Lawyers in the Nonprofit Group provide a wide range of legal services to the nonprofit clients we represent across the region. We counsel clients on a variety of legal issues, including, but not limited to, corporate governance, labor and employment, tax and employee benefits, litigation, and real estate matters. In an era of heightened scrutiny of nonprofits and demand for accountability and transparency in governance, operating and management practices with increased focus on service delivery and performance and outcome measurements, Ulmer & Berne attorneys are able to provide quality and cost-effective counsel.
Nonprofit Group lawyers have assisted our nonprofits clients in expanding their businesses, whether they are formally merging with other organizations, creating strategic affiliations or alliances to allow for better financial and resource management, or simply acquiring, constructing or equipping new facilities. Representative examples of recent work performed by practitioners in the Nonprofit Group include:
Corporate Governance
Assisting an education-focused 501(c) (3) organization in re-examining and revising its organizational documents to conform to its operational practices.
Assisting a social service agency with compliance with legal requirements related to executive compensation, documenting efforts to ensure compliance with rules governing excess benefit transactions.
Counseling several charitable institutions regarding legislative developments targeted toward increasing best practices in corporate governance.
Counseling all nonprofit clients as to legislative developments at the federal and state level focused on ensuring accountability and implementing best practices in nonprofit corporate governance, and as to the overall implications for nonprofits flowing from the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
Providing training workshops to board members of a variety of nonprofit organizations on the fiduciary duties of board members and board member qualifications, including financial literacy.
Labor and Employment
Representing large mental health-provider in connection with employment discrimination related claims.
Providing ongoing employment counseling to a variety of nonprofit employers on a range of employment related issues; terminations, discipline, benefits, Family and Medical Leave Act policies, Employee Handbooks, Non-Competition and Confidentiality Agreements, ADA programs, policies related to discrimination and harassment and the like.
Defending large school district in connection with alleged civil rights violations, whistleblower and wrongful discharge claims.
Defending governmental institutions in connection with a variety of employment discrimination lawsuits, involving age, race, disability and sexual harassment claims.
Serving as Special Counsel to several colleges and universities, defending these governmental employers as against a variety of employment discrimination claims.
Serving as Special Counsel to a large state agency defending workers compensation cases.
Business, Tax and Real Estate
Representing a behavioral health organization on issues related to a proposed merger with a similar agency and documenting the transaction.
Representing a number of tax-exempt clients in connection with compliance with regulations governing private inurement, tax-exempt activities and preserving exempt status.
Representing an education-based tax-exempt organization in connection with a restructuring proposal involving a spin-off of programming and operations and affiliation with related entities.
Representing a private school provider in connection with an expansion of facilities through various leasing arrangements.
Representing a number of community development corporations on tax-exempt financing projects to fund the acquisition, development and construction of new facilities, and documenting the transactions.
Preparing, reviewing and negotiating a variety of contractual agreements for client operations, licensing agreements, leases, and the like.
Representing a large local community college in several major real estate acquisitions and construction projects, including its west technology center and Corporate College in Westlake, Ohio
Representing a community college in Southern Ohio in connection with an energy conservation project involving the installation of improvements, preparation and negotiation of the requisite contractor agreements and documentation of the financing transaction for the project
Representing nonprofit real estate developers in connection with i) proposed medical arts building, ii) residential housing projects in the Fairfax and Mt. Pleasant neighborhoods.
Litigation
Defending various nonprofit entities (social services providers, municipal corporations and political subdivisions) against a variety of liability claims (premises, wrongful death, employment, etc.).