McNees Awards Six Black-Owned Businesses Each a Year’s Worth of Legal Services
February 25, 2022
Press Releases
HARRISBURG, Pa. — (February 25, 2022) Today, McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC is pleased to announce the six Black-owned businesses each receiving a grant for one year’s worth of legal services through the Legal Equity Advancement Program (LEAP). The announcement was made publicly at the Black is Beautiful Expo hosted by Urban Revolution Marketing & Branding.
The 2022 Legal Equity Advancement Program recipients include:
- Arcana Recovery – a drug and alcohol recovery support app that helps with relapse prevention
- Cece’s Cake Shop – an in-home bakery based in Harrisburg, specializing in custom cakes, cupcakes and cookies
- Four Squares Development – an affordable housing development firm in York focused on developing the “four squares” around the Royal Square District
- Good Brotha’s Book Café – a coffee shop and bookstore in the Harrisburg area, offering coffee, teas and other beverages, pastries and a great selection of books written by Black authors
- Health Check Juice Bar – a juice bar in Annville serving fresh juice, acai/smoothie bowls, avocado toast, salad and more
- Identity – an adoption support application and consulting firm focused on interracial adoptions and their unique circumstances
In its second year, the Legal Equity Advancement Program is aimed at helping Black-owned and Black-operated businesses overcome certain barriers to entry caused in part by institutional racism by providing legal services. Recipients have access to nearly every practice area at McNees, better positioning them to achieve their business objectives no matter how big or small.
“As we mark the beginning of our relationships with another class of LEAP clients, we’re excited to work with these amazing entrepreneurs and help support their business goals,” said LEAP Co-Chair Ade Bakare.
This year, the program grew to Ohio and there are plans to expand the program even further.
“Three businesses were selected in Ohio and, because the applicant pool was so strong here in Southcentral PA, we decided to award six businesses instead of five,” said LEAP Co-Chair Esch McCombie. “We are also excited to share that LEAP is in growth mode. We plan to launch the program in other markets where we have offices, including areas in and near Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, Pa., and Frederick, Md.”
The three Ohio LEAP recipients will be announced in March.
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McNees is a full-service law firm with more than 130 attorneys representing corporations, associations, institutions and individuals. The firm serves clients worldwide from offices in Devon, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Pittsburgh, Scranton, State College and York, Pa.; Columbus, Ohio; Frederick, Md.; and Washington, D.C. McNees is also a member of the ALFA International Global Legal Network.
