On Tuesday, January 29th 2013 Ashoka Legal brought together a few top law firms specializing in social enterprise law and hybrid structures. The session was created to be an open discussion and training on some of latest trends, tools, and resources for setting up nonprofits, for-profits, hybrids, and new corporate structures.
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| Hybrid Structures Webinar: Nonprofits, For-profits, and New Corporate Forms |
The event, held at the Morrison & Foerster offices in San Francisco, was live-streamed online. The presenters’ list included:
- Susan Mac Cormac, Partner, Morrison & Foerster
- R. Todd Johnson, Partner, Jones Day
- David Levitt, Principal, Adler & Colvin
Watch the Webinar
For social innovation attorneys, law students, and social entrepreneurs seeking to research legal entity options, formation, and restructuring—this webinar is an excellent tool to begin unpacking the many options available. And, the experience is made more meaningful as it is guided by attorneys at the forefront of the social enterprise legal space.
If you missed the the live webinar or live session, Morrison & Foerster is making the archived webinar available for viewing until April 2013.
Legal Structures
The speakers spoke in detail about legal structures that have been covered on Innov8Social, weaving in practical experience, policy history, and examples into their assessment of how each structure may benefit a social enterprise or non-profit.
Legal structures for social enterprise law covered in the webinar
- Corporation
- LLC
- Flexible purpose corporation: passed in California, and Washington, soon to be new law in Colorado.
- Benefit corporation: passed in 12 states, each with differing rules.
- B corporation: NOT a legal structure, but rather a certification. (i.e. a traditional corporation can seek B corporation certification)
- L3C
- Non-profit
Hybrid legal structures
- For-profit subsidiary of a nonprofit
- Nonprofit under control of for-profit
- Sibling relationship of for-profit and nonprofit
- Independent, but aligned entities
Other tools that can create value, and enable entities to remain mission-driven
- Licensing
- Trademark
- Integrated reporting: to integrate social, environmental impact alongside financials
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