Charities and Not-for-Profit

Our Group

The Charities and Not-for-Profit Group at Miller Thomson has an in-depth knowledge of the voluntary sector and organizations working within it. Our advice is tailored to the unique nature of issues in this sector and is designed to provide practical solutions for problems as they arise. This approach makes us a leading national law firm in representing the interests of charitable and non-profit organizations in Canada and internationally.

Our Clients

Our clients range from the largest charities in Canada to smaller organizations, including universities, colleges, schools, church and other religious groups, hospitals, social agencies, environmental groups, trade and professional associations.

Our Services

We provide voluntary sector organizations with services designed to meet all their needs. The role we assume is either that of a General Counsel (available to provide an organization with access to a broad range of services and support from other key practices at Miller Thomson), or that of a Special Counsel who provides charity law assistance together with the organization’s usual legal counsel.

Specifically, we act as counsel to charities, not-for-profit organizations and other professionals on:

• Church, education and health charity law, intellectual property, labour and employment law issues
• Canada Revenue Agency and Revenu Québec compliance advice
• Incorporation, organization and registration of charities
• Directors’ and trustees’ duties and liabilities
• Fundamental changes such as mergers, continuations, reorganizations and wind-ups
• Defence and administration of charitable bequests
• Advocacy
• Planned giving
• Risk management
• Defence of vicarious liability claims
• Fundraising issues and charitable gaming
• Foreign operations of registered charities
• General legal matters including real estate and employment
• Intellectual Property matters

Our Experience

The regulatory environment in which voluntary sector organizations operate is undergoing significant change, ranging from increased oversight by federal and provincial authorities to increased compliance burdens on organizations. This evolving landscape, together with the ever-increasing public scrutiny, means organizations need easy access to practical, timely and effective legal advice.

We have provided value-added legal services in a variety of recent engagements:

• Establishing the first donor advised fund charity in Canada
• Establishing and advising hospital foundations and other parallel foundations
• Advising small and large charities under Canada Revenue Agency audit
• Assisting charities in structuring joint ventures with business entities
• Establishing relations between Canadian charities and affiliated foreign charities
• Registering national Canadian charities with Revenu Québec

Our lawyers are also encouraged to participate and give back to the community. Many volunteer on governmental committees and with umbrella organizations working to improve the sustainability and viability of the sector. This affords us with a unique opportunity to ensure our clients’ issues are front and centre. This type of experience also provides us with another opportunity to understand the issues our clients respond to every day.