What Fraternal Law Partners does

Fraternal Law Partners is a Cincinnati-based law firm founded in 2012 as a division of Manley Burke, LPA, and it identifies itself as the only U.S. law practice dedicated exclusively to serving fraternities, sororities, and other student-life organizations, together with their affiliated charitable foundations and house corporations. The firm's practice spans real estate and housing, tax, employment, corporate governance, grant-making, fundraising, risk management and hazing, litigation, and state charitable registration — a multi-disciplinary suite packaged for a single client segment. The firm operates the National Anti-Hazing Hotline, which is supported by 47 sponsoring national organizations, and it publishes the Fraternal Law Newsletter, a quarterly publication with over 31 years of continuous issuance. It also hosts the annual Fraternal Law Conference, held 13 times since 2012.

The firm earns revenue through professional service fees — hourly, fixed, or alternative fee arrangements — charged to national Greek organizations, local chapters, foundations, and house corporations. Distribution is principally relationship-driven, augmented by content and convening channels (newsletter, conference, hotline, and client resources) that generate both lead flow and category authority. The firm maintains 13+ attorneys across Cincinnati and Chicago, with three founding partners (Burke, Callan, Christopher) and additional partner and associate hires in 2024–2025. The Chicago office, led by partner Toby Eveland, signals a deliberate geographic expansion beyond the Cincinnati headquarters.

Name

Fraternal Law Partners

Legal name

Fraternal Law Partners

Website

https://fraternallaw.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Fraternal Law Partners is a Cincinnati-based law firm, founded in 2012 as a division of Manley Burke, LPA, that exclusively serves U.S. fraternities, sororities, and affiliated foundations across real estate, tax, employment, governance, and litigation matters.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Litigation & Dispute Resolution (BPAHAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Trust & Estate Dispute Resolution & Fiduciary Litigation Support (FSAEAKAJ)

Keywords

• Fraternal organization law
• Nonprofit legal counsel
• Greek life legal services
• Hazing risk management
• Charitable foundation legal

Headquarters

HQ city

Cincinnati

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Legal Services: Professional legal services provided to fraternities, sororities, and related organizations including corporate governance, real estate, tax, litigation, risk management, and hazing counsel.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Fraternal Law Partners is a law firm division of Manley Burke, LPA that exclusively provides legal services to fraternities, sororities, student life organizations, and their related charitable foundations. The firm delivers comprehensive counsel across practice areas including real estate and housing, tax, employment, corporate governance, grant-making, fundraising stewardship, litigation, risk management, and hazing. It also publishes the Fraternal Law Newsletter and operates the National Anti-Hazing Hotline.

Product overview

Fraternal Law Partners is a law practice offering legal services exclusively to fraternities, sororities, student life organizations, and their related charitable foundations. The firm provides a comprehensive suite of practice areas including Real Estate and Housing, Tax, Employment Issues, Corporate Governance, Grant-Making, Litigation, Risk Management & Hazing, Fundraising & Stewardship, and State Registration for Greek Foundations. Beyond traditional legal counsel, the firm publishes the Fraternal Law Newsletter (a quarterly publication for over 30 years) and hosts the annual Fraternal Law Conference. It also manages the National Anti-Hazing Hotline. The firm does not offer a software product platform but rather provides legal services as a traditional law practice.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Real Estate and Housing Legal Services Legal counsel for house corporations on corporate structure, construction and development, land use, zoning, leasing, acquisitions and dispositions, property management, tax-appropriate use of contributions, and legal representation during property-related disputes.
• Tax Legal Services Counsel on securing and maintaining tax-exempt and charity status, separation of entities, foundation grant-making, set-aside funds, UBIT advice, tax compliance filings, IRS audit representation, and real estate tax exemption.
• Employment Issues Legal Services Representation in employment matters including employment contracts, discrimination claims, wage and hour claims, negotiation and enforcement of agreements, and statutory compliance at state and federal levels.
• Corporate Governance Legal Services Corporate and transactional counsel on structure and operation of local and national house corporations, best practices for stewarding charitable assets, drafting bylaws and articles of incorporation, committee charters, and policies and procedures.
• Grant-Making Legal Services Consultation and guidance on foundation grant-making activities including grant program education, documentation per IRS guidelines, monitoring and enforcement of grant criteria, and fundraising campaign assistance.
• Litigation Legal Services Counsel and defense in tort liability cases including negligence, hazing, discrimination disputes, premises liability, libel claims, and corporate governance matters including contract disputes and employment litigation.
• Risk Management & Hazing Legal Services Risk management and hazing counsel before incidents (training and policies), during incidents (crisis management), and after incidents (investigation and systems analysis), including management of the 24-hour Anti-Hazing Hotline.
• Fundraising & Stewardship Legal Services Legal counsel on national registration of charities and professional fundraisers, creation of restricted funds, UPMIFA compliance, set-asides, grant-making opinion letters, and fundraising campaign policies.
• State Registration for Greek Foundations Assistance with state registration requirements for charitable solicitation in the 40 states that require it, ensuring compliance with federal and state regulations.
• Fraternal Law Newsletter Quarterly publication covering legal issues relevant to Greek life organizations, published four times per academic year for over 30 years, distributed to attorneys, campus professionals, fraternity and sorority staff, and industry partners.
• Fraternal Law Conference Annual premier educational conference held in Cincinnati, Ohio at Great American Ballpark for attorneys, campus professionals, fraternity and sorority staff, and industry partners, providing legal insights and risk management strategies.
• National Anti-Hazing Hotline 24-hour toll-free hotline (1-888-NOT-HAZE) for anonymous reporting of suspected hazing incidents, sponsored by 47 national and international Greek organizations.

