The Institute for Law and Strategy

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
844100002
IRS 990 coverage
2021–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2020
Location
Austin, TX, USA
Phone
5129708314
Rating
43
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Alliance/Advocacy

Reported finances

Revenue
$750,000
Expenses
$383,611
Assets
$1,029,560
Liabilities
$100

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • PHILIP BOBBITT (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • PHILIP BOBBITT (PRESIDENT): $350,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

This institute, unlike many institutions concerned with law and public affairs, will not devote itself to advocacy or lobbying, to litigation, or to holding large-scale public events. Rather, it will focus on collaboration with established academic departments and public policy schools, think-tanks, policymakers and executive officers in government, and government entities to undertake educational programs in its field of study: the intersection of law and strategy. In all instances, the institute willemphasize the generation and cultivation of top-flight thinking on american law and national security as these subjects intersect. The institute will undertake its work through the participation of those who most need to see it in government, academia, and the media, so that it can inform and enrich their work in government and policy. The institute plans to also make its work available to interested members of the public through publications.

What it reported doing in 2024

The institute hosted eight meetings in 2024, structured as one day seminars on specific topics within the institute's field of study, attended by its fellows, by invited participants with special knowledge, expertise, and roles in its field of study, and by expert speakers and other presenters of material covered in the meeting. These meetings further the institute's educational purposes (i) by bringing new, more fully researched, and more developed ideas and information to members of the strategic, diplomatic, academic, policy, legal, and media communities for use in their work, and (ii) by providing a forum for those individuals and organizations to identify areas and issues that are germane to their work for further exploration by the institute.summary of 2022 meetings of the fellows: date: february 12, 2024location: austin, texastopic: geopolitical changes and their consequences for developmentour principal speaker was jamie galbraith, the lloyd m. Bentsen, jr. Chair in government at the lbj school of public affairs.date: april 30, 2024location: austin, texastopic: us presidential immunity from criminal liabilityour principal speakers were sanford levinson, the w. St. John garwood, jr. Centennial chair in law; stephen vladeck, charles alan wright chair in federal courts ; bartolomew sparrow, professor of government; and jeffrey tulis, professor of government, professor of law & professor of communication studies.date: may 23, 2024location: New York, new yorktopic: china, the USA and aukus - a view from sydneyour principal speaker was dr. Michael fullilove, the executive director of the lowy institute in australia, former advisor to australian prime minister paul keating, a fellow at the brookings institution, and a member of the council of the international institute for strategic studies in the uk.date: july 9, 2024location: london, englandtopic: - economic challenges after the elections in europeour principal speaker was lord mervyn king , kg, gbe, fba, and former governor of the bank of england.date: july 30, 2024location: london, englandtopic: the war in ukraine: its prospects and challengesour principal speaker was general sir rupert smith, kcb, dso & bar, obe, qgm, and former deputy supreme allied commander europe.date: september 20, 2024location: New York, new yorktopics: scenario planning and scenarios treating the geopolitical future of chinaour principal speaker was cho khong, formerly with the royal dutch shell global futures group, and currently teaching courses on scenarios and futures thinking in singapore and in oxford. Date: october 18, 2024location: london, englandtopics: prospects for a new world warour principal speaker was sir lawrence freedman, kcmg, cbe, pc, fba, formerly professor of war studies at king's college, london and head of that department.date: november 20, 2024location: New York, new yorktopics: implications of the recent american presidential electionour principal speakers were benjamin wittes, editor in chief of lawfare and senior fellow in governance studies at the brookings institution, and julian zelizer, professor of political history and author at princeton university.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and most filed governance safeguards are in place. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 2
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 60
  • Sustainability: 74
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 1.8%; rating input score 2
  • Program expense ratio: 3.5%; rating input score 4
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 50%; rating input score 50; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 48.9%; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.68; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 91.2%; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.7% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -19.5% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.4% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 1.8% of revenue deployed · 3.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 4 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $14K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $350K · 4 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 17 of 17 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2021 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 2/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 4/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 50/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 0/100.