SAAS has a long record of representing non-profit corporations, NGOs, citizens’ groups, associations and other public interest organisations. Our work spans:

– Corporate and governance matters, including incorporation, obtaining public interest status, fundraising and charitable registrations, governance and tax

– Programmatic and advocacy legal advice, covering human rights, civil society building, historic and artistic preservation, disabled rights and local development

– Micro-finance initiatives, supporting income-generating projects and sustainable economic development

– Advisory services both domestically and internationally

Experience

– Provided legal support to a non-profit micro-finance institution that focuses on supporting micro-entrepreneurs, particularly women, in developing sustainable businesses in cooperation with the World Bank and the European Union.

– Provided legal advice to a Think Tank established under the form of a non-profit organisation in both Lebanon and the United Kingdom, including restructuring its legal situation in Lebanon, registration, trademark and intellectual property issues, contracts and banking matters.

– Provided legal advice to the Lebanese branch of a US NGO specialising in training journalists and reporters in crisis and war zones, including registration in Lebanon and matters of employment law.

– Provided legal advice to the Federation of disabled associations in Lebanon in drafting the Disabled Rights Law and participating in the legal campaign for its implementation.

– Successfully represented a Lebanese human rights association in a judicial challenge against a regulation issued by the Ministry of Interior violating the Association Law and Lebanon’s obligations with respect to freedom of association under international law.

– Provided legal support to a charitable association running an e-learning platform for educational associations, NGOs and schools supporting underprivileged students.

– Provided legal support to an association dedicated to showcasing and encouraging Lebanese artists by projecting their artwork beyond conventional borders.

– Represented a charitable association dedicated to the preservation of historic sites in judicial challenges against regulations endangering those sites.

– Provided legal support to a charitable association dedicated to rural development through economic and social development projects, including microcredit provision and better access to the labour market.