Nonprofit & Charitable Organizations

Lindabury, McCormick, Estabrook & Cooper has been meeting the specialized legal needs of nonprofit organizations for many years. We represent a wide variety of clients in the field, including hospitals and health care institutions, religious organizations, private foundations, public charities, title holding companies, trade associations and social and recreational organizations. Our experience, legal knowledge and technical skills enable us to deliver efficient, personalized services that are cost-effective for nonprofit organizations.

Our representation of nonprofit clients includes assisting them in their formation under the nonprofit corporation laws of the state of New Jersey and guiding them through the difficult and confusing process of qualification for tax-exempt status under the Internal Revenue Code. We also routinely counsel clients on the requirements for preserving their tax-exempt status. Over the years, we have prepared and filed numerous applications for exemption. When appropriate, we also analyze our clients’ sources of revenue and counsel them on how to obtain non-private foundation status under section 509 (a) of the Code.

Our legal representation encompasses the full scope of needs nonprofit organizations may have, including the needs they share with for-profit entities. For example, we provide legal representation in matters of employment, taxable and tax-exempt financing, real estate, zoning and land use, construction, environmental law, litigation, family law, trusts and estates and more. We also have a particular depth of experience and knowledge of issues specific to two subsectors in the industry, health care and religious institutions.

Areas of Practice:
  • General Corporate
    • Certificates of incorporation
    • Bylaws
    • Mergers, affiliations, and consolidations
    • Contracts and lease review
    • Board of trustee matters
    • Officer matters
    • Volunteer liability issues
    • Advice to governing boards
    • Compliance programs
    • Strategic planning
  • Tax
    • Tax-exempt filings
    • Private inurement
    • Private benefit
    • Conflicts of Interest
    • Unrelated business income
    • Estate planning for donors
  • Financing
    • Tax-exempt bond offerings
    • Tax-exempt financing
    • Taxable financing transactions
  • Employment
    • Executive compensation (including deferred compensation)
    • Employment policies and manuals, including employee benefits
    • Labor negotiations, elections, and contracts
  • Real Estate
    • Leases
    • Land Use
    • Purchases and sales
  • Health Care Nonprofit Organizations
    • Healthcare Laws (e.g., Fraud & Abuse Laws, Anti-Referral Laws, EMTALS, HIPAA, etc.)
    • Patient care
    • Medical staff issues
    • Certificates of Need and other regulatory matters
    • Building construction
    • Real estate tax exemption
    • Contracts
    • Loans
    • Business organization
    • Federal tax related matters such as exempt status and unrelated business income
    • Religious Nonprofit Organizations
    • State corporate law for religious entities