B. Holly Schadler
Partner

Holly Schadler is a nationally respected expert on nonprofit tax and political law.  Representing some of the nation’s largest advocacy organizations, prominent foundations and philanthropic individuals, she has counseled clients on tax, corporate, lobbying and campaign-finance issues.  She defends clients facing audits, investigations and complaints by the Internal Revenue Service, the Federal Election Commission and other government bodies.  Ms. Schadler represented the Sierra Club  successfully challenging the IRS treatment of income from mailing lists and affinity credit cards from the audit through the case’s conclusion in a landmark U.S. Court of Appeals decision .

While some groups seek her counsel after finding themselves the target of an investigation, many organizations rely on Ms. Schadler’s day-to-day advice as their outside counsel.  In this role, she works closely with the organizations’ leaders to shape programs and craft strategies that achieve the groups’ political or policy objectives while addressing legal risks.  With a background working for nonprofit groups, she gives practical advice nonprofit managers need .

Ms. Schadler is a speaker and writer on nonprofit issues, as organizations seek to share her expertise with their members.  Viewed as a leader in her field, she lectures about current developments in tax-exempt law.  Nonprofit executives and organizations throughout the country rely on her guide, The Connection (published by the Alliance for Justice), to better understand the challenges of managing complex structures of tax-exempt organizations and PACs.

Education:

• George Washington University, J.D. with honors, 1987
• Vassar College, B.A. with honors, 1977
• University of Chicago, 1975-1976

Bar admission:

• District of Columbia
• United States Supreme Court
• United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia

Prior professional experience:

• Sierra Club, Associate Political Director

Publications:

• The Connection, Alliance for Justice, 2006
• Non-Profit Organizations, Public Policy and the Political Process: A Guide to the Internal Revenue Code and Federal Election Campaign Act, The Tides Center
• No Free Lunch? The House and Senate Gift Rules and Nonprofit Organizations, Exempt Organizations Tax Review
• Funding Advocacy, Alliance for Justice
• Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002: How Will It Affect Nonprofits?, 36 Exempt Organization Tax Review 171 (2002) (with Michael B. Trister)
• Royalties as Compensation for Services: Structuring Licensing Agreements Under the Sierra Club Case, Association Law & Policy

Speeches:

• ALIABA Tax-Exempt Charitable Organizations Conference, “Overview of the Year” (2008)
• ALIABA Tax-Exempt Charitable Organizations Conference, “Charities and the Political Election” (2004)
• Alliance for Justice Annual District of Columbia Bar Conference, “Strategies for Affiliated Organizations
• American Institute of Certified Public Accountants National Not-for-Profit Industry Conference, “Unrelated Business Income and Sponsorships: Minimizing the IRS Tax Bite” (2003)
• Alliance for Justice Conference on Representing Nonprofit Associations, “Federal Election Restrictions on Election-Related Activity by Corporations”