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We are experienced attorneys offering innovative and collaborative legal solutions that grow businesses and banks, expand churches, and build nonprofit organizations. Our blog features insight into recent case decisions, advice for budding entrepreneurs and established leaders, as well as commentary on other aspects of the legal profession that we find interesting. Welcome. Please let us know what you think.
Damages remain a remedy in land use cases litigated under RLUIPA.
In Landor, the court clarified that RLUIPA does not alter the law; rather, it bars prison litigants from seeking monetary damages from individuals who infringe their rights under the Act. This means Landor's case is more about procedure than substantive…
Site Plan Approved for Milwaukee Rescue Mission: When a Zoning Board Decides What Makes a Church
Congratulations to Milwaukee Rescue Mission for securing approval to build a new recovery facility in New Berlin, Wisconsin. Despite opposition, the Zoning Board reviewed the law and reached a favorable outcome. The key issue was what defines a church: a…
The Intersection of Sacred Spaces and Civil Statutes: Why I’m Returning to Detroit Mercy Law to Teach Law and Religion
This upcoming Fall semester, my career path comes full circle. I am returning to my alma mater, the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, to teach a comprehensive course on Law and Religion.
All Peoples Church prevails in a CEQA challenge in California: Lessons in Law, Environment, and Urban Planning from Save Del Cerro v. City of San Diego
Congratulations to our client, All Peoples Church in San Diego, California, for prevailing in a CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) challenge to the approval of its site plan for a new facility in the Del Cerro neighborhood. This legal victory…
When a Good Cause Isn’t Enough: A Cautionary Tale for Nonprofits Seeking Federal Grants
A recent Michigan Court of Appeals decision, Goldsmith v Faith Hope & Love Outreach Center Inc, unpublished per curiam opinion of the Court of Appeals, issued May 19, 2026 (Docket No. 371415), offers a pointed lesson for any nonprofit that…
Zoning Regulations Still Apply to Commercial Gun Range Owners under the Second Amendment
Over the past several years, the scope of Second Amendment’s protections relating to owning and carrying firearms has been clarified by the Supreme Court. In New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n, Inc. v. Bruen, 597 U.S. 1 (2022) the…
Sixth Circuit avoids Tax Foreclosure Judgment as Preference
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has now held that, under certain circumstances, a Michigan tax foreclosure can be avoided as a preferential transfer in Chapter 13. In Reinhardt v. Prince, Bay County Treasurer (Case 25-1072), the…
What the OpenAI Battle Should Teach Every Michigan Nonprofit About For-Profit Affiliations
Today, a federal jury in Oakland, California delivered its verdict in one of the most closely watched corporate governance disputes in recent memory. Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman was thrown out unanimously, after less than two…
Broad Cove Church fights to maintain its property
The church wants to stand by its truth: Broad Cove Church has always belonged to the Cushing community, and it still does.
Thinking about merging two nonprofits? What most boards don’t know until it’s too late
Nonprofit mergers used to be rare enough that most executive directors could go an entire career without facing one. That is no longer true. Sustained funding pressure, funder consolidation, and the lingering financial strain of the pandemic years have pushed…
Chiles v. Salazar: Colorado's Conversion Therapy Ban & the First Amendment
Last year I wrote about the Court’s oral arguments in Chiles v. Salazar relating to whether Colorado’s “conversion therapy” ban violated the First Amendment. Recently, the Supreme Court issued its decision. Chiles v. Salazar, No. 24-539, 607 US ___ (Mar…
The "Ransom" of the Sanctuary: Florida’s High-Stakes Battle Over Church Property
For decades, Florida has stood as a legal island in a shifting sea of religious property law. While the majority of the United States has moved toward treating church property disputes like any other secular contract or trust, Florida has…
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