Bryson Morgan Addresses Nonprofit Lawfare at ABA May Tax Meeting

”Lawfare” refers to the use of legal systems to damage, discredit, or discourage an opponent. Nonprofits are especially vulnerable to lawfare because they are highly regulated under the law, especially the tax law; yet their charitable missions often put them at odds with powerful opponents, especially those who wield the power of the state. Recently, opponents of environmental charities have used the Foreign Agents Registration Act to link environmental charities to foreign governments in an effort to silence them; opponents of migration across the United States southern border have used state corporate law to target nonprofits suspected helping migrants; opponents of gun rights have used financial regulatory powers to discourage insurance companies and banks from doing business with gun rights advocates. Lawfare is also on the rise abroad, especially in countries that afford less freedom to civil society organizations. This panel will provide an update on the use of lawfare against the nonprofit sector and how to combat it.