Our firm has an extensive practice focused on the legal needs of tax-exempt organizations, social enterprises, and philanthropically-minded individuals and businesses.  Our attorneys have expertise and experience representing clients across the spectrum of the nonprofit world, including public charities, private foundations, social welfare organizations, professional associations, social clubs, homeowners’ associations, and other nonprofit entities.  Whether in healthcare, education, the arts, through religious outreach, or seeking to better the opportunities for members of a profession, our clients are making a profound difference, and we take great satisfaction in working with them as they seek to make lasting change.

Our attorneys are deeply committed to the vibrancy of the nonprofit sector.  Experienced in nonprofit and exempt organization issues, our attorneys speak regularly to industry leaders on topics unique to exempt organizations, educate other professionals through frequent lectures at continuing education seminars, and train the next generation of lawyers on nonprofit topics while serving as adjunct professors and guest lecturers in law schools.  Our clients benefit from our industry knowledge and legal expertise as we deliver legal services uniquely tailored to the nonprofit sector.

The firm provides a multidisciplinary approach to representing its nonprofit clients, involving attorneys throughout the firm to advise on their areas of focus (such as real estate law, commercial litigation, and corporate tax) in conjunction with our attorneys who are focused solely on the nonprofit sector and its unique attributes.  This approach allows us to meet all of our nonprofit clients’ needs allowing them to focus on pursuing their mission.

Although we take pride in providing counsel and finding solutions to any legal issue our nonprofit clients may face, set out below are some of the more common areas in which we work with clients:

  • Formation and Tax-Exempt Status
  • Joint Ventures and Other Business Combinations
  • Chapter/Affiliation Issues
  • Dissolution, Division, or Consolidation
  • Public Charity Regulatory Compliance
  • Private Foundation Regulatory Compliance
  • Governance and Fiduciary Duties
  • Policy Development
  • Employee and Independent Contractor Issues
  • Significant Grant-Making and Social Investing
  • Fiscal Sponsorship Agreements
  • Direct Charitable Activities of Private Foundations
  • Program-Related Investments
  • International Philanthropy
  • Fundraising and Revenue Generating Activities
  • Unrelated Business Income Tax Planning
  • Planned Giving Programs and Donor Relations
  • Endowment Planning
  • Working with Community Foundations (including Donor-Advised Funds, Agency Funds, and Field of Interest Funds)
  • Judicial Modification of Restricted Gifts
  • Responsible Investing under UPIA and UPMIFA
  • Contract Drafting, Review, and Negotiation
  • Protecting and Licensing Intellectual Property
  • Controversies, including IRS Audits and Attorney General Investigations
  • Civil Litigation
  • Issues Unique to Religious Organizations
  • Outside General Counsel Services (Corporate, Tax, Regulatory, and General Business Issues)