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Firm Overview
Tenenbaum Law Group PLLC is a nationally recognized, nine-attorney, Washington, DC-based, boutique law firm specializing in the representation of nonprofit organizations and related entities across the United States. Serving primarily as outside general counsel, the firm advises senior management and boards of directors of charities, trade and professional associations, international NGOs, conservation groups, think tanks, arts and cultural institutions, foundations, educational and health care institutions, and other nonprofits – as well as companies and executives that work with or provide services to nonprofits – on the broad array of legal issues and challenges they face. The firm brings decades of Big Law experience to bear with small firm cost-efficiency, responsiveness, and turnaround time. With a focus on workable, impactful solutions, spirited defense and advocacy, a practical understanding of the broader nonprofit context and best practices, and attorneys who take their work – but not themselves – very seriously, TLG prides itself on partnering with its clients in a strategic manner to help ensure maximum effectiveness and results, all while exercising great judgment.
Managing Partner Jeff Tenenbaum is widely recognized as one of the nation’s most accomplished nonprofit legal practitioners, a top leader in the nonprofit bar, a frequent media commentator and expert witness on nonprofit legal issues, and a distinguished thought leader and active participant in the nonprofit legal community. He is widely regarded as an innovative, highly responsive attorney with great judgment who provides practical, understandable advice extending to virtually every nonprofit legal issue and best practice. Jeff also regularly represents clients before Congress, federal and state regulatory agencies, and in connection with governmental and internal investigations, enforcement actions, litigation, and dealing with the media. Partner and TLG Co-Founder Nisha Thakker has spent most of her 16-year legal career in-house in the nonprofit legal world, bringing a unique, invaluable perspective to the practice. She is a key leader in the firm. Counsel Holly Peterson served in-house at the National Association of College and University Attorneys for eight years before joining TLG and, prior to that, served for four years as a litigator in the Maryland Attorney General’s Office in its Educational Affairs Division. Holly has a broad base of experience in the major legal issues facing associations, nonprofit organizations, and higher education institutions, but spends a majority of her time counseling clients on employment law and related matters. Counsel Ashley Wisneski has been practicing law for over 20 years, most recently as the University Counsel at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and Associate General Counsel at Johnson & Wales University. Prior to her higher education roles, she was an Assistant Attorney General in the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Non-Profit Organizations/Public Charities Division and Deputy General Counsel at the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education. Counsel Laura Farhang advises nonprofit organizations, executive leadership teams, and boards of directors on complex legal, governance, operational, and strategic issues. Drawing on senior in-house and private-practice experience, she counsels clients on grants and contracts, governance, IP, compliance, investigations, privacy and data security, and complex international trade, regulatory, and corporate matters, among many other legal issues facing nonprofits. Prior to joining TLG, Laura served as General Counsel and a member of the Senior Leadership Team of the Center for International Private Enterprise, a global nonprofit. Laura also previously led her own law practice, where she advised trade and professional associations and their members on international trade and regulatory matters and counseled nonprofit and for-profit organizations on cross-border transactions and operations. Associate Kevin Serafino served as an associate in the nonprofit organizations practice of a leading mid-Atlantic law firm before joining TLG, while also practicing in the firm’s Chambers-ranked political law group. Prior to that, Kevin spent more than a decade in lobbying and compliance roles for two national trade associations – the Household & Commercial Products Association and the International Franchise Association. Associate Greg Whitten is an attorney with significant experience advising nonprofit organizations on legal, governance, and operational matters. Prior to entering private practice, Greg served for over four years as Senior Legal Counsel at an international technology nonprofit organization. Prior to that, he spent nearly a decade working in education and public policy, first as a special education teacher in New York City through Teach For America before joining the New York City Department of Education, where he worked on the District Planning and Legal Compliance teams. He later led legal affairs and network operations for a charter school network in Brooklyn, NY. Associate Kyler Mejia is an attorney who has represented a diverse array of nonprofit organizations for the last several years in connection with most of their legal issues. Prior to joining TLG, he worked at a boutique law firm in Tempe, AZ, focused exclusively on servicing the legal needs of nonprofits. Kyler is currently serving in the American Bar Association Young Lawyer’s Division Leadership Academy and, since 2023, has been a member of the IRS TEGE Exempt Organizations Council. Rowan Cunningham Cunningham is an attorney with experience advising nonprofit tax-exempt organizations on a broad range of legal and compliance matters. Prior to joining TLG, Rowan worked for several years as a law clerk and then an attorney at another DC-based law firm focused on nonprofit organizations. Our attorneys are all very active in the nonprofit legal community, regularly publishing articles, giving speaking presentations, and serving on industry boards, committees, and councils.
TLG's attorneys are supported by Director of Business Operations Stevie Fisher, Accounting Operations Manager Terri Foster, Paralegal Kim Harford, and Legal Administrative Assistant and Office Manager Ashley Norton.
TLG's extensive experience in the nonprofit arena enables it to avoid giving legal advice in a vacuum, but rather it takes into account the broader political, financial, business, and governance context, providing more holistic legal counsel to its clients, and maximizing its clients' ability to successfully advance their missions and achieve their goals.
We don’t just respond to legal questions, issues, and challenges.
At TLG, we don’t just respond to legal questions, issues and challenges. Our lawyers think strategically with our clients to understand what their underlying goals and concerns are, develop creative solutions and options, talk through the pros and cons of various approaches, and help them make the best decisions for their organizations. Because of our combined decades of nonprofit law practice, we rarely have to reinvent the wheel, which not only provides for much more cost efficiency, but also enables us to take our advice and counsel to the next, deeper level.
We don’t tell our clients, “No, you can’t do that,” because that is almost never the case.
