Tamar R. Rosenberg

She / Her / Hers

Partner•Leader, Nonprofit Sector Team

Overview

Tamar Rosenberg is the leader of the firm’s Nonprofit Sector team. She advises nonprofit organizations throughout their lifespan, helping them in myriad ways to comply with the requirements of their tax-exempt and nonprofit status. She also supports high net worth families and businesses with their strategic philanthropy and business dealings with nonprofits.

With over 20 years of experience helping hundreds of clients address a wide variety of challenging circumstances, Tamar focuses on developing practical solutions to help clients reduce risk, protect their interests, remain resilient through challenging situations and deliver on their mission and organizational goals.

Tamar’s work includes:

Nonprofit formation
Structuring relationships between nonprofits and for-profits
Philanthropy, including fundraising and grantmaking – from both the charity and donor angles
Corporate governance, including best practices, policies, conflicts of interest and disputes
Industry-specific nonprofit compliance
Compliance and operations, including contracts, executive compensation, disaster relief, unrelated business income tax and international activity
IRS audits
Investigations and litigation
Transactions and restructuring, including strategic alliances and bankruptcy

Tamar has extensive experience advising clients across many sectors, including:

Hospitals, health plans, medical schools and research institutes
Family, company and community foundations
Museums
Educational institutions
Trade associations
Religious organizations
Numerous other charities and mission-based organizations

Tamar has been individually recognized by Legal 500—as both a Recommended Lawyer – Tax: Not-for-profit (2019-2025) and an “Elite” Leading Partner (2024-2025)—and by Best Lawyers in America (2023-2026).

Experience

Supporting numerous charitable and for-profit employers in providing relief relating to the COVID-19 pandemic to employees, their families and the public.
Advising a large public healthcare industry company on options to conduct philanthropic activities, including grantmaking and direct charitable programs, and forming a company foundation and providing extensive guidance on legal compliance, including considerations relating to charitable and community-focused activities conducted directly by the for-profit company.
Advising multiple family foundations on a corporate governance matters, including a compliance review and overhaul.
Advising family foundations and public charities on international grantmaking issues.
Leading Sheppard Mullin’s pro bono effort involving a team of Sheppard Mullin attorneys from across practice groups and specialty areas to provide legal support to a volunteer project to produce and distribute face shields to front line healthcare workers fighting COVID-19 in Los Angeles.
Assisting clients with obtaining federal, state, and local income tax-exemption and with charitable solicitation registration
Advising clients on structuring and implementing complex affiliations and joint ventures between tax-exempt and for-profit organizations
Counseling organizations on a wide range of issues relating to maintaining qualification for tax-exempt and public charity status and compliance with state not-for-profit corporation laws, including: corporate governance, private inurement and private benefit; excess benefit transactions; unrelated business income tax; lobbying limitations; private foundation excise taxes; grant-making, scholarships, and awards; foreign charitable activities; fundraising; charitable giving; supporting organizations; donor-advised funds; endowment funds and restricted gifts; and executive compensation
Advising clients on federal, state, and local tax reporting issues impacting not-for-profit organizations, including Forms 990, 990-PF, and 990-T and foreign reporting forms
Assisting organizations with various tax issues common to tax-exempt organizations, including real property tax exemptions, sales and use tax and compensation and benefits issues
Advising not-for-profit clients on corporate restructurings, mergers, acquisitions, reorganizations, dissolutions, and conversions of not-for-profit organizations to for-profit status