Bylaws And Policy Management
Every religious organization should have a body of governance documents that sets forth the duties, authorities and rights of its members.
These documents should avoid ambiguities of managing issues that arise.
We support your church through effective governance, providing relevant, useful education to help you achieve your mission.
Maurice Smith helps us negotiate business transactions and establish proper corporate governance. His wisdom, counsel and insight is essential for us to move ahead and realize the vision of our ministry.
Effective Governance and Counsel For Churches
Legal Counsel for Churches is a service that helps religious organizations practice effective governance. Governance is the process of managing church business functions. Effective governance facilitates smooth ministry by providing accountability to all stakeholders. In his practice, Maurice Smith approaches each engagement with a determination to meet the client’s needs.
Legal Counsel for Churches focuses on the business side of churches and religious organizations. Church management faces an assortment of legal issues on a daily basis. The handling of these issues often defines the difference between a successful transaction and a costly mistake.
Legal Counsel helps church leaders identify areas of risk, create ways to mitigate perils and help make church operations more efficient.
Attorney Smith has provided PROFESSIONAL legal services to our Church for several years. Attorney Smith timely and patiently handled disputes, details and communication to achieve positive but fair results for all parties involved.
How We Serve Your Ministry
Contract Compliance
Many agreements signed in the normal course of an organization have long lasting consequences.
Liability waivers, termination clauses, and unilateral extension are a few of the contract elements that can produce unintended effects.
Corporate Governance
Corporate governance is the set of rules that establishes the order for a church or religious organization. Effective corporate governance is critical to the success of a complex ministry. This is particularly true for churches with multiple departments and community outreach programs.
Dispute Resolution
One of the most difficult occurrences for any organization is the resolution of disputes. Disputes can arise from internal disagreements or external misunderstandings. In either event, a resolution can be costly, time consuming and bruising.
Legal Counsel for Churches is a valuable service for our ministry. We gain insightful information from every edition. As a Christian himself, Maurice Smith has an understanding of our core business.
About Maurice Smith
Maurice Smith became a lawyer for one overarching reason: he recognized that some consumers and organizations were treated unfairly in business transactions.
Maurice believes he can level the playing field for his clients by providing professional legal services and by having his clients reach good results in business dealings every time.
From The Newsletter
New Leadership Orientation
All organizations undergo leadership turnover. It is important to ensure that new church directors and leaders are fully equipped to be successful in their roles. The process of training new leaders is often called orientation. Orientation is a program where new directors, officers and management figures undergo an introduction to their roles in the organization.…
READ MORE about New Leadership Orientation
Avoiding Insider Church Lawsuits
Recently, we have received a spate of calls from potential clients dealing with internal quarrels. In most of these instances, church members are fighting one another over control of the church’s assets, ministries, and practices. The issues include spiritual and secular disagreements. These cases are often emotional, complicated, and expensive for the clients. When church…
READ MORE about Avoiding Insider Church Lawsuits
What Makes An Effective Board Chair?
Good corporate governance begins at the top. For most organizations, the top is defined as the Board of Directors. Atop the board is the presiding officer. The presiding officer for the board is often called the chairman, chairperson, or chair. Some churches use different titles such as president, pastor, elder, or deacon. The governing board…
READ MORE about What Makes An Effective Board Chair?Call Legal Counsel For Churches
Call to discuss your church’s legal needs with M Smith Law, PLLC.
Call 919-362-0744
Contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship.