Gene Takagi is a Principal at NEO Law Group, Contributing Publisher of the Nonprofit Law Blog, and a Part Time Lecturer at Columbia University. At NEO, Gene has represented over 800 nonprofit organizations on corporate, tax, and charitable trust law matters. Gene is a popular writer on nonprofit legal topics and has been published by The New York Times, The Nonprofit Quarterly, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, The Nonprofit Times, Taxation of Exempts, EO Tax Journal, and ALI-ABA. He is also a popular speaker who has presented at conferences for Independent Sector, BoardSource, the National Association of Attorneys General / National Association of State Charity Officials, CalNonprofits, Net Impact, the American Bar Association, the Western Conference on Tax Exempt Organizations (WCTEO), Georgetown Nonprofit Governance, the Northern California Planned Giving Council, the National Network of Fiscal Sponsors, and numerous local and regional bar and CPA associations.  In addition, Gene has been a regular contributor to Tony Martignetti Nonprofit Radio since 2010.

Gene’s professional experiences are diverse: corporate attorney for Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP, professor of nonprofit law at the University of San Francisco, assistant professor at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, director of the medical and behavior divisions of the San Francisco SPCA, management consultant for Allders International (specialty retail), and managing director of Suki’s International (beauty/education). This background helps him provide clear, understandable legal advice with an appreciation of the relevant business issues. Gene, a graduate of UCLA School of Law and of USF’s Master of Nonprofit Administration program, is a recipient of multiple awards for his work, including Outstanding Nonprofit Lawyer (American Bar Association, Nonprofit Organizations Committee, 2016), Outstanding Barrister of the Year (Bar Association of San Francisco), and Northern California Super Lawyer (2015-2021). He currently serves on the boards of BoardSource and The Nonprofit Quarterly; the planning committee of the WCTEO; and the board of advisors of the Center on Philanthropy and the Law at NYU School of Law. Gene previously served on the boards of CompassPoint, Community Initiatives, Net Impact, JCYC, the Barristers Club of the Bar Association of San Francisco, and the Public Policy Committee and John W. Gardner Leadership Award Committee of Independent Sector.

Updated 7/1/21

You can learn more about Gene’s work here.