Attorneys
Gene Takagi, Principal
gene@neolawgroup.com 415.977.0558
Gene Takagi is a Principal at NEO Law Group, Contributing Publisher of the Nonprofit Law Blog, and a P/T Lecturer at Columbia University. At NEO, Gene has represented over 800 nonprofit organizations on corporate, tax, and charitable trust law matters. Gene is a popular writer on nonprofit legal topics and has been published by The New York Times, The Nonprofit Quarterly, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, The Nonprofit Times, Taxation of Exempts, EO Tax Journal, and ALI-ABA. He is also a popular speaker who has presented at conferences for Independent Sector, BoardSource, the National Association of Attorneys General / National Association of State Charity Officials, CalNonprofits, Net Impact, the American Bar Association, the Western Conference on Tax Exempt Organizations (WCTEO), Georgetown Nonprofit Governance, the Northern California Planned Giving Council, the National Network of Fiscal Sponsors, and numerous local and regional bar and CPA associations. In addition, Gene has been a regular contributor to Tony Martignetti Nonprofit Radio since 2010.
Gene's professional experiences are diverse: corporate attorney for Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP, professor of nonprofit law at the University of San Francisco, assistant professor at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, director of the medical and behavior divisions of the San Francisco SPCA, management consultant for Allders International (specialty retail), and managing director of Suki's International (beauty/education). This background helps him provide clear, understandable legal advice with an appreciation of the relevant business issues. Gene, a graduate of UCLA School of Law and of USF's Master of Nonprofit Administration program, is a recipient of multiple awards for his work, including Outstanding Nonprofit Lawyer (American Bar Association, Nonprofit Organizations Committee, 2016), Outstanding Barrister of the Year (Bar Association of San Francisco) and Northern California Super Lawyer (2015-2023). He currently serves on the boards of BoardSource and The Nonprofit Quarterly; the planning committee of the WCTEO; and the board of advisors of the Center on Philanthropy and the Law at NYU School of Law. Gene previously served on the boards of CompassPoint, Community Initiatives, Net Impact, JCYC, the Barristers Club of the Bar Association of San Francisco, and the Public Policy Committee and John W. Gardner Leadership Award Committee of Independent Sector.
Erin Bradrick, Principal
erin@neolawgroup.com 415.977.0558
Erin Bradrick is a Principal at NEO Law Group, where she provides corporate, governance, charitable trust, and tax counsel solely to nonprofits and exempt organizations. Erin was recognized as the “2018 Outstanding Nonprofit Lawyer - Young Attorney” by the American Bar Association Nonprofit Organizations Committee. In 2017, Erin was also awarded the American Bar Association’s “On the Rise – Top 40 Young Lawyers” award by the Young Lawyers Division. Erin writes extensively on legal issues impacting the nonprofit sector, including as a regular columnist for The Daily Journal, California's largest legal news provider. She is also a regular contributor to publications such as the Nonprofit Law Blog, The Nonprofit Quarterly, Taxation of Exempts, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, and the American Bar Association’s Business Law Today, among others.
Erin is deeply committed to supporting and strengthening nonprofits and the sector at large and has led various advocacy efforts to this end. She also frequently speaks on nonprofit legal issues to various audiences, including at multiple BoardSource Leadership Forums, the Western Conference on Tax Exempt Organizations, the National Network of Fiscal Sponsors gathering, the ABA Business Law Section Conference, and numerous other live and webinar engagements. She often conducts trainings for nonprofit staffs on lobbying, advocacy, and election-related activities and for nonprofit Boards of Directors on a range of governance issues. She is also a Part Time Lecturer at Columbia University and has previously served as an assistant professor at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota in the M.A. in Philanthropy and Development program.
Prior to joining NEO Law Group, Erin was a litigator with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, where she worked on a number of complex commercial litigation matters. In addition, Erin clerked for the Honorable Dana M. Sabraw in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. Erin is a graduate of UCLA, summa cum laude in Women’s Studies and Political Science, and Yale Law School, where she was Submissions Director and Symposium Coordinator of the Yale Journal of Law and Feminism. She is admitted to practice law in the states of California and New York.
Michele Berger, Senior Counsel
michele@neolawgroup.com 415.977.0558
Michele Berger is a Northern California Super Lawyer Rising Star (2022 and 2023) and author of How can the board of a bar association prevent and respond to sexual harassment? (American Bar Association Bar Leader Magazine, Sep/Oct 2018), Diversity, equity, and inclusion in nonprofit bylaws (American Bar Association Bar Leader Magazine, Mar/Apr 2019), and over 50 articles on the Nonprofit Law Blog. Now in her tenth year working with NEO Law Group, Michele has assisted clients with nonprofit formation, exemption, charitable registration, fiscal sponsorship, property tax exemption, international grantmaking, bylaws review, and on various governance matters. Michele has also led seminars for emerging nonprofit leaders, presented for The Foundation Center, produced short videos on startup issues, and co-authored articles for The Nonprofit Quarterly and the Alameda County Bar Association Blog.
Michele graduated cum laude from the University of San Francisco School of Law, where she was a member of the McAullife Honor Society and on the board of the Law Students for Reproductive Justice. Michele received a bachelor of arts degree in Legal Studies from UC Berkeley and is admitted to practice law in California.