Quantifiable outcome

• 31 years of Fraternal Law Newsletter publication
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• National Anti-Hazing Hotline Sponsors (47 Greek Organizations)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2007Fraternal Law Partners established and manages the National Anti-Hazing Hotline (1-888-NOT-HAZE) in consortium with 47 national and international Greek organizations including Alpha Chi Omega, Alpha Delta Pi, Delta Sigma Phi, Phi Delta Theta, Sigma Chi, and others. The Hotline provides anonymous reporting of suspected hazing incidents.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Dinsmore & Shohl LLP: Large full-service law firm with strong nonprofit, higher education, and tax-exempt practices across multiple states. Comparable as a broader incumbent that also advises national nonprofit and Greek-affiliated clients on governance and tax matters.
• Bowles Rice LLP: Regional full-service firm with established higher education and nonprofit practices serving Greek-letter organizations and foundations. Comparable in serving national nonprofit clients with overlap in real estate, governance, and tax-exempt advisory.
• Pepper Hamilton LLP (now Troutman Pepper): Large national law firm with substantial nonprofit, tax-exempt, and higher-education practices that include serving Greek organizations and their foundations. Comparable as a broader incumbent with overlapping fraternal and nonprofit clientele.

Regional players

• Bricker & Eckler LLP: Ohio-based full-service law firm with strong higher education, nonprofit, and tax-exempt practice areas serving Greek-letter organizations and other nonprofits. Comparable in serving nonprofit and higher-ed clients with overlapping corporate governance and tax work.
• Graydon Law: Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky-based full-service firm with nonprofit, real estate, and litigation practices. Comparable as a regional competitor to the parent Manley Burke for similar nonprofit and corporate clients.

Emerging players

• Caplin & Drysdale: Chartered law firm with a notable practice in nonprofit organizations, foundations, and tax-exempt entities. Comparable for the trust, tax, and governance overlap relevant to Greek foundations and house corporations.
• Harmon, Curran, Spielberg + Eisenberg LLP: Washington, D.C.-based firm focused exclusively on nonprofit law, including tax-exempt organizations, foundations, and associations. Comparable in deeply serving the nonprofit/foundation segment with adjacent expertise to FLP's foundation clients.
• Higher Education Legal Advisors: Niche higher-education-focused legal advisory practice serving colleges and student organizations. Comparable as an adjacent specialist firm addressing governance, conduct, and compliance issues affecting Greek organizations on campus.

Direct peers

• Manley Burke, LPA: Parent law firm of Fraternal Law Partners and a Cincinnati-based full-service practice. Directly comparable as the operating entity within which FLP runs and shares overlapping practice areas in real estate, litigation, nonprofit, and government law.

Others

• Spector & Cox, PLLC: Specialized tax-exempt organization law firm. Comparable as a related specialist in nonprofit/foundation tax and compliance work that could be consulted by or partnered with on Greek foundation matters.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/fraternallaw
• Facebookfacebook.com/Fraternal-Law-Partners-281729888553942
• Instagraminstagram.com/fraternallawpartners/?hl=en

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 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 Fraternal Law Partners