Lawyers

Experience

Eileen Johnson has over 25 years of experience advising nonprofit organizations and associations on a wide variety of legal issues.
Nonprofit, Corporate & Board Issues

• Corporate governance issues applicable to nonprofits, including governance policies requested by the Internal Revenue Service, amendments to articles and bylaws, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, watchdog compliance, restructuring, and best practices
• Board issues, such as board size, committee structure, recruitment, orientation, elections, self-evaluations and credentialing

Tax Advice

• Federal and state tax laws applicable to 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4) and 501(c)(6) organizations and their affiliates, including for profit subsidiaries and joint ventures
• Unrelated business income tax issues
• Applications for federal and state tax exemption
• Charitable solicitation and other fundraising activities
• Tax consequences of employee compensation and fringe benefits

Employment advice - All aspects of employment law including:

• Employment agreements, Executive compensation arrangements, Executive and staff evaluations, Compensation plans, Employment policies and handbooks, Noncompete agreements, Confidentiality agreements, Personnel files, Employee terminations and severance agreements
• Working with management and boards to develop succession planning programs for management level staff, Interviewing prospective, current and former employees, Job descriptions, Leased employees and Outsourced HR services

Other

• Real estate including office leases, the purchase and sale of unimproved and improved property, life tenancy agreements, mortgages and other financing
• Intellectual property, copyright and trademark licensing
• Contracts such as independent contractors, hotel and convention services, licenses, and grant agreements

General Information

• AV Peer Review Rated; Martindale Hubbell
• Director: Association Foundation Group, 2008-2010
• Chair: Nonprofit Committee, Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce, 2008-2009
• Chair: Legal Section Council, American Society of Association Executives (2011-2012); Vice-Chair (2010-2011)
• Member: Consultants Section Council, American Society of Association Executives (2007-2010)
• Board Member: Corporate Counsel Section Board of Governors, Virginia State Bar (1999-2006); Immediate Past Chair (2005-2006); Chair (2004-2005); Vice Chair (2003-2004); Secretary (2002-2003)
• Program Chair: Association of Corporate Counsel, Nonprofit Organizations Committee 2006
• Member: American Society of Association Executives, Association Foundation Group, BoardSource
• Listed in Washington's Legal Elite, Washington SmartCEO Magazine, 2011

Speaking Engagements

• Social Media and Labor & Employment Law, Maryland State Bar Association Annual Meeting, June 2011.
• Can an Employee Be Disciplined for Tweeting?, Nonprofit Human Resources Conference, October 2011. 
• Joined at the Hip or Split at the Seams (Mergers & Consolidations), Risk Management & Finance Summit for Nonprofits, Nonprofit Risk Management Center, September 2011.
• Social Media and New Technology: The Rewards - and Legal Risks - for Associations, co-presenter, ASAE Annual Association Law Symposium, September 2011. 
• New Developments on Nondues Revenue Legal and Tax Issues, co-presenter, ASAE Annual Meeting, August 2011.
• Governance & Fiduciary Responsibilities, Music Education Week in Washington, June 2011. 
• Secrets Every New CEO Should Know, co-presenter, ASAE Great Ideas Conference, March 2011.
• Making Good Boards Great, Association Foundation Group, October 2010. 
• Emerging Trends in Nonprofit Governance, co-presenter, ASAE Association Law Symposium, September 2010.
• Organizational Assessment and Restructuring, co-presenter, ASAE Annual Meeting, August 2010.
• Accountability in Action: Enforcing Board Member Responsibilities, co-presenter, ASAE Annual Meeting, August 2010.
• Social Media in the Workplace: Pitfalls and Policies, Social Media Legal Conference, March 2010.
• Form 990: It's Not Just a Tax Return, It's a Marketing Tool Too, Nonprofit Forum of Northern Virginia, January 2010. 
• Nonprofit Directors as Fiduciaries, The Georgetown Group, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, January 2010.
• Top 10 Potholes on the Internet Highway, co-presenter, ASAE Annual Meeting, August 2009.
• UBIT Revisited: An Update on the Unrelated Business Income Tax, Exempt Organization Institute, The Maryland Institute for Continuing Professional Education of Lawyers, June 2009.
• Legal Issues in the Current Economic Climate, Association Foundation Group, March 2009.
• Legal Issues, panelist, ASAE International Conference, March 2009.
• Using Your 990 as a Marketing Tool, co-presenter, ASAE Great Ideas Conference, February 2009.
• Nonprofit Tax Law and Corporate Governance/Administration, panelist, ASAE Association Law Symposium, September 2008.
• Legal Issues Overview, Maryland Nonprofits, September 2008.
• Putting Your 990 to Work for Your Organization, Association Foundation Group, May 2008.
• Where's the Shredder?, co-presenter, Finance and Administration Roundtable, February 2008. 
• The Hats You Wear! Membership, Finance and Law, co-presenter, American Society for Association Executives, November 2007.
• Legal Responsibilities of Nonprofit Directors, West Virginia Bar Association Annual Meeting, September 2007.
• How to Use Your 990 as a Marketing Tool, co-presenter, Reznick Group and Whiteford Taylor & Preston,  September 2006 and January 2007.
• Charitable Solicitations in Maryland, Lorman, November 2006.

