Katherine A. Johnson

I represent a wide range of businesses across all sizes and industries, from start-ups, family shops and individuals to Fortune 500 business, and non-profit organizations. I work with clients through every aspect of real estate transactions, including the purchase or lease agreement, due diligence, financing, working through tax concerns and structuring, entitlements, licensing and approvals, title issues, surveys, environmental concerns and zoning.

Non-profit organizations encounter many of the same challenges that face for-profit businesses, but also have the added complexity of navigating these issues while maintaining compliance with the numerous regulations imposed upon them in order to maintain tax-exempt status.  This significant burden for non-profit entities is why it is crucial for them to have legal counseling. I represent tax-exempt organizations in a variety of aspects, including entity formation and structuring, obtaining tax exemption from the Internal Revenue Service, state filings, governance, and ongoing legal support.  For a non-profit, the first hurdle is getting up and running, but they must simultaneously and continuously juggle compliance with the numerous complex statutes and regulations that apply.  A large part of my representation of tax-exempt organizations is providing legal representation throughout the life cycle of the organization, including governance structuring and guidance, conflict of interest counseling, real estate, leasing and property sale or acquisition support, and other ongoing needs.  I also perform organizational audits to assist tax exempt organizations in identifying areas of operations that do not comply with state non-profit statutes or the Internal Revenue Code.  This often includes revising organizational documents, possible organizational restructuring, presentations to the board or officers of the entity, and related matters.