What is A Charity Lawyer Anyway?

Since launching CharityLawyer, several of you have asked what, exactly, is charity law and what does a charity lawyer do? I’m glad you asked.

Non-profit and charity law is an astonishingly diverse and eclectic area of the law that touches on all aspects of general business law with a particular emphasis on the federal tax laws and state statutes that are exclusive to non-profits. Counter intuitively, tax-exempt organizations generally have more, rather than fewer, I.R.S. compliance issues. This is so because the I.R.S. must ensure that the valuable tax-exemptions, eligibility for deductible contributions, tax-exempt bond funding and other benefits are not exploited.

The practice is as diverse as the philanthropic sector itself. While charitable organizations make up the vast majority of the sector, there are actually over 27 categories of tax-exempt entities. The diversity of clients cover the whole spectrum of human interest and endeavor – from promoting arts and culture to religion/spirituality; from advancement in medicine and science to economic development; to protection of the environment, human rights, animal welfare and so on.

So, what does a charity lawyer do? At Fennemore Craig, where I am a director in the Non-profit and Tax-Exempt Organizations practice, we view ourselves as business and tax lawyers who specialize in representing charities and other non-profit and tax-exempt clients. We counsel clients at every stage of a non-profit's lifecycle from start-up, through operations, to dissolution. For example, we counsel clients with respect to I.R.S. and state law compliance, governance, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, minimizing unrelated business income tax, lobbying and political activities, raffles and other fundraising activities, domestic and international grant-making, tax-exempt bond financing, tax-shelter law compliance, endowment management, negotiating complex naming rights and other major gift agreements, compliance with gift restrictions, advice regarding complex traditional and mission or program related investments, and the list goes on.

Non-profit clients also require assistance in the areas of employment, real estate, intellectual property, benefits, and occasionally litigation. We refer clients to specialists within the firm to handle these more typical business issues.

It is important to keep up with the fast developing areas of law impacting our clients, however, the most important characteristic for a charity and non-profit lawyer is a genuine passion for and interest in the philanthropic and community benefit sector. One of the most satisfying aspects of representing non-profit organizations is the opportunity to work with visionary clients. It is our privilege to help them achieve their vision of a better world.