What Adler & Colvin does

Adler & Colvin is a US law firm founded in 1981 that specializes exclusively in the legal needs of nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations. Headquartered in San Francisco with a second office in Washington DC, the firm operates with 35+ team members organized across practice areas including corporate and tax-exempt law, charitable gift planning, lobbying and election law, litigation, and social enterprise. Its client base spans public charities, private foundations, donor-advised funds, advocacy organizations, arts and cultural institutions, social enterprises, and international NGOs.

The firm's service offering is built on deep regulatory expertise in IRS, state attorney general, and California Franchise Tax Board rules governing tax-exempt entities. It produces a substantial body of published thought leadership — 68 publications indexed on its site — including Gregory Colvin's book on fiscal sponsorship and recurring commentary on proposed regulations such as those affecting donor-advised funds. Attorneys teach at Stanford Law School, UC Berkeley, Golden Gate University, and the University of San Francisco, reinforcing a talent and reputation pipeline.

Adler & Colvin earns revenue through traditional professional-services economics: hourly and matter-based legal fees scaled to engagement complexity, with no alternative-fee, subscription, or productized revenue model disclosed. The firm is privately held with no funding rounds, acquisitions, or investor signals in the public record, consistent with a partnership-structured specialty boutique serving a mission-driven client base over a multi-decade horizon.

Name

Adler & Colvin

Legal name

Adler & Colvin, A Law Corporation

Website

https://adlercolvin.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Adler & Colvin is a US law firm founded in 1981 that provides corporate, tax, litigation, and lobbying counsel exclusively to nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations, with offices in San Francisco and Washington DC.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110), Legal Services (5411)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate & Commercial Law (BPAHAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Family & Private Client (Trusts & Estates) Law (BPAHAAAK)

Keywords

• Nonprofit legal services
• Tax-exempt organization law
• Charitable gift planning
• Nonprofit governance counsel
• Exempt organization representation

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Legal Services - Nonprofit Sector: Professional legal services billed to nonprofit organizations, grantmakers, individual and corporate donors, and nonprofit advocacy groups. Services include formation, tax exemption, governance, lobbying compliance, and other nonprofit-specific legal matters.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Adler & Colvin is a law firm that provides specialized legal counsel to nonprofit, tax-exempt, and charitable organizations, including private foundations, public charities, trade associations, and supporting organizations. The firm advises clients on corporate formation, tax exemption, governance, fundraising regulation, international grantmaking, program-related investments, charitable gift planning, advocacy and lobbying compliance, intellectual property, employment, real estate, and litigation matters.

Product overview

Adler & Colvin is a law firm offering comprehensive legal services exclusively to the nonprofit and philanthropic sector. The firm provides specialized counsel across multiple service areas including formation and tax-exempt status, charitable gift planning, grantmaking and social investing, international operations, nonprofit governance, mergers and dissolutions, private foundations, public charities, religious institutions, revenue-generating activities, social enterprise, lobbying and political activity compliance, and representation of various tax-exempt organizational structures. The firm serves grantmakers, nonprofit service providers, individual and corporate donors, nonprofit advocacy groups, and others requiring nonprofit legal expertise.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Nonprofit Corporate Formation and Tax-Exempt Status Services

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Strengths4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/adlercolvin

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Adler & Colvin