VALERIE R. SUSSMAN
Nonprofit lawyer Valerie R. Sussman advises 501(c)(3) public charities and private foundations, as well as a wide range of other tax-exempt entities including 501(c)(6) professional organizations and trade associations. Among her 501(c)(3) clients, she provides tax, corporate, and compliance counsel to educational, human service, arts, environmental, and religious organizations. In her work with foundations, Valerie crafts organizational documents, such as bylaws and corporate policies, and grant-related documents including grant award letters, equivalency determinations, and expenditure responsibility agreements for foreign grantees.
As a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy, Valerie assists clients in attaining their charitable goals while maximizing their ability to give through the use of tax-advantaged strategies. Her expertise in estate planning and administration enables her to work closely with clients on charitable planning, trusts, bequests, and on interpreting and revising charitable gift instruments.
Valerie has particular experience in many of the lifecycle events common to nonprofit organizations, including formation, Attorney General compliance, reinstatement, and dissolution. She assists clients in the formation of organizations ranging from “Friends” organizations to religious orders. Valerie has specific expertise drafting fiscal sponsorship agreements and negotiating with fiscal sponsors.
Valerie is a member of the Boston Bar Association where she has presented seminars on topics related to tax updates and trusts and estates law, and the Boston Estate Planning Council, where she has served as chair of both the Women’s Initiative and Education committees and is the incoming Vice Chair of the Member Involvement Committee. She is also a member of The Boston Foundation's Professional Advisor Network.
Valerie was previously a Trusts and Estates and Tax-Exempt Organizations attorney at Goodwin Procter and an Estate Planning attorney at Lourie & Cutler, a boutique tax and estate planning law firm in Boston. She is admitted to the bar in Massachusetts and holds a J.D. from Boston College Law School. She also holds a M.Mus. in Musicology from Northwestern University, a B.A., summa cum laude, from Tufts University, and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
