Today, 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 Belin Economic Justice Project works with pro bono attorneys from Boston’s leading law firms to provide free legal assistance to entrepreneurs who are starting or expanding small businesses in disadvantaged communities, including communities of color, low-income communities, and immigrant communities. EJP conducts workshops and legal clinics, provides one-on-one legal consultations, and matches business owners with pro bono attorneys for individual representation.
“I am honored to work at an organization that does so much for minority and immigrant communities,” said Lane. “Coming from an immigrant family, I know firsthand the impact that economic empowerment can have. EJP has the ability to change neighborhoods and make dreams come true. ”
Since its inception in 2001, EJP has assisted over 4,000 entrepreneurs. Almost half of the entrepreneurs served are women. EJP has held workshops and clinics in more than 35 communities across Greater Boston — including Chinatown, Chelsea, East Boston, Mattapan, Jamaica Plain, Dorchester, Roxbury, Lowell and Lawrence — focusing on issues such as business planning, entity formation, contracts, leases and access to capital.
Lane is a 2013 graduate of Northeastern University School of Law. She has been working as a Staff Attorney with LCCR since then on a wide range of civil rights matters, including education, employment, housing and police misconduct. In her new position, Lane will continue to work with the communities that LCCR serves. During LCCR’s Fall 2015 “Create Your Own Job” Seminar at Roxbury Community College, Lane advised small business owners on numerous legal issues their businesses face. Concurrently, she reorganized LCCR’s intake process for small businesses.
