Charitable Services Litigation & Investigations

Murphy Rosen is proud to represent charities and the charitable services industry in litigation and investigations.

Charities and the charitable services industry in general are subject to the same types of civil disputes that impact other corporate forms, as well as unique rules arising out of their status as 501(c)(3) entities. The industry is also subject to separate state-imposed regulations, such as the Uniform Supervision of Trustees and Fundraisers for Charitable Purposes Act, codified in California at Government Code § 12580, et seq.

Murphy Rosen recognizes that even the best and most scrupulous charities can sometimes find themselves the focus of disputes and investigations that require the assistance of qualified professionals. Murphy Rosen helps them navigate through these complex issues, which often involve complicated accounting disputes, alleged breaches of fiduciary duty, statutory interpretation, and free speech protected by the First Amendment.

In California in particular, we have defended dozens of clients involving investigations and lawsuits filed by the California Attorney General. In a recent case, Murphy Rosen successfully defended against the California Attorney General’s contention that one of our clients was overstating its Gifts-in-Kind donations by hundreds of millions of dollars. On cross examination, the Attorney General’s expert accountant not only was forced to concede that our client’s accounting was accurate and consistent with industry practice, but also was forced to admit that his confidence in the Attorney’s General’s position was “falling.”