Ryan S. Kasdin

Ryan has broad experience advising clients on structural and operational matters, including formation, corporate governance, tax exemption, fiscal sponsorships, mergers and reorganizations, alliances and joint ventures, contract negotiation, grant-making, copyright and trademark protection and licensing, fundraising regulation, and other issues relevant to tax-exempt organizations. He works with clients on complex tax, transactional, and regulatory compliance questions, as well as day-to-day problem solving. 

For clients involved in issue advocacy and political activity, Ryan advises on federal and state campaign finance compliance, election laws, gifts and ethics rules, formation of PACs, and overall legal and regulatory compliance. He advises clients on permissible uses of tax-exempt dollars for issue advocacy, lobbying, and political activities, and helps clients achieve desired outcomes within the legal framework. He vets political advertisements and issue advocacy campaigns for compliance with the tax code, grant restrictions, and campaign finance restrictions.  

Ryan’s specific areas of experience include:

Tax-exempt Organizations 

• Formation and ongoing representation of 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), 501(c)(6), and 527 organizations
• Corporate governance
• Grant-making and grant compliance
• Conflicts of interest
• IRS restrictions on lobbying and political activities
• Unrelated business income tax (UBIT)
• Form 990 reporting
• Private benefit and private inurement
• State and local tax exemption and reporting
• Affiliate and subsidiary relationships
  • Related 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations
  • For-profit and not-for-profit subsidiaries
  • National and state/local chapters
• Mergers and acquisitions, asset transfers, dissolutions
• Fundraising regulation

Political Law

• Campaign finance (federal, state, local)
  • PACs and super PACs
  • Candidates and campaigns
  • Independent expenditures 
  • Anti-coordination firewalls
• Political advertising
• Paid and earned media
• Government ethics and gift rules (federal, state, local)
• State voter file and voter registration regulations
• Internal compliance systems and training

General Counseling

• Start-up counseling
• Contract drafting and negotiation 
• Intellectual property (trademark and copyright)
• Insurance coverage
• Employee/independent contractor classification
• Privacy and data security counseling