Areas of Practice
Hurwit & Associates - Nonprofit Law : Areas of Practice Overview
Hurwit & Associates represents over four hundred nonprofit and philanthropic organizations based in twenty-three states and sixteen countries. Our clients cover the spectrum of nonprofit law program areas and activities. Specific areas of counsel include:
Nonprofit Law and Corporate Governance
- Formation and incorporation
- Governance and board structure, composition, roles, and responsibilities
- Board/staff relationships, responsibilities, and delegation of authority
- Conflicts of interest
- Liability, risk management, insurance
- Regulatory compliance and annual reporting
- Mergers and affiliations
- Corporate practices and recordkeeping
- Corporate dissolutions
Tax-Exempt Organization Law and Regulation
- Counsel to the following classifications of 501(c) tax-exempt organizations:
– 501(c)(2) Corporations holding property for tax-exempt organizations
– 501(c)(3) Charitable organizations, including public charities, private foundations, operating foundations, and supporting organizations
– 501(c)(4) Civic organizations
– 501(c)(5) Labor organizations
– 501(c)(6) Professional, business, and trade associations, chambers of commerce
– 501(c)(7) Social and recreational clubs
– 501(c)(8), (9), and (10) Employee associations and fraternal organizations - Obtaining and maintaining tax-exempt status
- Advocacy, lobbying, and political activities
- Grantmaking practices
- Executive compensation
- Intermediate sanctions
- Public charity support tests and qualification
- Private foundation rules and regulations
- Operating foundation and supporting organization qualification and operating standards
- Disqualified person and self-dealing rules
- Commercial and entrepreneurial activities
- Taxation of unrelated business income
- Corporate Sponsorships
- Annual reporting, Forms 990
Charitable Contributions, Trusts, and Endowments
- Charitable gifts, contributions, and deductibility
- Endowments: creation, use, and management
- Endowment policies
- Donor gift instruments including restricted and outright gifts, donor advised funds, and board designated funds
- Modification of charitable trusts (under the doctrine of Cy Pres)
Nonprofit Intellectual Property
- Protecting and managing intellectual property:
– Copyrights, trademarks, names, logos, and patents
– Research, business methods, work processes, and trade secrets
- Licensing and royalty agreements
- Private vs. organizational ownership of intellectual property
- Confidentiality, non-competition, and non-solicitation agreements
Nonprofit Organizational Relationships
- Inter-organizational relationships:
– Mergers, acquisitions, consolidations, and dissolutions
– Agreements for joint services, funding, administration, and joint venturing
– Design and implementation of strategic alliances and collaborations
- Intra-organizational relationships:
– Board/staff relationships and responsibilities
– Executive and staff employment agreements
– Contracts for independent contractors, vendors, and consultants
Technical Assistance
- Financial Management and Compliance:
– Annual corporate, tax, and informational filings
– Implementation and management of nonprofit accounting software and charts of accounts
– Consulting regarding financial statements, and fundraising, grant, and program accounting
- Computer and Telecommunications:
– Computer, technical, and web consulting, including network setup, web site programming, general hardware and software consulting and upgrading, and trouble-shooting
