Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

GIVING 'TIL IT HURTS<i>Developing a Firm Giving Policy</i>

By Bruce W. Marcus
August 28, 2008

There is no firm in business today that isn't inundated regularly by requests for contributions, whether they are for charitable, community or political causes. For the community-minded firm, the requests can be overwhelming, as is the feeling that you do indeed want to help the organization requesting your help. But how can you serve your community ' and frequently, your firm ' without hurting your own firm's budget and community relations? You can say yes too often and dissipate your budget and your firm's time and energy, but how do you say no without seeming to be coldhearted and indifferent to community or charitable needs?

The array of charitable and political requests is vast, and puts many a firm in the position of having to make painful decisions about each request. A firm giving policy can help. It serves to depersonalize the process, without diminishing its value, and is understood by most professional fund raisers. A firm policy defines, as well, the role and limits of individual activities performed under the firm's aegis. At the same time, it should be remembered that firm giving is, in many respects, a marketing decision.

Read These Next
Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It Image

Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?

Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough Image

There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.

The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later Image

The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.

A Lawyer's System for Active Reading Image

Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.

Protecting Innovation in the Cyber World from Patent Trolls Image

With trillions of dollars to keep watch over, the last thing we need is the distraction of costly litigation brought on by patent assertion entities (PAEs or "patent trolls"), companies that don't make any products but instead seek royalties by asserting their patents against those who do make products.