Texans for Lawsuit Reform
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 760439129
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Houston, TX, USA
- Phone
- 7139639363
- Rating confidence
- Limited
- Sector
- Research Institutes and Public Policy Analysis
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $5,937,200
- Expenses
- $5,201,014
- Assets
- $9,520,596
- Liabilities
- $65,125
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
15 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- E Lee Parsley (President & General Counse)
- Mary Tipps (Executive Director)
Highest reported compensation
- E Lee Parsley (President & General Counse): $414,935 total reported compensation
- Mary Tipps (Executive Director): $276,702 total reported compensation
- Denis Calabrese (Chief Strategist): $254,332 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
See Schedule OTLR works to shape policy primarily in the Texas civil justice and court system through public education, legislative advocacy and building broad public support for a fair, competent and honest judiciary as well as a fair, balanced and predictable dispute resolution system. TLR is also sometimes involved in other public policy issues related to core governmental functions. TLR benefits all citizens by working to bring public attention to important government issues and working to address difficulties, deficiencies or abuses in the Texas civil justice system.
What it reported doing in 2024
Texans for Lawsuit Reform (TLR) engages in education of elected officials and the public about the Texas civil justice system including dispute resolution processes and the judiciary. Having gained recognition as a major contributor to public policy discussion, formation, and implementation in Texas, TLR's engagement in public debate, particularly concerning legal issues, has been substantial and meaningful. It also engages in legislative advocacy to improve the Texas civil justice system and, sometimes, on other issues, such as criminal justice and administrative/regulatory processes. Numerous changes in law benefiting all Texans and advocated by TLR have been enacted since TLR's formation in 1994.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 93% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- 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: 72
- Accountability: 72
- Sustainability: 61
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: Limited
- Program expense ratio: Limited
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 80%; rating input score 80; 0th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 88.1%; rating input score 88; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 83.3%; rating input score 83; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 5 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 56
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 12.4%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.83; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 20.1%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: 3.8% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 3.3% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: Financial trends and filed revenue, expense, asset, and liability detail
- Governance: 10 of 12 board members independent · 5 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment
- Leadership: top reported pay $415K · 15 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $487K reported
- Consistency: 10 of 11 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 15 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 13 filed related-organization links
- 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 59/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 12/100.