About Jeff Tenenbaum

Jeff Tenenbaum is one of the nation’s leading nonprofit attorneys, and also is an accomplished author, lecturer, and commentator on nonprofit legal matters. As Managing Partner of the nationally recognized, five-attorney, Washington, DC-based Tenenbaum Law Group PLLC, Jeff counsels senior management and boards of directors of his clients on the broad array of legal and sensitive business and governance issues affecting charities, trade and professional associations, foundations, international NGOs, arts and cultural institutions, think tanks, educational institutions, and other nonprofit organizations. He is widely regarded as an innovative, highly responsive attorney with great judgment who provides practical, understandable advice extending to virtually every nonprofit legal issue and best practice. Jeff also regularly represents clients before Congress, federal and state regulatory agencies, and in connection with governmental and internal investigations, enforcement actions, litigation, and in dealing with the media.

He has extensive experience with a broad array of nonprofit legal issues, including tax and federal tax exemption, corporate governance, copyrights and trademarks, meeting, vendor, and other contracts, grants, fundraising regulation and commercial co-ventures, charitable gift restrictions, employment law and CEO employment contracts, antitrust, certification and standard-setting, mergers and joint ventures, chapters, subsidiaries, and affiliates, lobbying and political activity regulation, Americans with Disabilities Act compliance, insurance, and international operations, among others.

Jeff is frequently called upon by major media outlets – in television, radio, print, online, and elsewhere – to provide commentary on news stories involving nonprofit legal issues and developments, and has served as an expert witness in several court cases on nonprofit legal matters. For 19 years, he practiced law at Venable LLP in Washington, DC; he was a partner and chaired its nonprofit practice for most of that time, served on the firm’s Board of Directors for several years, and co-chaired the firm’s management review process in 2016. Jeff started his career in the nonprofit community by serving as Legal Section manager at the American Society of Association Executives, following several years working on Capitol Hill as a legislative assistant.