Insights on Nonprofits & Associations

Does the First Amendment protect associations’ communications with their members when petitioning government agencies?

Well-drafted and enforceable terms of use are an essential risk management tool for any business, particularly e-commerce sellers and online service providers. Despite their importance, however, terms of use are often overlooked or given insufficient attention during digital asset development and management.

On April 23, President Trump signed an executive order (EO) establishing an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Education Task Force to advance AI training for K-12 students, faculty, and staff in the nation’s public-school districts in an effort to provide early exposure to AI concepts and technology and develop “an AI ready workforce and the next generation of AI innovators.”

During the transition of the London InterBank Offered Rate (LIBOR) to the approved substitute benchmark in the United States, the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR), a basic question was raised as to whether the new benchmark and transition implementation were fair and reasonable to both the borrower, on the one hand, and the lender in loans, investors in bonds, and bank counterparties in swaps, on the other.

ArentFox Schiff is pleased to announce that Partner David Grosso has been honored with DC Appleseed’s Lifetime Achievement award for his dedication to democracy and statehood for the District of Columbia.

Stan Abramson will speak on the Legal Liability Panel at the Biological Products Industry Alliance’s (BPIA) 2025 Annual Meeting in Sacramento, California, on April 2, 2025. His work is focused on chemical, biological, and biotechnology products for agricultural, industrial, and consumer use.

During the London InterBank Offered Rate (LIBOR) transition, and post LIBOR’s end date of June 30, 2023, the goal for all should be that (1) the effective interest rates be generally economically equivalent as a result of the transition and (2) interest rate expectations be met of the parties to the financial instruments, such as borrowers and lenders, swap counterparties, and bond issuers, trustees and holders.

On March 5, Do No Harm filed a lawsuit against the American Chemical Society (ACS), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, challenging a scholarship program for undergraduate students from historically underrepresented groups in the chemical sciences.

The landscape is in flux right now for nonprofits, to say the least. To help structure your action plan, these are some of the top questions our Nonprofits & Associations team has been helping our clients think through.

Senior Government Relations Director Oliver Spurgeon will give a presentation titled “Reconciliation: What It Means for Sector Policy Priorities” Foundations on the Hill 2025, hosted and presented by United Philanthropy Forum and the Council on Foundations in partnership with Independent Sector, in Washington, DC, on February 23, 2025.

Proposed legislation introduced in the US Senate last week would deny tax-exempt status to certain organizations that support undocumented immigrants. The legislation would change the eligibility requirements for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status.

On October 1, 2024, the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority (UK FCA) phased out ‘Zombie’ LIBOR, as a transitional benchmark, with the move to alternative “risk-free” rates.

Many parties are rightly concerned about the impact of yesterday’s announcement that nearly all federal funds will be frozen for an indeterminate period. Minutes before it was intended to go into effect today, a federal judge in Washington, DC, temporarily ordered the freeze to be lifted until at least Monday February 3, when a full hearing will occur as to whether the freeze is permissible under federal administrative procedure laws and the First Amendment.

Following his inauguration on January 20, President Trump signed a slew of executive orders, including a handful related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

Educating employees about sexual harassment — what it is, that it is unlawful, that your organization won’t tolerate it, how to prevent it, how to respond to it, etc. — can contribute to safer and more productive workplace, plus reduce exposure to successful harassment claims. Recognizing that, on their own, many employers have implemented sexual harassment prevention training programs.

When was the last time your association board and chief executive asked each other, “How should we work together?”

On October 28, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that a nonprofit corporation that coordinates health care for privately insured patients does not qualify for tax exemption under Section 501(c)(4) because it is not “operating exclusively for the promotion of social welfare.”

In the nonprofit sector, organizations often face unique legal challenges that require efficient and cost-effective dispute resolution mechanisms. Arbitration provisions in contracts can offer nonprofits a strategic advantage by providing a streamlined process for resolving disputes.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) recently issued a Statement of Interest that underscores the need for careful evaluation of every survey and other information exchange managed by trade associations for the unique risks to impact competition.

Trade association boards, like the boards of other private companies, often consist of stakeholders who are personally and professionally invested in the organization.

ArentFox Schiff successfully represented Chabad Lubavitch of Chestnut Hill (CCH), a synagogue in Brookline, Massachusetts, in a dispute among local synagogues and Jewish nonprofits concerning the distribution of the assets of two defunct nonprofit entities.

ArentFox Schiff is pleased to announce that 135 attorneys have been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America 2025, with two attorneys highlighted as “Lawyers of the Year” and 70 attorneys listed as “Ones to Watch.”

After a year marked by student protests on university campuses nationwide, including encampments and commencement ceremony walk-outs, universities are scrambling to prepare for students’ return to campus the upcoming Fall Semester.

On June 28, the US Supreme Court overruled the Chevron doctrine, significantly reducing the power of federal agencies’ staff acting as experts in interpreting federal statutes.

On June 12, the DC City Council passed the District’s Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) budget, which includes a 0.49% increase to the mandatory employer payroll tax to support the Universal Paid Family Leave Program.