Nonprofit and charitable organizations operate within a legal framework unlike that of any other business or institution. Directors, officers, and trustees must balance mission-driven goals with governance responsibilities, regulatory compliance, and public accountability. Egan, Flanagan and Cohen has represented charities, religious organizations, foundations, and other mission-driven institutions throughout Western Massachusetts for generations. Having advised these organizations through changing laws, evolving regulatory expectations, and countless organizational challenges, we bring a practical understanding of the issues they face and the judgment needed to help them move their missions forward.
Full-service counsel for the full life of an organization.
We guide non-profit clients from formation through dissolution, and every governance decision in between. Our attorneys are adept at navigating non-profit incorporation and tax-exempt formation, drafting and revising bylaws, advising boards on fiduciary duties and conflicts of interest, and managing the corporate governance issues that come with running a mission-driven organization, as well as the more difficult conversations around mergers, restructuring, and dissolution when an organization’s circumstances change.
Clients who trust us with their mission.
Our non-profit clients span religious organizations of different denominations, women’s advocacy groups, treatment facilities and shelters, health and fitness organizations, and veterans’ organizations, among many others. These are organizations whose legal needs are inseparable from their mission, and our attorneys understand that representing them well means understanding what they’re trying to accomplish..
Litigation support when it’s needed.
When disputes do arise, board conflicts, employment matters, contract disputes, even gift disputes, we’re ready to guide our clients through the litigation process. Whether the organization is a small community non-profit navigating its first set of bylaws or an established institution managing complex disputes, Egan, Flanagan and Cohen brings the same full-service capability to charitable and institutional clients that we bring to businesses of every size. We represent our non-profit institutions in civil litigation with the same rigor we bring to our largest commercial clients, because a charity’s reputation and mission can be just as much at stake as a business’s bottom line.
Experience across the full range of institutional needs:
- Non-Profit Formation and Tax-Exempt Status
- Corporate Governance and Bylaws
- Board Fiduciary Duties and Conflicts of Interest
- Mergers, Restructuring, and Dissolution
- Employment Law for Non-Profit Employers
- Real Estate and Facilities Matters
- Contract Review and Negotiation
- Civil Litigation and Institutional Defense
- Charitable Gifting and Bequest Management
