A common recruitment strategy for nonprofit organizations is to have one each of several professions, including an attorney, on the board. These professionals often care deeply about the organization and its mission. However, due to the myriad risks with such dual-role board members, attorneys should be either a board member of the nonprofit organization or an attorney to the nonprofit organization, not both. Being both carries significant risk, which can only partially be mitigated.
In these dual-role situations, attorneys will often not be covered by either the nonprofit organization’s director and officer (D&O) insurance or attorney malpractice (E&O) insurance because both insurance companies say the other one should pay (in the event of a claim). An attorney who is genuinely trying to help but who is unfamiliar with the applicable area(s) of law may sometimes provide either too restrictive or completely incorrect advice due to this lack of knowledge in the given area of law. If as a result of that advice things go south, the organization has no recourse to the D&O coverage or to the E&O coverage insurance.
Please join attorney Zachary Kester as he outlines the risks associated with the use of board member attorneys and provides strategies to mitigate such risk when presented with legal issues.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
Just a sampling of what this webinar will cover:
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Zachary S. Kester
Your conference leader for “Avoiding Pitfalls of Using “Free” Board Member Attorneys” is Zachary S. Kester. Mr. Kester is the Executive Director and Managing Attorney with Charitable Allies. He speaks and publishes regularly regarding the unique needs of charities. Topics include identifying effective outcome measures, governance, board liability, human resources for small nonprofits and property tax exemption issues, among many others. He serves on the Boards of Directors of Indiana Philanthropy Alliance, Indiana's professional association of grantmakers, and Ascent 121, a leading anti-human trafficking organization based in Indianapolis. Mr. Kester was also one of twenty statewide recipients of the 2018 Leadership in Law Award from the Indiana Lawyer, and the only in the field of tax-exempt organizations. Mr. Kester has an LL.M. (Masters of Law) concentrating on the special needs of tax-exempt organizations and has practiced law primarily for charities, focusing on organizational and compliance services. He has also earned a CFRM (Certificate in Fundraising Management) from the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. In addition, Mr. Kester has also been named a Practitioner-in-Residence at the IU Maurer School of Law in Bloomington.
Who Should Attend?
Chief executives, officers, directors, board leadership, board members, nonprofit counsel, senior management, financial staff, managers, supervisors
