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Practice Areas
The firm is very experienced and qualified in the broad range of legal issues affecting nonprofit organizations. The primary areas of practice within the nonprofit legal arena include the following, among others:
- Tax and Federal Tax Exemption (including Unrelated Business Income Taxation)
- Corporate Governance, Bylaws, Policies, and State Nonprofit Corporation Statutes
- Formation of New Nonprofit Organizations
- Conflicts of Interest, Related-Party Transactions, and Fiduciary Duties
- Board of Directors Governance and Legal Training
- Copyright and Trademark Protection and Licensing
- Meeting, Vendor, and Other Contracts
- Fundraising Regulation, Cause-Related Marketing, and Commercial Co-Ventures
- Charitable Gift Agreements, Endowments, and Gift Restrictions
- Fiscal Sponsorships
- Making and Receiving of Domestic and International Grants
- Formation of New Nonprofit Organizations
- Employment Law, CEO Employment and Severance Agreements, and Executive Compensation
- Internal Investigations
- Federal and State Governmental Investigations
- Social Media and Other Online Activity
- International Operations (Including Friends of Organizations)
- Antitrust
- Certification, Accreditation, and Standard-Setting
- Codes of Ethics and Codes of Conduct
- Mergers, Acquisitions, Affiliations, and Joint Ventures
- Chapters, Subsidiaries, and Affiliates (Both Domestic and Foreign)
- Lobbying and Political Activity Regulation
- Americans with Disabilities Act Compliance
- Higher Education
- Insurance
- Amicus Curiae Briefs
- Federal and State Regulatory Compliance
In the few areas of nonprofit law that we do not handle ourselves – such as litigation, employee benefits, real estate transactions, federal trademark registrations, bankruptcy, government contracts and grants, federal and state campaign finance laws, government gift and ethics rules, gaming regulation, international trade, immigration, trusts and estates, religious organizations, for-profit corporate and tax law, and complex privacy law issues – we have strong relationships with similar-minded, well-vetted, small-firm attorneys to whom we regularly and seamlessly refer such work. We have negotiated billing rates with these attorneys that are the same or less than ours and they do their billing through our firm, avoiding the need for separate engagements with our clients. We also have an extensive network of foreign counsel in most developed and developing countries with whom we work on legal issues specific to those countries.
Meet Our Team
Jeff is one of the nation’s leading nonprofit attorneys, and a highly regarded and frequent author, lecturer, media commentator, and expert witness on nonprofit legal matters. Formerly the longtime chair of one of the country’s largest nonprofit law practices, he is the recipient of numerous distinguished national awards and honors.
Nisha is an experienced in-house nonprofit attorney and senior-level business partner. Formerly the associate general counsel of a large REALTOR® association in Northern Virginia, she has a broad understanding of nonprofit legal matters as well as business operations, governance, and development.
Susan Hamsher is a nonprofit attorney and business partner with experience providing legal advice in private practice and in-house at one of the world’s largest charities. She excels at incorporating complex legal requirements into effective and practical solutions to advance the strategic business objectives of her clients. Susan has a broad understanding of nonprofit legal matters as well as business operations, governance, and development.
Holly Peterson is an attorney with significant experience in the association and nonprofit, employment, and education sectors. She excels at translating complex regulatory and legal issues into practical and digestible client solutions. Prior to joining TLG, Holly served in a senior role on the Legal Resources Team and Leadership Team at the National Association of College and University Attorneys for eight years, where she was immersed in legal and operational issues impacting the nonprofit education sector, acquiring significant experience with association and nonprofit operations and management.
Kevin Serafino is an attorney with experience advising a wide range of nonprofit organizations at various stages of their development, leveraging his decade of experience working in-house at two national trade associations to provide practical and actionable legal advice to mission-driven organizations. He also counsels politically active organizations on federal and state lobbying, ethics, and campaign finance laws. Prior to joining TLG, Kevin served as an associate in the nonprofit organizations practice of a leading mid-Atlantic law firm, while also practicing in the firm’s Chambers-ranked political law group.
