Orange County Bar Association

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
952395855
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Newport Beach, CA, USA
Phone
9494406700
Rating confidence
Limited

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,693,875
Expenses
$3,028,665
Assets
$8,513,392
Liabilities
$1,220,667

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

28 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MEI TSANG (PRESIDENT)
  • SHIRIN FOROOTAN (PRESIDENT-ELECT)
  • CHRISTINA M ZABAT-FRAN (IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT)
  • REBECCA MANNARA (ASSOCIATE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • DENNIS SLAUGHTER (CEO / EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • DENNIS SLAUGHTER (CEO / EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $248,679 total reported compensation
  • AARON CALDERON (CONTROLLER): $164,838 total reported compensation
  • REBECCA MANNARA (ASSOCIATE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $142,581 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To enhance the system of justice, the lawyers who serve it and the community served by it.

What it reported doing in 2025

Lawyer referral and information services: this program is supported by membership dues, fees paid by lawyers participating in the service and fees charged to clients of the service. The service provides legal and general information to the public, and refers clients to lawyers based upon client's needs.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 89% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.

The verdict

- The available evidence is not sufficient to produce an overall rating for this filing. This is not a warning sign.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: NotEnoughData
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 60
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: Limited
  • Program expense ratio: Limited
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 18%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.81; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.14; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 18.4%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: 1% per year; rating input score 100; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.1% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: Financial trends and filed revenue, expense, asset, and liability detail
  • Governance: 25 of 25 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments
  • Leadership: top reported pay $249K · 28 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 10 of 11 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2013 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.

  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 42/100.