Nonprofit General Counsel

JSL works with nonprofits, tax-exempt organizations, and social enterprises. Whether you need an interim general counsel, a part-time outside general counsel, or advice on a specific project or matter, JSL provides legal and strategic advice on a wide range of issues for leaders and organizations at various stages of operational maturity. Our typical relationships are monthly, subscription engagements for clients that want ongoing full-service legal support but are not ready to hire a full-time attorney (or they need interim support). If you do not know what you need, or are looking for a more in-depth analysis, we also conduct comprehensive risk-assessment evaluations and provide recommendations on priorities and actions plans. We can also work with you on discrete issue- or project-specific support.

Regardless of the scope of work, we are active listeners who work collaboratively as part of your team to provide mission-aligned legal advice. We work closely with Boards, executive management, supervisors, and staff.

  • Entity Formation and Structuring

  • Fiscal Sponsorships

  • Corporate Governance

  • Organizational Policies

  • Partnerships and Collaborative Relationships

  • Contract Review and Administration

  • Employment and Labor

  • Lobbying and Political Activity

  • Media and Communications

  • Tax Laws and Regulations

  • Fundraising Compliance

  • Intellectual Property

  • Attorney Ethics

  • Litigation Advice and Support

  • Internal Investigations

  • Real Estate

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

When specialized counsel is appropriate, JSL can help identify and evaluate competent counsel, and coordinate and manage their services.

Civil Rights / Litigation Consulting

At JSL, we have extensive experience developing and leading complex class action litigation, representing individual clients in criminal cases from arraignment to trial, and handling post-conviction proceedings and hearings in capital cases. We are available to consult or serve as co-counsel, with a particular focus on racial justice, the criminal legal system, and LGBTQIA+ rights. For individual damages cases, we will consult but are not accepting cases for direct representation. 

  • Class action challenging the NYPD’s widespread practice of unlawfully stopping and arresting African-American and Latinx public housing residents and guests for trespass, and NYCHA’s policy of allowing the police to patrol inside NYCHA buildings and enforce non-criminal rules. As part of the settlement, which is subject to a court-appointed federal monitor, residents of public housing have input into the reforms.

  • Class action challenging widespread delays in misdemeanor cases in Bronx Criminal Court. After the lawsuit was filed, the number of cases over a year old dropped almost 80% and the settlement agreement provided for ongoing data reporting and monitoring by the plaintiffs along with a new mechanism to seek speedy trials.

  • Class action challenging the way that the NYPD and the Bronx District Attorney seized and indefinitely held property from hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who were arrested each year, even after their cases were closed or even dismissed. Settlement terms streamlined the DA’s process to return property and implemented accountability measures.

  • Class action lawsuit against the City of New York and NYPD for illegally using and sharing information from sealed arrest records in violation of well-settled privacy laws. Court issued an injunction and required NYPD to reverse its prior illegal practices, including the use of sealed data in predictive technology.

  • Class habeas petition and class action challenging prolonged immigration detention where people in New York who were arrested and detained for violating civil immigration laws were held in jails for months before ever seeing a judge. Court ruled that due process required a hearing within ten days.

  • Successfully represented client in post-conviction Atkins v. Virginia hearing reversing death sentence;

    Buck v. Davis (U.S. Supreme Court overturned death sentence due to challenged expert testimony that an African-American man was more likely to be dangerous because of his race);

    Abu-Jamal v. Beard (challenged jury discrimination in high-profile case involving police shooting).

    Litigated post-conviction evidentiary hearing in Arkansas felony-murder capital case where client was the non-shooter with focus on racial bias claims.

SELECT LITIGATION

Attorney Ethics

As former in-house ethics counsel at a legal services organization with over 200 attorneys, JSL has extensive experience handling individual and organizational attorney ethics matters. The firm is available to provide advice on specific questions or complaints, consult on organizational best practices and internal infrastructures, and to provide ethics trainings to lawyers and non-lawyers at legal organizations. While JSL will consult on individual cases, it does not provide direct representation in disciplinary hearings at this time. 

Internal Investigations

JSL advises on a wide range of internal investigations, including employee matters (e.g., allegations of harassment and discrimination), whistleblower complaints and allegations of financial misconduct, and Board investigations. JSL directs investigations and provides legal advice; JSL is not offering fact-finding services at this time.