for the client.” Similarly, “many low-income CDP clients have never worked with an attorney and sometimes they are intimidated. It is important to prepare the client to work with an attorney, to remind them to ask questions if they do not understand, and to provide input on documents created for them.”

"Rolando also firmly believes that partnering with pro bono attorneys not only results in superior representation of CDP's clients but also can often provide a learning experience for CDP staff." 

Working on a pro bono matter can be a uniquely satisfying experience for all parties involved, especially where there is demonstrated enthusiasm for the work. Rolando shared a story about two low-income clients who had a dream of opening a grocery store. “The attorneys understood that the clients did not have much money and their advice took into consideration the clients’ financial situation. They had the documents translated to Spanish and explained every term. Several months after the matter had been concluded, the attorneys visited the client at the store to make sure things were going well.  As it turned out, the clients had fallen behind in rent and were in danger of losing their business.  The pro bono attorneys stepped in right away to resolve the problem. It was an excellent example of pro bono attorneys being very invested in a positive outcome for the clients.” Rolando’s also recalled the private bar in New York City’s generous response to a natural disaster. “I remember the willingness and enthusiasm of the private bar to assist small businesses in the aftermath of Super storm Sandy including participating in legal clinics as well as community education trainings held in the evenings in Coney Island and other affected communities.”

"Working on a pro bono matter can be a uniquely satisfying experience for all parties involved, especially where there is demonstrated enthusiasm for the work."