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| Pivot came
second in the annual Small Business Plan Contest. |
Vancouver January 17 - Small
Business BC, a federal and provincial government partnership aimed
at promoting small businesses, has awarded Pivot Legal Society second
prize in its annual Small Business Plan Contest.
Pivot Legal Society won the
prize, valued at $1500 in addition to various in-kind business consulting
services, for its plan to develop Pivot Legal Cooperative.
Pivot's plan was selected from
more than 80 business plans submitted from across B.C. and Canada.
Pivot Legal Cooperative (“PLC”)
is a new model for providing legal services aimed at addressing
the unmet need for affordable, high quality legal services while
creating a fulfilling working environment for law professionals.
PLC will be a cooperative of
lawyers and legal professionals in Vancouver B.C. focused on providing
low-cost, accessible legal services, with a mission to use the law
in the public interest and to foster a new approach to the practice
of law.
PLC is a social enterprise
initiative of Pivot Legal Society, a well known and highly effective
non-profit legal advocacy organization.
The winners of the 2005 Business Plan Contest were
announced January 16, 2006 by Tara Gilbert, CEO of Small Business
BC. “With small businesses accounting for almost 98 percent
of all businesses in B.C., business planning is an encouraging means
to showcase a critical factor for success in the development and
expansion of small business,” said Gilbert.
Contest judges, who included representatives from
RBC Financial Group, Small Business BC, the Women’s Enterprise
Centre, and Lindsay Kenney LLP, stated that Pivot Legal Cooperative
“merged a viable model of legal practice with a social return,”
and that it “provided an option for women lawyers looking
for a more flexible, collaborative corporate environment.”
Development of the business plan for Pivot Legal Cooperative
was made possible through a grant from Vancity Community Foundation.
The Vancity Community Foundation is a charitable foundation
of Vancity Credit Union committed to effective financial management
and dedicated to community transformation based on social and economic
justice in a sustainable environment.
“Pivot Legal Cooperative is a radically new
approach to providing legal services and access to justice,”
said John Richardson, executive director of Pivot Legal Society.
“This recognition shows that it’s also a viable and
practical business proposal that can succeed in the marketplace.”
Pivot Legal Cooperative is scheduled to begin operations
in the summer of 2006. Pivot will be posting advertisements for
legal staffing positions in PLC in the late winter and early spring
of 2006.
For more information about the prize and the various
contest winners, visit http://www.smallbusinessbc.ca/events-detail.php?id=35
For more information about Pivot Legal Cooperative,
visit http://www.pivotlegal.org/pdfs/PLC-backgrounder.pdf
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