A-Line: Aligna’s Legal Practice

Carrie advises nonprofits across the organizational life cycle—from formation and early governance through growth, conflict, restructuring, and closure. Sometimes, you need a legal document. Sometimes, you need someone to tell you if what you have makes any sense. Legal work may include:

• Nonprofit formation and organizational structure
• Articles, bylaws, and governance policies
• Board and officer authority
• Fiduciary duties
• Membership and voting structures
• Board conflict and difficult governance decisions
• Fiscal sponsorship
• Contracts and organizational policies
• Organizational restructuring
• Dissolution and wind-down
• Risk assessment and compliance
• Legal review of significant organizational decisions

Some organizations need a reliable relationship. Carrie acts as fractional or outside counsel to select nonprofits and small businesses that want an ongoing legal thought partner rather than starting from scratch every time a question arises. The relationship may include:

• Regular access to legal counsel
• Governance and board advising
• Contract and policy review
• Employment and contractor questions
• Accessibility and accommodation issues
• Risk assessment
• Organizational changes
• Leadership decision support
• Crisis triage
• Coordination with specialized outside counsel when another area of expertise is needed

There’s a lot of value in not having to explain who you are (from history to people) and what you do to a new attorney every time.

Carrie advises nonprofits and small businesses on workplace legal questions including:

• Employee versus independent-contractor classification
• Employment and contractor agreements
• Workplace policies
• Disability accommodations
• Nondiscrimination
• Workplace conflict
• Changes in employment or contractor relationships
• Organizational risk connected to personnel decisions

Carrie has taught labor and employment law and has written and presented extensively on employment discrimination and disability law. Her approach is often useful when the legal issue cannot be separated neatly from organizational history, relationships, operations, and risk.

Accessibility is a significant part of Carrie’s practice. She advises both individuals and organizations, which brings perspective from more than one side of the accommodation process.

For individuals and families

Carrie works with people with disabilities and their families on selected matters involving:

• Reasonable accommodations at work
• Disability discrimination
• Access to businesses and public accommodations
• Healthcare accessibility
• Government programs and services
• Community participation and access
• Understanding rights and options before deciding whether or how to escalate a concern

For nonprofits and small businesses

Carrie also helps organizations:

• Respond to accommodation requests
• Develop or improve accommodation processes
• Review policies and practices
• Address concerns raised by employees, customers, participants, students, or members of the public
• Understand obligations under the ADA, Section 504, the Washington Law Against Discrimination, and other applicable laws
• Sort through physical, programmatic, communications, and digital accessibility
• Resolve problems before they become much larger ones

Carrie brings extensive disability-rights expertise together with experience running organizations. Compliance matters, but it’s hard to achieve if it’s not embedded in what it takes to keep something going on a stressful Tuesday morning.

Carrie advises families and organizations on selected matters involving disability access, Section 504, special education, accommodations, and public education systems. Her education background includes leading Washington State Governor’s Office of the Education Ombuds, teaching disability and civil-rights law, working with families and public agencies, and engaging in federal appellate amicus advocacy involving special education and disability rights.

Legal support may include:

• Understanding special education/IDEA and Section 504 rights
• Accommodation questions, in K-12 and higher-education
• Reviewing a difficult situation before it escalates
• Preparing for important meetings or decisions
• Evaluating possible next steps
• Navigating public education systems
• Selected systemic, policy, appellate, or amicus work

Carrie’s practice is particularly well suited to clients who need help understanding a complicated situation, identifying the real issues, and deciding what to do next. Full representation in IDEA due-process matters is accepted selectively.

Carrie brings extensive experience with administrative process, public systems, ombuds practice, and neutral decision-making. She has worked inside and alongside government agencies, advised public-sector leaders, and handled matters involving administrative processes, procedural fairness, disability rights, housing, education, and institutional decision-making. This work means she pays attention to substantive rights and due process. For some clients, Carrie also advises on administrative processes, investigations, hearings, and agency-facing matters.

Carrie is frequently the person clients call when the problem was not in anyone’s strategic plan. Whether it’s a Board dispute, a personnel issue, a deteriorating relationship, or a pressing decision, Carrie enjoys these moments of triage.

Carrie combines legal analysis with years of experience as an executive, business owner, ombuds, mediator, organizational leader, educator, and advisor. That means she is always wondering what’s legally required and what’s possible, so that we don’t create new problems without solving the first one. For ongoing organizational clients, this kind of legal triage and crisis counsel can be one of the most valuable parts of the relationship.