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I’m a mid level corporate associate at a regional biglaw firm. My friends, who are broke, want me to help them create an LLC for their small business. They are not sophisticated and this will not be at all complicated. Is there any risk in handling this for them?

No...unless your firm thinks doing paralegal work on the side is competing with them...then, whatever. Then again, if your broke friends can’t figure out the llc formation process and also can’t pay a firm to do it in connection with the transaction/business/reason they are forming it for the first place, then what is the point? Sounds like a losing endeavor through and through, but knock yourself out.

A lot of firms have policies against associates or staff being involved in doing outside legal work without prior firm approval, so check your employee handbook. I do not know the specifics but if there is a chance this LLC might be opposite a firm client for any reason that could lead to an awkward conversation (even though firms navigate thronier conflicts created by partners all the time as an associate you do not have that luxury.)

Otherwise, I would just caution you against doing free legal work for people even friends. It often starts out with an easy request like this and then morphs into soemthing bigger (like suddenly you are answering everyones questions about the LLC and then you are the corporate secretary and then you are unofficial GC).

Anonymous User wrote:
Otherwise, I would just caution you against doing free legal work for people even friends. It often starts out with an easy request like this and then morphs into soemthing bigger (like suddenly you are answering everyones questions about the LLC and then you are the corporate secretary and then you are unofficial GC).

I wouldn't because of the above -- people who will ask you to do this and don't have money won't have respect for the boundaries that you would ultimately need to put up. Just tell them to google how to do it.