Nonprofits Are Looking for More Skilled Legal Advisors

In today's world, nonprofit organizations are dealing with more complex legal needs. This means they need legal advisors, also known as general counsels (GCs), who can do a lot more than just the basics. As these needs grow, the role of the GC is becoming much more important and varied.

Eskor Edem, a director at Major, Lindsey & Africa, shares that the job of a GC used to be pretty straightforward. GCs were mainly focused on making sure the organization didn't break any laws, managing any legal issues, and giving advice on topics like hiring practices, running the organization, and ethics.

However, now things are changing. Nonprofits are facing new challenges like changing laws, pressure from society and politics, the needs of people they serve, and adapting to digital ways of doing things. This has led nonprofits to look for GCs who know a lot more than just the law.

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GCs are being asked to be part of the leadership team, working closely with top executives like the CEO and CFO. They need to be quick thinkers, good at solving problems, creative in finding solutions, and fully committed to their organization's mission. They also have to be brave enough to take calculated risks to help the organization grow.

Nonprofit leaders are now carefully looking at what legal skills their organization needs to face future challenges and whether their current legal team is up to the task.

For example, a nonprofit in the education sector was going through big changes and needed a GC with experience in mergers and acquisitions, knowledge about running both nonprofit and for-profit parts of the organization, and skills in managing a big, global legal team.

Another example is a charity that needed to adapt to big changes in college sports. They needed a GC who could help them find new partners and sources of funding in a time of change.

Lastly, a public university looked for a general counsel (GC) who could handle negotiations with big companies and manage a major real estate project. This GC needed to be very strategic and understand the risks and long-term impacts of their decisions.

In summary, modern GCs in the nonprofit world need to be much more than just legal experts. They are expected to understand business deeply, participate in strategic decision-making, and help navigate their organizations through complex challenges.

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