Social Impact & Innovation

Our clients are more committed than ever to “doing good while doing well.” We help them do just that!

Private sector clients increasingly seek to leverage their business models for greater social impact. Family office clients increasingly seek to align their investments with their values and develop innovative approaches to deploying assets for greater social good. Growth-stage nonprofits are working hard to scale their organizations.

From entity selection for dynamic new social enterprises, to navigating the increasingly popular world of social finance and impact investing, and everywhere in between, we help clients committed to tackling the most pressing challenges of our time through their work.

We do this by delivering the same creative, proactive, full-service approach to our clients’ needs.

We “speak” and practice social impact, plain and simple.

In fact, PFS is among the first firms of its kind with a Social Impact & Innovation Practice, and we have grown our practice to offer the legal services required to turn ideas into action and good intent into real impact.

We provide full-service support for nonprofits and social enterprises at all stages of growth
and development, from startup to scale.

Our lawyers work collaboratively – with each client and with our global network of social impact thought leaders and specialty service providers – to support the evolving needs of social impact clients. And we do so in creative and flexible ways that provide our clients with the seamless service they require with attention to their unique business and operational needs.

And beyond client services, we demonstrate our own commitment to social impact by donating our time, talent, and resources to charitable and social good causes. Just stop by our office any time to check out pictures from our community service days!

Our experience includes:

• Organizational growth & development – We guide clients through the process of designing and building the organization that will best achieve their goals. With expertise in entity selection and formation, mergers and acquisitions, we advise clients on traditional options, including tax-exempt, nonprofit, and for-profit organizations, as well as emerging alternatives like B-Corps, L3Cs, and more.
• Full-Service operations support – Drawing on deep experience from attorneys across practice groups (including business, finance, employment, real estate, and tax), we work collaboratively with clients to ensure they have the tools and resources necessary to build strong, effective operations. This solid foundation enables an organization to grow and scale successfully.
• Intellectual property protection – Your intellectual property assets (name and logo, proprietary approaches and inventions, software, etc.) require protection. Attorneys from our Intellectual Property Practice are fully-integrated into our social impact client team to help ensure your assets are protected.
• Partnerships of purpose – We know the important role that partnerships play in your social impact efforts. Whether you work with donors, funders, impact investors, sponsors, or program partners, we support the design and documentation of the relationships and transactions that help you achieve your objectives.

Many of today’s problems require solutions from participants other than traditional for profit, charitable and government organizations. Making the world a better place means finding solutions that work, and scaling them to maximize impact. But, while social impact organizations often face the same challenges as for profit businesses, they are generally underserved by the legal industry.

At PFS, our commitment to social impact goes well beyond the formation of private foundations for estate planning clients and occasional pro bono work typically offered by law firms. We work side-by-side with our social impact clients as part of their team, providing creative, efficient, and pragmatic legal advice to help them navigate an increasingly complex legal environment, overcome challenges and capitalize on opportunities, and achieve their aspirations.