Overview

Co-Founder of Tenenbaum Law Group, Nisha Thakker 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. Through her work at a Washington, DC-based association management company, Nisha advised her association clients on operational efficiencies and risk-management considerations. She also served as an advisor to several of the company’s additional clients and provided in-house association legal counsel company-wide.

Nisha began her post-law school career in policy advocacy at the Legal Action Center, an impactful nonprofit organization in Washington, DC, where she advocated on behalf of individuals with criminal records and substance abuse histories seeking to reenter society. She represented the Center in several criminal justice and health policy-related coalitions and roundtables involved in advocacy and grassroots outreach.

While still in law school, Nisha co-founded the National Youth Justice Alliance – an organization whose mission is to fight juvenile recidivism by teaching constitutional literacy and civic responsibilities to juveniles in detention – and helped lead it for many years, developing the curriculum and recruiting and managing volunteers.

As associate general counsel for the Northern Virginia Association of REALTORS^®, Nisha provided the Association’s 12,000+ members with legal guidance on local real estate matters through courses, online videos, and published articles. In addition, she co-managed a members-only Legal Hotline where she answered nuanced legal questions related to the real estate industry (on topics such as real estate transactions, contracts, ethics, and arbitration), and she frequently taught real estate law courses and sessions onboarding new members to the Association. Nisha also reviewed and negotiated contracts with vendors and others and coordinated compliance requirements as mandated by the National Association of REALTORS^®, including trademark enforcement. She later served as Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships.

Nisha has an extremely practical, contextual approach to the practice of law, driven by a decade-plus of in-house nonprofit legal experience and from years providing advice and counsel to TLG’s clients.

Nisha’s dedication to the nonprofit and association community is highlighted by her continued volunteer work. She currently sits on the Legal Advisory Council of the American Society of Association Executives.

Education

• J.D., Washington College of Law, American University, 2007
• B.A., English, George Washington University, 2003

Bar Admissions

• Maryland
• District of Columbia

Professional Affiliations

• 2020-2021, Member, American Society of Association Executives’ 2021 Program Advisory Committee
• 2019-2020, Member, American Society of Association Executives’ 2020 Program Advisory Committee
• 2019-Present, Member, American Society of Association Executives’ Legal Advisory Council
• 2007-Present, Member, South Asian Bar Association
• 2018, Member, National Association of REALTORS^®, Association Executives Committee Governance Best Practices Work Group
• 2017-18, Member, Association of Corporate Counsel National Capital Region’s Nonprofits & Associations Forum Working Group

Honors and Awards

• 2019, Emerging Leader Designee, AMC Institute

Experience

• 2019, Senior Associate, Association Management Strategies, Washington, DC
• 2017-19, Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships, Northern Virginia Association of REALTORS^®, Fairfax, VA
• 2012-17, Associate General Counsel, Northern Virginia Association of REALTORS^®, Fairfax, VA
• 2011-12, Curriculum Developer, Management Concepts, Inc., Vienna, VA
• 2007-15, Co-Founder and Director, National Youth Justice Alliance, Washington, DC
• 2007-09, Policy Associate, Legal Action Center, Washington, DC

Publications

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Speaking Engagements

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In The Media

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