NEO Law Group – 20th Anniversary!

I started NEO Law Group twenty years ago in January 2005. And I’ve had the immense pleasure of spending over twelve of those years working with my co-principal/business partner Erin Bradrick and our senior counsel Michele Berger. I’m also very grateful for our nonprofit clients, our colleagues, and our friends doing such important work and making our communities stronger and better.

20 Highlights over 20 Years:

Starting the Nonprofit Law Blog (2004). The blog, which actually preceded the firm by a few months, is our primary way of sharing information in an accessible manner. We have published over 2,000 posts and have thousands of views each week. We were honored to have the blog referenced by the Library of Congress as a resource.

My First ABA Presentation on Governance (2007). I had the great honor of joining Professor Stephen Schwarz (one of the authors of my nonprofit law textbook in law school) and attorney Andras Kosaras on a panel discussing nonprofit governance at meeting of the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association (ABA). Nonprofit governance continues to be one the specific areas of the law with which I have a special interest. I still write regularly on the subject and am a proud board member of BoardSource.

The Recorder (2007). Our firm was featured in a cover story on nonprofit and exempt organizations attorneys and firms in The Recorder, Northern California’s leading legal newspaper at the time. My photo was on the front page, which was a little embarrassing but prompted a teasing but nice email from Tom Silk, a pioneer in the nonprofit law area who, as a guest lecturer, first piqued my interest in the law as a career.

Nonprofit Radio (2010). My colleague and first hire Emily Chan (now with our friends at Adler & Colvin) and I joined host Tony Martignetti in his first year leading Tony Martignetti Nonprofit Radio. Over 14 years later, I’m still a regulator contributor to the podcast, which reaches 14,000+ listeners every week. It was great to join my fellow contributor, NTEN CEO Amy Sample Ward, for Tony’s 700th Show last summer and again, on his last podcast of 2024 – Looking To 2025: Is It Paranoia Or Prudence?

Visit to the White House (2010). I was working with AAPIP and one of my favorite people, Peggy Saika, and they brought me with them for the White House Gulf Coast AAPI Philanthropic Briefing. The meeting was moved last minute to the Treasury building, and the briefing was less substantive than I had hoped, but it was still great to meet some of the leaders of Asian American Pacific Islander community organizations.

Opinion in The Chronicle of Philanthropy (2011). Emily and I were asked to write an opinion on the scandal over the Central Asia Institute, the nonprofit founded by Greg Mortenson author of Three Cups of Tea. The piece received kind words from two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Nicholas Kristof, who had been a friend of Mortenson.

Emily Chan’s Award from the ABA (2012). Emily received the Outstanding Nonprofit Lawyer – Young Attorney Award from the Nonprofit Organizations Committee of the ABA Business Law Section for her contributions to the nonprofit sector and development of nonprofit law. Emily achieved this in only her second year of practice, which I believe to be unprecedented.

Michele Berger Joins the Firm (2012). Michele initially joined the firm as a summer associate and 2L in law school. I was so fortunate to have her stay on after she received her law degree and passed the bar. Since then, she has had two beautiful daughters, outgrown our weekly Game of Thrones and Marvel movie conversations, led our selective startup practice, and received multiple Rising Star awards from the Northern California Super Lawyer publication.

Erin Bradrick Joins the Firm (2013). Erin came to the firm with an impressive background including a degree from Yale Law School, several yeara at SImpson Thacher, and a prestigious clerkship with the Honorable Dana M. Sabraw. Since then, she was recognized as an ABA On the Rise – Top 40 Young Lawyers, received the Outstanding Nonprofit Lawyer – Young Attorney Award from the ABA Nonprofit Organizations Committee, and became a co-Principal of the firm. Erin’s achievements, as impressive as they are, are overshadowed by her character. She has been the perfect business partner, and I know that she’ll continue to make a big impact on the nonprofit sector and our broader communities.

Western Conference on Tax Exempt Organizations (2013). After attending the WCTEO for several years, this was the first time I was invited to speak at this very prestigious conference. I joined Ofer Lion in delivering a presentation on the unrelated business income tax (UBIT), which we concluded by role playing an attorney trying to provide counsel to a too-cool-for-school nonprofit tech executive (me). A few years later, I joined the Planning Committee for the WCTEO and will be serving my last year in such role for the 2025 Conference. I will, however, continue to be a devoted attendee who hasn’t missed a conference in almost 20 years.

Nichi Bei Foundation – Fukkatsu (Resurrection) Award (2014). I had the pleasure of working with Kenji Taguma in “converting” the Nichi Bei Times from a for-profit to a nonprofit community news publication. Kenji and his team kindly awarded me with the Fukkatsu Award, and they are still going strong. I also remain a strong supporter of nonprofit news organizations and have been a proud board member of The Nonprofit Quarterly for the past six years.

Independent Sector (2015). I joined the IS Public Policy Committee and rapped (yes, I rapped) about the key trends, obstacles, and opportunities that will affect every organization and individual working toward the common good (lyrics available here) at the IS Annual Conference in front of 1,000+ attendees in a swanky hotel ballroom. Shout out to Dre, Tupac, and Snoop!

Burning Man (2015). As counsel for the Burning Man Project representing the independent board members, I was invited to attend Burning Man and stay at First Camp in Black Rock City. It was an amazing experience as I documented in this post: A Lawyer’s Journey to Black Rock City: Burning Man 2015.

ABA Outstanding Nonprofit Lawyer Award (2016). I was honored and surprised to receive the Outstanding Nonprofit Lawyer Award from the ABA Nonprofit Organizations Committee.

ABA Journal (2017). Our firm was featured in the issue’s cover story as one of the law firms doing good.

Columbia University (2019). Erin and I were asked to develop and teach a course on the Business of Nonprofits for Columbia University’s Nonprofit Management Program. While the pandemic made us adapt the course on-the-run, we believe its was a valuable course for the University’s School of Progressional Studies.

National Center on Philanthropy and the Law (2021). I was invited to serve a three-year term on the Advisory Board of the NCPL, which was established at the NYU School of Law. It was a great experience and opportunity to participate in conferences with some of the smartest academics and practitioners in the nonprofit law area.

NAAG/NASCO Annual Conference (2023). As a governance geek and a casual movie buff who watches over 100 films each year, I was thrilled to present Governance on the Screen, a fun session tying governance lessons with film references. My invitation to speak was prompted by the following post I wrote earlier in the year:  Nonprofits: 10 Lessons from “Ted Lasso” and “Succession”

American Bar Association Tax Meeting Presentation on AI (2024). I was a last-minute replacement for a panelist covering the topic: Can Nonprofit Governance Contain Artificial Intelligence? It was fun and challenging to speak, in such context, about the OpenAI drama since there was so much information that had yet to be shared with the public. I ultimately concluded the answer to the question posed by the presentation title was “no” and promptly passed out at the reception (true story).

Hana Takagi Co-Writes Article for The Nonprofit Times (2024). I was honored to be asked by Paul Clolery, VP and Editorial Director of The Nonprofit Times to contribute an article on projections for the nonprofit sector in 2025. I also knew I needed some input from a younger perspective and asked for help from my niece Hana Takagi, who has written for the Nonprofit Law Blog in the past and is currently working for a well-known international nonprofit technology organization. Hana joined me in writing 10 Challenges: Polarization and the need for action.