PRACTICES

Independent Schools, Nonprofit Corporations and Public Entities

What We Do

DWK represents independent schools, nonprofit organizations and municipalities in a broad range of operational and facilities matters, providing advice on personnel, business, finance, property and construction issues, and compliance with reporting, governance, and oversight requirements.

Areas of focused expertise include:

Independent Schools and Nonprofits

• Supporting independent (private) schools in personnel matters, student issues, and business operations/facilities issues
• Forming nonprofit corporations to carry out specific public or private endeavors, such as foundations for community fundraising and financing vehicles to support specific capital projects
• Obtaining and maintaining tax-exempt status of nonprofit corporations and independent schools
• Handling periodic and annual corporation filings to state agencies to maintain good standing
• Providing day-to-day advice and assistance on corporate governance issues
• Acting as borrower’s counsel in the issuance of debt to support independent school capital programs

Municipalities and Public Entities

• Supporting municipalities, special districts, and public entities in all areas of operations, with a focus on governance, construction, public works, environmental, business, and land use matters.

Independent Schools, Nonprofits, and Municipalities – the DWK Way

• We bring personal experience to our practice. Many of our attorneys serve on boards of various California nonprofit corporations and local independent schools. In that context, we know and understand many of the challenges that may arise in the successful navigation of nonprofit entities on a personal as well as professional level.
• We work efficiently, recognizing that budget constraints may limit a nonprofit organization or independent school’s ability to obtain quality legal services.
• DWK’s public works and construction bench runs deep. Our construction law attorneys can bring full-service support to an agency’s public works department. We have developed a widely accepted set of construction contract documents (“front-end” construction documents) that is accepted all over the state and used by hundreds of agencies as the basis for their construction projects.