ABSTRACT
This chapter argues for the necessity of teaching law to nonlawyers in nonprofit classes. While the rigor and intensity of legal education is well known, there is still a place for teaching legal concepts in other settings besides law school. The questions of course are what to cover and how to teach it. I have used court opinions successfully, preceded by an introduction to the legal system and a primer on reading cases. Two recent cases with implications for nonprofit management are part of the material every time I teach a class on nonprofit law: Humanitarian Law Project (HLP) v. Holder and Frank v. Gaos. HLP relates to nonprofits because it asks what kinds of humanitarian assistance are prohibited by antiterror laws. Violating those laws could land an administrator in prison. Frank addresses the cy pres doctrine, by which courts can reform bequests that have become impossible to fulfill. Nonprofit organizations will encounter this problem routinely. In addition to those two substantive issues, the cases illustrate other principles, such as the concept of standing and institutional deference. In their careers nonprofit managers will shape law and be guided by it. It is important for them to have a grasp of how it functions and how it changes.
