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Nisha Thakker
- Overview
- Professional Affiliations
- Honors and Awards
- Experience
- Publications
- Speaking Engagements
- In the Media
Overview
Nisha Thakker is an experienced in-house nonprofit attorney and senior-level business partner. Formerly the associate general counsel of a large REALTOR® association in Northern Virginia, she has a broad understanding of nonprofit legal matters as well as business operations, governance, and development. Through her recent work at a Washington, DC-based association management company, Nisha advised her association clients on operational efficiencies and risk-management considerations. She also served as an advisor to several of the company’s additional clients and provided in-house association legal counsel company-wide.
Nisha began her post-law school career in policy advocacy at the Legal Action Center, an impactful nonprofit organization in Washington, DC, where she advocated on behalf of individuals with criminal records and substance abuse histories seeking to reenter society. She represented the Center in several criminal justice and health policy-related coalitions and roundtables involved in advocacy and grassroots outreach.
While still in law school, Nisha co-founded the National Youth Justice Alliance – an organization whose mission is to fight juvenile recidivism by teaching constitutional literacy and civic responsibilities to juveniles in detention – and helped lead it for many years, developing the curriculum and recruiting and managing volunteers.
As associate general counsel for the Northern Virginia Association of REALTORS®, Nisha provided the Association’s 12,000+ members with legal guidance on local real estate matters through courses, online videos, and published articles. In addition, she co-managed a members-only Legal Hotline where she answered nuanced legal questions related to the real estate industry (on topics such as real estate transactions, contracts, ethics, and arbitration), and she frequently taught real estate law courses and sessions onboarding new members to the Association. Nisha also reviewed and negotiated contracts with vendors and others and coordinated compliance requirements as mandated by the National Association of REALTORS®, including trademark enforcement. She later served as Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships.
Nisha has an extremely practical, contextual approach to the practice of law, driven by 12 years of in-house nonprofit legal experience.
Nisha’s dedication to the nonprofit and association community is highlighted by her continued volunteer work. She currently sits on the Legal Advisory Council of the American Society of Association Executives and is an active member of the Association of Corporate Counsel National Capital Region and its’ Nonprofits & Associations Forum.
Education
- J.D., Washington College of Law, American University, 2007
- B.A., English, George Washington University, 2003
Bar Admissions
- Maryland
- District of Columbia
Professional Affiliations
- 2020-2021, Member, American Society of Association Executives’ 2021 Program Advisory Committee
- 2019-2020, Member, American Society of Association Executives’ 2020 Program Advisory Committee
- 2019-Present, Member, American Society of Association Executives’ Legal Advisory Council
- 2007-Present, Member, South Asian Bar Association
- 2018, Member, National Association of REALTORS®, Association Executives Committee Governance Best Practices Work Group
- 2017-18, Member, Association of Corporate Counsel National Capital Region’s Nonprofits & Associations Forum Working Group
Honors and Awards
- 2019, Emerging Leader Designee, AMC Institute
Experience
- 2019, Senior Associate, Association Management Strategies, Washington, DC
- 2017-19, Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships, Northern Virginia Association of REALTORS®, Fairfax, VA
- 2012-17, Associate General Counsel, Northern Virginia Association of REALTORS®, Fairfax, VA
- 2011-12, Curriculum Developer, Management Concepts, Inc., Vienna, VA
- 2007-15, Co-Founder and Director, National Youth Justice Alliance, Washington, DC
- 2007-09, Policy Associate, Legal Action Center, Washington, DC
Publications
Click on Title to View the Publication
October 26, 2021
Beyond Force Majeure: Navigating Hotel and Venue Contracts in a (Post?)-COVID World (Presentation), Wisconsin Society of Association Executives’ 2021 Annual Summit
January 29, 2021
April 29, 2020
April 9, 2020
CARES Act: A Guide to Financial Resources for Nonprofits (Article), The NonProfit Times
March 27, 2020
Legal Strategies for Association Meetings (Article), American Society of Association Executives
March 25, 2020
Legal Strategies for Nonprofit Meetings During COVID-19 (Article), Exempt and The NonProfit Times
March 23, 2020
Speaking Engagements
Click on Title to View the Presentation or Ancillary Material
October 21, 2021
Beyond Force Majeure: Navigating Hotel and Venue Contracts in a (Post?)-COVID World, Wisconsin Society of Association Executives’ 2021 Annual Summit, Brookfield, WI
September 14, 2021
Meeting Contracts: Ask the Association Attorneys (Webinar), National Council for Mental Wellbeing’s State Assocation Executives
September 13, 2021
Meeting Contract Considerations During and Beyond COVID-19: Ask the Association Attorneys (Webinar), Association Societies Alliance
August 18, 2021
Evolving Legal Considerations During and Beyond COVID-19: Ask the Association Attorneys, 2021 American Society of Association Executives Annual Meeting (Virtual)
August 11, 2021
Legal Considerations for the Future of Meetings (Webinar), Capital Chapter of the Professional Convention Management Association
August 5, 2021
Stump the Association Attorneys! (Webinar), Financial Planning Association Chapters (Webinar)
July 13, 2021
Codes of Ethics: Mitigating Your Association’s Legal Risk (Webinar), American Society of Association Executives’ Essentials of Association Ethics Online Seminar Series
June 3, 2021
Ethical Code of Conduct Considerations in a Virtual Environment, American Society of Association Executives 2021 Virtual Marketing, Membership & Communications Conference (Virtual)
May 18, 2021
Stump the Association Attorneys! (Webinar), Association Management Strategies
In the Media
Click on Title to View or Listen to the Story
Tenenbaum Law Group Promotes Nisha Thakker to Partner
January 4, 2022
The Tenenbaum Law Group (TLG) is pleased to announce the promotion of Nisha Thakker to Partner, effective January 1, 2022. A co-founder of the firm two years ago with Managing Partner Jeff Tenenbaum, Nisha has been an integral part of TLG since its inception and is an extremely accomplished nonprofit attorney on whom so many of the firm’s clients rely for regular legal advice and counsel. Founded on January 1, 2020 by Jeff and Nisha, TLG is a nationally recognized, Washington, DC-based, three-attorney boutique law firm focused exclusively on the nonprofit sector, with approximately 500 clients across the United States. The firm’s client base is composed principally of nonprofit organizations – such as trade and professional associations, charities, international NGOs, arts and cultural institutions, think tanks, health care entities, foundations, and the like – as well as select companies and executives that work with or provide services to nonprofits.
