Pro Bono
Advising Small Businesses & Nonprofits
Each year, the firm has the privilege of advising and representing nonprofits and small businesses across the globe that are making a difference—big or small—in their communities. Our work often evolves with our clients’ needs, as we regularly advise on both limited-scope questions and longer-term questions spanning months or years. Whether we are advising clients on questions regarding commercial leasing, doing business online, nonprofit formation, intellectual property, corporate governance, or something else entirely, we are proud to help our clients with their legal questions so they can focus their attention on work that furthers their core missions and thereby strengthens our communities.
Outdoor Afro is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to celebrate and inspire Black connections and leadership in nature. The network also connects Black people with lands, water, and wildlife through outdoor education, recreation, and conservation. Outdoor Afro’s year-round activities include fishing, hiking, biking, kayaking, gardening, skiing, and more.
The firm has been representing Outdoor Afro since 2015 and has had the privilege to watch the organization grow significantly in recent years. Last year, Bay Area-based corporate associates helped negotiate corporate grant agreements on behalf of Outdoor Afro, which provided funding for their Making Waves program. Outdoor Afro launched Making Waves in 2019 in response to the alarming number of Black children who drown each year. Outdoor Afro partners with U.S. swim providers to fund lessons in water safety and basic swimming techniques. In 2023, more than 1,000 Black children and caregivers throughout the United States received swim lessons through the Making Waves program.
In previous years, real estate lawyers based in Gibson Dunn’s San Francisco office helped Outdoor Afro explore options for purchasing land in Sonoma County, which would serve as a permanent home base for the organization with a retreat center, overnight camp, and event space. We assisted Outdoor Afro on diligence and negotiations in connection with the proposed purchase.
The Global Impact Investing Network, Inc. (the “GIIN”) is a charitable nonprofit organization headquartered in New York whose mission is to increase the scale and effectiveness of impact investing around the world by reducing barriers to impact investment so more investors can allocate capital to fund solutions to the world’s most intractable challenges. We recognize the importance of education in driving investment towards sustainable solutions, and we support the GIIN’s cause to enable collective action and build a sustainable society through the key lever of education. Gibson Dunn’s Singapore office is currently providing corporate, employment, and regulatory law advice to the GIIN in relation to the its proposed series of paid educational trainings for impact investors in Singapore. In the past, we have provided corporate governance advice, employment advice, and intellectual property advice to the GIIN, among other things.
Last year, a team of Gibson Dunn lawyers began working with Chef Ms. T, the owner of a culinary and nutrition education program founded to educate youth in the Bronx on how to prepare and consume healthy foods. The business’s mission is to provide food education and encourage low-income communities to consume nutritious food options by sharing “the culture, history, and traditions” of Latin cuisine from Spain to Puerto Rico. The business hosts private cooking classes and corporate experiences and sells kitchenware and other goods on an online shop. Ms. T also co-hosts a podcast featuring Latinx artists, entrepreneurs, writers, and entertainers. Gibson Dunn has been able to help her with a review of her website policies, among other things. We are proud to have helped grow and protect Ms. T’s business.
Gibson Dunn’s Singapore office is advising Flowering Tree, Inc., a U.S.-based foundation founded in 2006 with a mission focused on women’s development and children’s education in Asia. The firm’s longstanding partnership with Flowering Tree has spanned numerous projects in Indonesia and India that have developed research and best practices in the fields of international education and development, with a strong environmental and sustainability agenda. Our team’s work also has contributed to the development of several partnerships with key stakeholders in those fields. The firm currently is assisting Flowering Tree with the development of its projects in India, aligning them to government policies.
Another Gibson Dunn team has been working with Ms. N, the owner of an e-commerce business selling a versatile bottled salsa that is both spicy and crunchy. Ms. N, who grew up in Mexico and now lives in California, began making her salsas at home during the pandemic as a way to reconnect with her Mexican culture. She uses spices and other authentic ingredients to bring the flavors of her hometown into homes across the United States. Her business highlights traditional Mexican and Mayan flavors that can complement any meal. Our team has been providing Ms. N corporate governance advice, including regarding business registration and corporate compliance requirements. We look forward to watching her business continue to grow and thrive.
Gibson Dunn’s Hong Kong office recently began advising BeEngayged, a student-led initiative that which aims to empower the LGBTQ+ community and advocate for the rights of sexual minorities in Hong Kong by addressing three major problems faced by the LGBTQ+ community: discrimination, lack of knowledge of LGBTQ+ rights, and potential gaps within the existing Hong Kong legislation. The Hong Kong office has provided pro bono assistance with assessing the appropriate legal structure for the initiative and helping with the formation of the resulting entity.
Occasionally, our work on behalf of nonprofits goes beyond the corporate advice space. That was the case this year with one of Gibson Dunn’s pro bono clients, a school that was sued by a terminated teacher seeking millions of dollars for alleged breach of contract and defamation.
The teacher filed a complaint in state court seeking millions of dollars in damages, alleging (1) breach of contract for termination without good cause; (2) breach of contract for failure to follow disciplinary procedures in an expressly noncontractual employee handbook; and (3) defamation.
In early 2023, the trial court granted the school’s motion for summary judgment in full in an opinion closely tracking the school’s arguments. In March 2024, five weeks after hearing oral argument, the Appellate Court of Maryland unanimously affirmed the decision below, agreeing that there was good cause for termination; the handbook provisions were not contractual; and the allegedly defamatory statements were protected by a common interest privilege, with no evidence of the malice required to defeat that privilege.