Susan C. Hamsher

Susan Hamsher is an attorney with significant experience providing a broad range of legal advice to nonprofit organizations 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.

Prior to joining the Tenenbaum Law Group, Susan was a senior associate at a boutique law firm in Washington, DC with a partial focus on the laws governing lobbying and election-related activity by tax-exempt organizations. Susan also advised the firm’s clients on establishing and securing federal tax exemption, governance, fundraising regulation, and the laws applicable to organizations engaged in public interest, policy advocacy, and political activities. In addition, she assisted the firm’s nonprofit clients with corporate partnerships, licensing agreements, and privacy policies, among many other legal issues.

Prior to that, Susan worked as a senior in-house attorney for over eight years at The Nature Conservancy. While at the Conservancy, Susan oversaw various risk management functions including lobbying, corporate marketing partnerships, and certain fundraising initiatives. She also led two practice teams – Marketing and Government Relations – comprised of attorneys from across the Conservancy. Susan advised the Conservancy’s divisions across geographies in the United States and globally on tax, fundraising, privacy, intellectual property, lobbying, government ethics, and campaign finance for ballot measures.

Susan also served as the primary attorney to the Conservancy’s program in India. In this role, she worked with local counsel to support a new and rapidly growing program on corporate formation and governance, anti-corruption, fundraising, employment, and contracts and grants review. She also advised the India team on U.S. tax issues such as private benefit and private inurement, how to work with for-profit companies, and conflicts of interest.

Susan has a broad understanding of nonprofit legal matters as well as business operations, governance, and development. She has developed multiple systems to ensure organizational compliance including lobbying expense tracking and timekeeping systems, filing schedules and calendars, and a wide range of policies and procedures. In addition, Susan served as Co-Chair of the Nonprofit Organizations Network for the National Capital Region of the Association of Corporate Counsel from 2017-19.

Before beginning her legal career, Susan held a range of positions in government and public interest organizations. She was the Operations Manager at charity: water and a Law Clerk at the U.S. Department of State and at the United Nations Environment Programme. While in law school, she was a Marshall-Brennan Fellow and taught constitutional law to high school students in Washington, DC.

Susan is passionate about advancing justice, equity, and diversity. At the Conservancy, she was a founding member of the employee resource group created for young professionals. She was also an active member of the women’s employee resource group. Susan currently volunteers with her son’s school to promote its diversity and equity initiative. 

Education

• J.D., Washington College of Law, American University, 2009
• B.A., Sociology, University of Virginia, 2001

Bar Admissions

• District of Columbia
• New York

• 2019-Present, Member, American Bar Association
• 2017-19, Co-Chair, Nonprofit Organizations Network, National Capital Region, Association of Corporate Counsel
• 2013-19, Member, National Capital Region, Association of Corporate Counsel
• 2010-11, Member, New York State Bar Association

• 2019-21, Senior Associate, Harmon, Curran, Spielberg, & Eisenberg, LLP, Washington, DC
• 2011-19, Attorney, The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA
• 2009-10, Operations Manager, charity: water, New York, NY
• 2009, Law Clerk, United Nations Environment Programme, Washington, DC
• 2007-08, Law Clerk, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC

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