New Meeting Contracts for a New Era
November 15, 2021
Tenenbaum Law Group’s Managing Partner Jeff Tenenbaum and Counsel Nisha Thakker are quoted extensively in this article in ASAE’s Associations Now about the fact that after trade and professional associations experienced costly event-cancellation penalties due to the pandemic, many are looking at their meeting contracts differently and incorporating new provisions when possible. Tenenbaum and Thakker offer numerous practical tips to associations in connection with the negotiation of their meeting contracts.
Protect Your Events: Four Post-Pandemic Contract Considerations
November 9, 2021
Following TLG Counsel Nisha Thakker’s October 26, 2021 presentation at the Wisconsin Society of Association Executives’ 2021 Annual Summit, Impact Association Management CEO and Founder Jodi Fisher published a blog entry about her takeaways from Nisha’s discussion of meeting contract considerations during and beyond COVID-19. “Though it’s not always the most thrilling topic, she did a great job keeping us engaged, throwing in some good humor, and giving us some really solid material,” said Fisher. “Contract clauses, supply and demand, and meeting planning have changed fairly significantly since the pandemic hit us, and as meeting professionals, we have to stay on top of these trends in order to protect our clients’ events. There were many, many takeaways, but here were a few that really stuck out to me,” said Fisher, as she went on to describe her four key takeaways.
Tenenbaum Law Group is very proud to have once again been awarded – in its second year of existence – the (top) Tier 1 designation in the Washington, DC metropolitan area for Nonprofit/Charities Law for 2022 by Best Law Firms/U.S. News & World Report. The firm is one of only six law firms in the region to have been granted this distinguished 2022 honor in Tier 1 (there were 11 total firms in the three tiers combined) – and the only boutique firm among the six. In addition, TLG’s Managing Partner Jeff Tenenbaum was, once again, awarded the Best Lawyers designation for 2022 for Nonprofit/Charities Law nationally by Best Law Firms/U.S. News & World Report, an honor he has received every year since 2012. Comments from a number of the firm’s clients can be found here.
Pandemic Complicates Contract Talks with Meeting Venues
August 13, 2021
Tenenbaum Law Group’s Managing Partner Jeff Tenenbaum and Counsel Nisha Thakker are quoted in this article in CEO Update about how hotels, convention centers, and other meeting venues are growing less lenient with cancellation and refund policies at this stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning that associations and other event organizers need to pay particular attention when negotiating force majeure and other contract language. Tenenbaum and Thakker offer up specific advice and recommendations for meeting contract clauses.
The Tenenbaum Law Group (TLG) is pleased to announce the addition of Counsel Julie Kulovits to the firm. Based in the Chicagoland area and most recently the general counsel of the North American Spine Society for the last six years – an internationally recognized association for medical professionals in the spine care field – Julie has broad-based experience with association and nonprofit legal issues. Prior to her in-house role, Julie spent a decade in private practice as a civil litigator in Illinois. Julie brings 15 years of law practice to TLG, where she will help to service the firm’s client base of over 350 associations and nonprofit organizations, as well as companies and executives that work with or provide services to nonprofits. Founded on January 1, 2020 by Managing Partner Jeff Tenenbaum and Counsel Nisha Thakker, TLG is nationally recognized, Washington, DC-based boutique law firm focused exclusively on the nonprofit sector, with clients across the United States.
Tenenbaum Law Group is very proud to have been awarded – in its first year – the (top) Tier 1 designation in the Washington, DC metropolitan area for Nonprofit/Charities Law for 2021 by Best Law Firms/U.S. News & World Report. The firm is one of only six law firms in the region to have been granted this distinguished 2021 honor.
