About the clinic
The Nonprofit Structure and Strategy Clinic (NSSC) provides legal services to Iowa-based nonprofit organizations. It expands access to vital, specialized assistance for the unique legal and governance challenges that nonprofits face—all while educating and empowering the next generation of Iowa attorneys.
Through the clinic, law students are supervised by experienced attorneys and provide advice to nonprofit organizations on a variety of legal topics, including:
- Nonprofit formation and governance
- Transactional research, drafting and counseling
- Legal health assessments for nonprofit organizations to evaluate alignment of their organizational structure, governing documents, and current law
- Community education workshops, board trainings, or CLEs
The NSSC is directed by June Tai, an experienced attorney and clinical professor. It operates as its own law firm within the Larned A. Waterman Iowa Nonprofit Resource Center, a recognized leader in nonprofit law, leadership, and strategy which has served thousands of organizations and leaders across Iowa since 2000.
Director
June Tai
Information for interested students
The Nonprofit Structure and Strategy Clinic is a 6-credit course, graded according to the law school’s numeric scale. In addition to work on client matters, students attend a weekly 2-hour seminar and a separate supervision meeting.
The NSSC takes eight second- and third-year students each semester. Either Business Associations or Nonprofit Organizations: Structure, Governance and Strategy are required. Introduction to Income Tax is recommended.
An online application is available each semester in October and March in accordance with the clinic application timeline.
Information for interested clients
Our capacity is limited, so there is no guarantee that we can take your matter. Legal services are provided pro bono, but clients are responsible for all out-of-pocket fees and other expenses associated with the representation (such as state filing or application fees).
Our program assists nonprofits without current legal representation. If your organization has an existing attorney-client relationship, we cannot provide support unless your attorney provides express written consent for us to assist with specific matters.
The clinic welcomes inquiries and applications throughout the year, and clients are accepted in September and mid-January in accordance with the academic calendar. To be considered, you must complete the client application form.
Requirements for clients
- Be an Iowa-based organization or present a matter involving Iowa laws
- Have clearly-defined legal needs that can be accomplished by students within one semester
- Deadlines for the services should be consistent with the educational mission of the clinic and the semester schedule
- Must be appropriate for students and meet an educational goal for the course
- Consent to having a law student work on the matter
- Must be responsive to the clinic’s student attorneys and faculty
What we don’t handle
- Litigation
- Accounting/preparing tax returns; tax issues outside of tax-exemption
- Specialty areas such as patent prosecution, securities, immigration, bankruptcy
- Writing business plans
Contact the clinic
Have questions? Reach out to the clinic using our contact information below.
Support the NSSC
If you are an attorney interested in serving as a speaker, mentor, or other resource for the NSSC students, please contact June Tai. We also welcome donations to support NSSC operations.
Clinic staff
Contributors
June Tai
June serves as Clinic Director and supervises student representation of nonprofit clients.
Dave Bright
Dave supports student representation through legal guidance, mentorship, and work related to nonprofit client matters.
Brenda Steinmetz
Brenda coordinates client intake and supports the clinic's communications, administration, and day-to-day operations.
Paul Thelen
Paul contributes to the clinic's preparatory programming and seminar instruction.