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Areas of Interest
May 2nd, 2022
Golden Globes’ Proposal to End Nonprofit Status Shredded by Legal Experts: ‘Conflicts All Over the Place’
Charitable Organizations Partner J.J. Leitner was quoted in the article, “Golden Globes’ Proposal to End Nonprofit Status Shredded by Legal Experts: ‘Conflicts All Over the Place’” published by TheWrap. The article discusses the legal and ethical concerns of a plan to reinvent the Golden Globes by turning the Hollywood Foreign Press Association into a for-profit company owned by billionaire Todd Boehly, the current interim CEO. J.J. and other attorneys with knowledge in nonprofits say that a for-profit structure would increase, not decrease, the lack of transparency that has befuddled the organization.
J.J. is quoted saying, “While it’s not illegal to change an organization from a profit to a nonprofit, the company would no longer be required to disclose its revenues, losses and the salaries of top officers as it now does. There’s no transparency when your records are not public anymore. You don’t know what people are getting.”
In regards to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association being a 501(c)6 membership organization rather than a 501(c)3 charitable organization, J.J. says there’s no difference in terms of the type of transparency that’s called for. “Whether you are a 501(c) 6 or a 501(c)3, your return to the IRS is the same form, Form 990. And everybody can look them up… you can look up how much money they make and what they spend, and what they spend it on.” For a membership organization with a voting body that has been challenged on transparency, J.J. says, a private company “just doesn’t make any sense to me. If I were taking this to the California Attorney General, I think it would be an uphill battle to get it approved at that level.”
Additionally, Todd Boehly has confirmed plans to add 200 nonmember voters, addressing the perception that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association is less diverse because of its size. J.J. says, “giving a new, and presumably more diverse group the right to vote, but not to share in the proposed profits or salaries paid to members for committee work makes them second-class citizens within the organization.” She adds, “Let’s say [they] want to bring in more voters who presumably will be let’s say somewhere in the BIPOC universe, LGBTQ+ or whatever, [it’s still a] business where the white people are the owners and have a profit interest.” Concluding, “Other people, the new people who are the diversity class, don’t have any ownership. How can that possibly help them with a problem that they have?”
Read the full article here.
Other Quoted
In Suits and Ties, Lawyers Protest Trump’s Attacks on the Legal System
The New York Times quotes Ronald C. Minkoff in its coverage of the May 1, 2025 National Law Day of Action, in which approximately 1,500 people in Manhattan protested the U.S. president’s threats against judges, lawyers and the rule of law. Legal groups organized attorneys across the country to show their opposition to the Trump administration’s defiance of court orders, targeting of law firms, and wrongful deportations. The lawyers reaffirmed their promise to uphold the rule of law and recited the Pledge of Allegiance. Foley Square protest organizers requested that attorneys dress in suits—as if going to court and carry pocket Constitutions. “‘We want people to see that we treat this issue with utmost respect,’ said Ronald C. Minkoff, a defense lawyer and an organizer. ‘This is like the courtroom to us.’” View Article
May 1 2025
Attys Join Nationwide ‘Day Of Action’ Rallies For Rule Of Law
Law360 quotes Ronald C. Minkoff on the thousands of attorneys who rallied across the country on May 1, National Law Day, to publicly oppose the Trump administration’s attack on the rule of law. The article stated, “New York County Lawyers Association vice president and noted legal ethics expert Ron Minkoff of Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz, PC, said the rallies came together fairly organically as bar associations across the country began looking at ways to spotlight the Trump administrations actions against judges and lawyers and then realized National Law Day of Action was just a few weeks away.” Mr. Minkoff stated that he doesn’t normally go to demonstrations but these are things that stir him to action. “’When the ability of lawyers to represent their clients is under threat, that is an attack on one of the pillars of the American system, the American experiment,’ he added.” View article. (Behind paywall)
May 1 2025
Jonah Brill and Spouse Emma Brill Featured on Cardozo Law School Podcast
Jonah Brill and his wife Emma Brill are interviewed on their alma mater’s audio publication SPARKS: A Cardozo School of Law Podcast | Cardozo Law. Having met as first-year law students at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, they discuss how their law school affected their personal lives and chosen career paths. They share their class recommendations, “insights into the complexities of tax law,” and “lessons learned along the way.” Listen here.
April 8 2025
