Perlman & Perlman

What Perlman & Perlman does

Perlman & Perlman, LLP is a privately held, family-controlled New York-based law firm operating as a Certified B Corporation and specializing exclusively in nonprofit and philanthropic-sector law. Founded in 1955, the firm maintains offices in New York (521 Fifth Avenue, 30th Floor — headquarters), Washington, D.C. (1250 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 700 — federal regulatory and policy matters), and Mesa, Arizona (1201 S. Alma School Rd., Suite 11100 — Registration & Compliance operations). Its client base spans public charities, private foundations, religious organizations, educational institutions (Johns Hopkins, Cornell, Duke), international humanitarian organizations (World Wildlife Fund, Human Rights Watch, United Way Worldwide), cultural institutions (Whitney Museum, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame), and social enterprises (Grameen Foundation USA).

The firm operates a portfolio of practice areas rather than discrete products: Tax-Exempt Law, Nonprofit Governance, Charitable Solicitation & Fundraising, Cause Marketing, Corporate Philanthropy, Private Foundations, Impact Investing, Starting A Nonprofit, Contracts, Employment, Intellectual Property & Branding, International Philanthropy, Litigation, Socially Responsible Businesses, Technology/Data Privacy & Cybersecurity, and a dedicated Registration & Compliance service line for multi-state charitable solicitation filings. There is no proprietary software, platform, or technology product — engagement is delivered through partner-led attorney teams on bespoke matters. Distribution is entirely direct, through attorney-client relationships acquired via a thought-leadership-driven GTM motion (blog, SEO, conference speaking, earned media in Forbes and Nonprofit Times), and pricing is quote-based and negotiated per engagement rather than via disclosed fee schedules.

The firm is principally controlled by partners Benjamin Perlman, Clifford (Cliff) Perlman, and Seth Perlman, with an expanded attorney roster of roughly 11 lawyers. There is no evidence of external institutional investment, private equity involvement, M&A activity, or a parent-company structure. Revenue is generated solely through professional-services fee billing across the practice areas above, with marquee-name clients in healthcare, higher education, international development, the arts, human rights, and the environment.

Name

Perlman & Perlman

Legal name

Perlman & Perlman, LLP

Website

https://perlmanandperlman.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1965

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Perlman & Perlman is a privately held, 60-plus-year-old nonprofit law firm serving public charities, foundations, religious and educational institutions, and social enterprises across offices in New York, Washington D.C., and Mesa, Arizona.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110), All Other Legal Services (541199)

akta.pro primary industry

Litigation Support & Expert Witness Services (BPAHALAG)

Keywords

• Nonprofit law services
• Tax-exempt organizations
• Planned giving law
• Private foundation counsel
• Charitable organization law

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Legal Services: Professional legal services provided to nonprofits, foundations, educational institutions, religious organizations, and social enterprises. Services include tax-exempt law, charitable solicitation compliance, corporate philanthropy advisory, and regulatory registration services. Revenue generated through attorney-client engagements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Perlman & Perlman is a law firm that provides specialized legal counsel to nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations, including public charities, private foundations, religious institutions, educational organizations, and healthcare nonprofits. The firm advises on corporate structure, planned giving, tax controversy, international philanthropy, social enterprise, and related compliance and governance matters.

Product overview

Perlman & Perlman is a law firm providing comprehensive legal counsel to the nonprofit sector. Rather than a unified software product, the firm offers a portfolio of legal service practice areas organized around nonprofit law matters. These include Cause Marketing, Charitable Giving, Charitable Solicitation & Fundraising, Contracts, Corporate Philanthropy, Employment, Impact Investing, Intellectual Property & Branding, International Philanthropy, Litigation, Nonprofit Governance, Private Foundations, Socially Responsible Businesses, Starting A Nonprofit, Tax-Exempt Law, Technology/Data Privacy & Cybersecurity, and Registration & Compliance Services. The practice areas operate as distinct service lines under a single firm, with clients typically engaging multiple service areas based on their legal needs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Corporate and Business Law Legal counsel on corporate and business law matters for nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations.
• Tax-Exempt Organizations Legal counsel on formation, compliance, and ongoing matters for tax-exempt organizations.
• Religious Organizations Specialized legal services for religious organizations, including governance, tax, and operational matters.
• Planned Giving Legal counsel on planned giving programs, charitable gift structures, and related tax matters for nonprofits.
• Tax Controversy Representation and counsel in tax disputes, audits, and controversies involving tax-exempt organizations.
• Private Foundations Legal counsel for private foundations on formation, governance, grantmaking, and compliance.
• Public Charities Legal services for public charities on operational, governance, and regulatory matters.
• Corporate Philanthropy Legal counsel on corporate philanthropic activities and structuring charitable programs.
• International Philanthropy Legal counsel on cross-border philanthropic activities and international charitable giving regulations.
• Membership Organizations Legal counsel for membership-based nonprofit organizations on governance and compliance.
• Educational Institutions Legal services for nonprofit educational institutions on regulatory, governance, and operational matters.
• Healthcare Organizations Legal counsel for nonprofit healthcare organizations on regulatory and compliance matters.
• Government/Nonprofit Partnerships Legal counsel on partnerships between government entities and nonprofit organizations.
• Social Enterprise Legal counsel for social enterprises and hybrid nonprofit/for-profit ventures.
• Family Foundations Legal counsel for family foundations on formation, governance, and grantmaking activities.
• Nonprofit Audit Legal support related to nonprofit audits and regulatory examinations.
• Estate Planning Estate planning services for individuals connected to charitable and nonprofit giving.

Named customers14 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Ivins, Phillips & Barker: Washington, DC-based boutique law firm specializing in tax-qualified retirement plans and exempt organizations. Comparable niche specialty and client overlap with Perlman & Perlman's tax-exempt and private foundation practices.
• Caplin & Drysdale: Washington, DC-based law firm with a nationally recognized tax-exempt organizations practice serving large foundations, charities, and associations. Directly comparable for higher-end tax-exempt and private foundation matters that overlap with Perlman & Perlman's Private Foundations practice area.
• Adler & Colvin: San Francisco-based boutique law firm focused exclusively on nonprofit, tax-exempt, and charitable organization law. Closest direct peer — similar size, similarly exclusive nonprofit-law focus, and similar practice-area breadth across governance, tax-exempt status, and charitable solicitation.
• NEO Law Group: Seattle-based boutique law firm serving nonprofits and social enterprises. Directly comparable: Perlman & Perlman already co-presents with NEO Law Group attorney Erin Bradrick on fiscal sponsorship, indicating overlapping client bases and practice-area competition for the same boutique nonprofit clients.

Broad incumbents

• Venable LLP: National law firm with a substantial nonprofits and tax-exempt organizations practice group. Competitor for the same corporate philanthropy, foundation, and higher-education clients, but offers nonprofit law as part of a full-service platform rather than as a pure specialty.
• Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath: National full-service law firm with a nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations practice. Competes for sophisticated foundation and nonprofit governance matters but serves these clients alongside a much broader corporate and litigation platform.
• Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler: New York-based law firm with a tax-exempt organizations and nonprofit practice group. Geographic and practice overlap with Perlman & Perlman's Midtown headquarters; competes for the same NYC-based foundations, cultural institutions, and educational nonprofits.
• Holland & Knight: Large national law firm with an established nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations practice serving major foundations, universities, and healthcare systems. Comparable on practice-area coverage but competes as part of a much broader portfolio versus Perlman & Perlman's exclusive focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/perlman-&-perlman-llp?trk=fc_badge
• Xx.com/taxexemptlawyer

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

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 Perlman & Perlman