We don’t tell our clients, “No, you can’t do that,” because that is almost never the case. With a nuanced understanding of the many complex laws and regulations that govern nonprofit organizations – in wide and diverse areas of law that often overlap and sometimes even work at cross-purposes – we are virtually always able to come up with workable, innovative alternatives and structures while helping our clients navigate the potential pitfalls. Our extensive experience in the nonprofit arena also enables us to never give legal advice in a vacuum, but rather to take into account the broader, real-world political, financial, business, and governance context, providing more holistic legal counsel to our clients.
Our lawyers are leaders in the nonprofit community.
Our lawyers are volunteer leaders in the nonprofit community – with industry groups such as the American Society of Association Executives, American Bar Association, Council of Engineering and Scientific Society Executives, Greater Washington Society of CPAs, FAR (Finance & Administration Roundtable), National Association of College and University Attorneys, Nonprofit Advisory Board, and numerous state societies of association executives – helping to further our deep connection to and with the sector. We have and continue to chair and serve on key nonprofit legal industry panels, and we are frequent speakers and authors on nonprofit legal topics, delivering over 50 presentations per year and publishing numerous articles each year on new developments and critical issues.
Our attorneys serve as a continual resource to others seeking nonprofit legal expertise – not only our clients, but to members of the print, television, radio, and online media, federal and state charity regulators, industry trade groups, academics, and nonprofit industry professionals in related fields, such as accounting, insurance, and consulting.
We take great pride in the long-term relationships we have built with our clients.
We take the greatest pride in the long-term relationships we have built with our clients – some over 15-20 years in duration – as well as the continuous stream of referrals we receive from our clients, nonprofit executives, professionals who practice in the sector, and many others. That is the ultimate testament to the work we do.
Honors and Recognition
While awards and honors don’t make great lawyers, over 20 years of annual recognition from all of the leading bestowers of such awards and honors is acknowledgment in which our attorneys take humble gratification. TLG is very proud to have been awarded – in its first six years of existence (2020-26) – the (top) Tier 1 designation in the Washington, DC metropolitan area for Nonprofit/Charities Law by Best Law Firms (there are no national rankings for Nonprofit/Charities Law). TLG is one of only a handful of law firms in the Washington, DC region to have received this distinguished 2026 honor in Tier 1 (there were ten total firms in the three tiers combined) – and one of only two boutique firms among the ten. The law firm rankings are the result of a rigorous and highly regarded peer-review process.
In addition, for the fifth year in a row, TLG was “ranked” (in Tier 2) by the prestigious U.S. Legal 500 for 2022-26 in the national Not-for-Profit category. For 2026, TLG was one of only 15 law firms ranked nationwide and the only boutique firm. This is a highly coveted, distinguished honor. TLG Partner and Co-Founder Nisha Thakker was ranked as a Next Generation Partner, one only five in the U.S. Not-for-Profit category, and TLG Counsel Holly Peterson was ranked as a Leading Associate, the only one in the category nationwide.
In 2026, TLG attorney Kevin Serafino received the American Bar Association’s Outstanding Nonprofit Lawyer Award in the Young Attorney category.
TLG’s Managing Partner Jeff Tenenbaum was Best Lawyers’ 2026 Lawyer of the Year for Nonprofit/Charities Law in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, was the recipient of Association TRENDS & CEO Update’s 2025 Association Industry Partner of the Year Award, was the 2006 recipient of the American Bar Association’s Outstanding Nonprofit Lawyer of the Year Award, was an inaugural (2004) recipient of the Washington Business Journal’s Top Washington Lawyers Award, has been one of only a handful of Leading Lawyers in the U.S. Legal 500 Not-for-Profit rankings over the years, is one of only five attorneys in the U.S. Legal 500’s Not-for-Profit Hall of Fame, is listed in the 2012-27 editions of Best Lawyers for Nonprofit/Charities Law nationally, and is listed in the 2014-26 editions of Super Lawyers in its Nonprofit Organizations category.
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.
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.
Counsel Ashley Wisneski has been practicing law for 20 years and brings extensive in-house experience to TLG. Most recently, she served as the University Counsel at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and the Associate General Counsel at Johnson & Wales University.
Laura Farhang is a senior attorney with extensive in-house and private-practice experience advising nonprofit organizations, trade and professional associations, multinational companies, executive leadership teams, and boards of directors. Before joining TLG, she served as General Counsel and a member of the Senior Leadership Team of the Center for International Private Enterprise, a global nonprofit and Core Institute of the National Endowment for Democracy.
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. Kevin was the recipient of the American Bar Association’s 2026 Outstanding Nonprofit Lawyer Award in the Young Attorney category. 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.
Greg Whitten is an attorney with significant experience advising nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations and public entities on a wide range of legal issues related to strategy, compliance, and operations. Drawing on more than four years of experience as Senior Legal Counsel at an international technology nonprofit organization, he provides practical legal guidance to mission-driven organizations navigating complex regulatory and operational environments.
Kyler Mejia is an attorney with experience advising nonprofit tax-exempt organizations and socially responsible businesses operating both domestically and internationally. Kyler counsels a broad range of nonprofits on a wide array of legal matters. He also acts as outside general counsel to many clients, assisting with issues related to federal tax exemption, corporate governance, contract reviews and drafting, mergers and acquisitions, subsidiaries and affiliates, hybrid corporate structures, partnerships and joint ventures, lobbying and political activity compliance, intellectual property, and more. Prior to joining TLG, Kyler worked at a boutique law firm in Tempe, AZ, focused exclusively on servicing the legal needs of nonprofits.
Rowan Cunningham is an attorney with experience advising nonprofit tax-exempt organizations on a broad range of legal and compliance matters. Prior to joining TLG, Rowan worked for several years as a law clerk and then an attorney at another DC-based law firm focused on nonprofit organizations.