Articles

• "Consulting Contract Do's and Don'ts," Associations Now Supplement, November 2011.
• "What Your Association Needs to Know About Job Boards," Associations Now, July 2011. 
• "Four Golden Rules for Committees," Associations Now, January 2011. 
• "Social Media in the Workplace," Maryland Employment Law Letter, Part I - November 2010, Part II - December 2010. 
• "Help Your Association Stay the Course With Its Own Rules," Consultants Connection, February 2010.
• "Contracting With Outside Consultants," Associations Now, January 2010.
• "What Happens When Your Client Goes Out of Business," Consultants Connection, August 2009.
• "Corral Your Contracts," Associations Now, June 2009.
• "When is a Merger a Good Idea?" Associations Now, March 2009.
• "When and Why Do You Need Legal Advice?," Consultants Connection, November 2008.
• "Governance Issues Related to Components & Chapters," Association Law & Policy, January 2008.
• "Elements of a Good Nonprofit Leader Succession Plan," ASAE website, January 2008.
• "Succession Planning for Nonprofit Organizations," ASAE website, November 2007.
• "Time to Review the Board Committee Structure," Associations Now, September 2007.
• "Immigration-related Employment Compliance: An Overview," co-authored with Sharvari Dalal-Dheini, 21 VLW 166, February 26, 2007.
• "Does Your Organization Need a Compensation Committee," The Business Monthly, January 2007.
• "The Pension Protection Act of 2006 and Nonprofit Reforms," ASAE website, January 2007.
• "Volunteer Management: Improving the Volunteer Experience and Reducing Risk," ASAE website, January 2007.
• "Board Committee Structure," ASAE website, January 2007.
• "Regulating Charitable Fundraising in the 21st Century," ASAE website, January 2007.
• "Executive Compensation for Exempt Organizations," ASAE website, January 2007.
• "Look Before You Leap: What You Need to Know About Nonprofit Board Service," Corporate Counsel News, Virginia State Bar, 2006.  
• Miscellaneous short articles in a question and answer format for the Baltimore Business Journal, 2006-2008.

Columns

Eileen's Eye on the Net, a monthly column in the Maryland Employment Law Letter:

• "2011 New Year's Resolutions," February 2011.
• "Use Facebook to Safely Complain About Your Boss," March 2011.
• "Criminals Are Stupid," April 2011.
• "Texting While Driving - Cause for Termination?" May 2011. 
• "Are They Really Working?" June 2011.
• "If You Can't Beat Them, Hire Them," July 2011.
• "DOL Has An App for That," August 2011.
• "Never Can Say Goodbye..." September 2011.
• "NLRB Reports on Social Media Cases," October 2011.
• "Paying Big Brother to Watch Your Employees," November 2011.
• "Virtual Employees," December 2011.

Articles Published by Whiteford, Taylor & Preston

Nonprofit Report

• IRS Work Plan for 2011, January 2011.
• Federal Funding Guidelines for Nonprofit Organizations, co-authored with Bradley A. King, Fall 2008.
• Charitable Immunity in Virginia, Spring 2008.
• Update on the Revised Form 990, Winter 2008. 
• Updates From the IRS and Capitol Hill, Fall 2007.
• IRS on Governance, Spring 2007.
• Board Evaluation of the Chief Executive Officer, Spring 2007.
• Using Your 990 as a Marketing Tool, Winter 2007.

Community Associations Update

• Can Your Association Benefit From Energy Tax Credits?, February 2011.

Education

• College of William and Mary (B.A. 1979)
• J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University (J.D. 1982)