Michael Durham joined Caplin & Drysdale's Washington, D.C. office in 2004.
Services
Mr. Durham has advised a wide range of clients, including some of the nation’s largest private foundations; large museums, hospitals, and high-technology nonprofits; a variety of newly formed organizations; and donors wishing to structure their gifts to maximize tax savings. He has particular experience advising 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations on running high-profile advocacy campaigns, and has also advised 527 organizations and PACs on federal tax issues. His second major area of focus is international grantmaking and the taxation of cross-border donations, both under U.S. domestic law and under country-specific treaties. Mr. Durham also has considerable experience in the rules governing private foundations, private operating foundations, supporting organizations, and donor-advised funds, as well as tax-exempt bond issues and unrelated business activities of exempt organizations.
In addition to advising clients in these areas, Mr. Durham has represented large charities before the IRS on audit, seeking initial recognition of exempt status, and in specific ruling requests. He has also represented clients before Treasury and Congress with regard to new or pending law and regulations.
Selected Recent Publications and Speeches
- The Legal Framework for Not-for-Profit Organizations in Central and Eastern Europe, 11 INT’L J. NOT-FOR-PROFIT LAW, Feb. 2009 (with Douglas Rutzen & David Moore)
- Federal Tax Laws Affecting Political Activity and Lobbying by Tax-Exempt Charitable Organizations, POLITICAL ACTIVITY, LOBBYING LAWS AND GIFT RULES GUIDE (2d ed. 2008) (with Douglas Varley)
- Panelist, “International Grantmaking Issues,” ALI-ABA Course of Study on Tax Exempt Charitable Organizations (Nov. 30, 2007)
- Grantmaking Under the U.S.–Mexico Treaty: Old Frustrations, New Promise, 86 International Dateline (July 2007)
- Tsunami: NGO Response, 47 Exempt Organization Tax Review 181 (2005) (with Milton Cerny)
- The United States Law of Charities: A Summary, in PROCEEDINGS OF THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL CHARITY LAW COMPARATIVE SEMINAR 269-(Beijing, China Society Press, 2004) (with W. Cole Durham, Jr., and Brett G. Scharffs)