California Lawyers Association

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
823116128
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Sacramento, CA, USA
Phone
9165161760
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Legal Services

Reported finances

Revenue
$10,358,334
Expenses
$11,836,338
Assets
$8,475,394
Liabilities
$1,218,036

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

28 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Chris Nguyen (CEO, Exec Dir)
  • Sabrina Green (Vice President)
  • Betty Williams (President)
  • Jeremy Evans (Past President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Chris Nguyen (CEO, Exec Dir): $346,681 total reported compensation
  • Saul Bercovitch (Dir. Govt. Rel.): $207,347 total reported compensation
  • Patricia Horan (Assoc Exec Dir): $190,313 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

CLAs mission is to promote excellence, diversity and inclusion in the legal profession and fairness in access to justice and the rule of law.

What it reported doing in 2024

Program Accomplishments1.In 2024, CLA produced 214 webinars, and offered 33 in-person programs. Additionally, CLA frequently offers free and low-cost continuing legal education consistent with statutory requirements. Specifically there is always one Free CLE program offered each month and an additional 28 free programs available covering ethics and specialty law topics.2.The Taxation Section hosted pro bono events in collaboration with the California Office of Tax Appeals, where CLA attorneys assisted taxpayers in navigating mediation. These efforts helped resolve numerous tax appeals and provided meaningful access to justice for individuals in need.3.The Taxation Section also advanced mentorship through its Odyssey Mentorship Program, designed to shape future leaders in the tax profession. The program offers mentees a confidential forum to seek guidance, gain professional exposure, and develop practical skills to become effective tax practitioners. Mentors benefit by giving back to the tax community and strengthening the next generation of leaders.4.CLA strengthened its commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) by implementing programming that reflects and supports the diversity of Californias workforce. Efforts ensured representation across gender, race, ethnicity, LGBTQ+ identity, and generational perspectives within CLA staff and leadership.5.The Diversity, Inclusion, and Outreach Committee (DIOr) promoted CLAs commitment to diversifying the legal profession and bench. In 2024, the Committee launched its first annual Distinguished Law Student Writing Competition, recognizing exceptional student authors advancing DEI in the legal profession. DIOr continues to provide policy recommendations and outreach initiatives to expand equity, representation, and access across CLA membership, leadership, education, and programming.6.The Civics Engagement and Outreach Committee advanced public understanding of civic processes by developing and distributing accessible content for educators and community leaders on how laws are made in California.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 86% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 88
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 21
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 90%; rating input score 90
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -14.3%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.72; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.14; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.2%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.1% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -5.9% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -2.2% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 90% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment
  • Leadership: top reported pay $347K · 28 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.5M reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2018 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 7/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 25/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 19/100.