Conference on State Attorney General
Oversight Regulation of Charitable Organizations
Columbia Law School
Friday, February 24, 2006
(SIPA Building, 420 West 118th Street, 15th Floor)
12:30 Registration by State Attorneys General and AG staff
1:00 A Primer on the AG Experience (Attorneys General and AG staff only)
3:00 Non-AG Registration and CLE sign-in (Note: It is necessary to sign in at the beginning and out at the end of each day for which CLE credit is sought.)
The Oversight & Regulation of Charitable Organizations by State Attorneys General continuing legal education program on Friday February 24th will provide a maximum of 2.5 credit hours, of which 1.5 credit hours can be applied toward the professional practice requirement, and 1 credit hour can be applied toward the ethics requirement. Columbia Law School has been certified by the New York State Continuing Legal Education Board as an Accredited Provider of continuing legal educations programs from February 2003- February 2006.
Note: This is CLE credit if for New York state. Please inquire to your respective state for information about transferring credit.
3:30 Welcome: David Schizer, Dean and Lucy G. Moses Professor at Columbia Law School
Opening remarks: Steve Carter, Attorney General of Indiana and President of the National Association of Attorneys General
4:00 Attorney General Authority and Role
The question of whether the role of the Attorney General is restricted to traditional duties of enforcing the donor’s intent or mandates protection of a broader public interest will be explored through in-depth analysis of the litigation that arose out of the diversification efforts of the Hershey Trust. The presentation by an Attorney General of Pennsylvania during the Hershey case will be followed by reactions by expert academics and discussion by all attendees of the significance of this extraordinarily controversial case.
Speakers:
Jerry Pappert, Former Attorney General of Pennsylvania
Reaction Panel:
Evelyn Brody, Professor of Law, Chicago-Kent College of Law and Reporter for the American Law Institute's Project on Principles of the Law of Nonprofit Organizations
Harvey Dale, University Professor of Philanthropy and the Law and Director of the Center on Philanthropy and the Law at New York University School of Law
5:45 Governance of not-for-profit organizations and the Sarbanes Oxley Act
Speaker:
Harvey Goldschmid, Dwight Professor of Law, Columbia Law School and former Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission
6:30 Reception
SIPA Building, 420 West 118th Street, 15th Floor lobby
7:30 Dinner
Faculty House, President’s Room
Access through iron gates on 116th (between Amsterdam & Morningside Dr.), walk to the back of the courtyard, turn right, the second building on the right.
Saturday, February 25, 2006
(SIPA Building, 420 West 118th Street, 15th Floor)
9:00 CLE Sign-In and Continental Breakfast
CLE Credit: It is necessary to sign in at the beginning and out at the end of each day for which CLE credit is sought. The Oversight & Regulation of Charitable Organizations by State Attorneys General continuing legal education program on Saturday February 25th will provide a maximum of 3 credit hours, of which 2 credit hours can be applied toward the professional practice requirement, and 1 credit hour can be applied toward the ethics requirement. Columbia Law School has been certified by the New York State Continuing Legal Education Board as an Accredited Provider of continuing legal educations programs from February 2003- February 2006. Note: This is CLE credit if for New York state. Please inquire to your respective state for information about transferring credit
"Good non-Profits Go Bad” The Reality of Governance and Fiduciary Duty Issues
All Attorneys General possess both common law and statutory responsibility over the functioning of charities. How they have defined the "public interest" in these matters has varied widely and will be examined through a number of concrete case studies. Among the issues that will be discussed are executive compensation, conflicts of interest and other malfeasance, board and director incompetence and variations from donor intent.
Speakers:
Kelly Ayotte, Attorney General of New Hampshire
Margery S. Bronster, Former Attorney General of Hawaii
Jim Hood, Attorney General of Mississippi
Tracy McGinnis, Senior Counsel, Attorney General’s Office of Missouri
James Tierney, Director of Columbia’s National State Attorneys General Program, Moderator
10:00 Regulation v. Study v. Litigation
A discussion on the divergent views of the best mechanisms for Attorney General oversight of charities. The speakers will suggest “Best Practices” for assisting charities toward good governance that include transparency, disclosure, board replacement, negotiation, guidance, reports, litigation, legislation, and the common law.
Speakers Confirmed to Date:
Harvey Dale, University Professor of Philanthropy and the Law and Director of the Center on Philanthropy and the Law at New York University School of Law
Marion Fremont-Smith, Senior Research Fellow, Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations, Harvard University
Daniel Kurtz, Esq., Holland & Knight LLP
Marc Owens, Attorney, Caplin & Drysdale's and former Director of the Exempt Organizations Division of the Internal Revenue Service
1130 CONCLUDING REMARKS
Ellen P. Chapnick, Dean of Social Justice Initiatives, Columbia Law School
11:30 Box Lunch Discussion: Cross-state Cooperation and Coordination in Future Work
(Attorneys General and AG staff only)
Because charities have grown dramatically in size and importance, the scope of their decisions often cross state lines and cases often have significant impacts beyond the borders of the state whose Attorney General has jurisdiction. It is important, therefore, for Attorneys General and federal officials to develop principles and guidelines. Attorneys General experience with multi-state cooperation in other areas will inform the discussion.
1:00 adjourn
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