Shouka Rezvani

Shouka is the Chair of the firm's Nonprofit Organizations Practice Group. She has served as outside counsel to both operating and non-operating private foundations, as well as public charities and other tax-exempt entities. She counsels nonprofits on all facets of their operations, governance, and compliance with the laws regulating the independent sector, from formation to dissolution.

She has advised nonprofit boards regarding their fiduciary duties, and has assisted with strategic planning to evaluate joint ventures, mergers, chapters, and other models for collaboration to expand mission.

Shouka has interfaced with in-house counsel and marketing staff at national and international corporations to assist with building employee relief funds and foundations that further corporate community involvement and align with charitable intent.

Shouka has experience working with educators and other community groups to establish charter schools in the Portland area. She has worked with clients to explain and meet state charter school legal requirements, submit charter school applications, and develop and implement the pre and post-operational steps necessary for opening a charter school.

Shouka also is a member of the firm's Estate Planning Practice Group. Her practice includes wealth planning to effectuate personal and financial goals, through the drafting and implementation of trusts, wills, and other planning documents, and the administration of both probate and non-probate estates. She also specializes in the preparation of specialty trusts including life insurance trusts, charitable remainder trusts, generation-skipping trusts, Crummey trusts, and title-holding trusts.

Shouka has served on the firm's hiring and diversity committees.

Drawn to the global perspectives inherent in immersion education, Shouka  became involved with Portland’s only public French grade school, Le Monde French Immersion Public Charter School, before it even opened. She joined the nonprofit's board in 2012 and provided pro bono legal support to help it draft governance documents, establish tax-exempt status, and obtain a charter contract with the Portland Public School District. A self-professed Francophile, Shouka is fulfilling her desire to create equitable access to exceptional educational opportunities in public education by working as Le Monde’s Executive Director.

The Oregon Community Foundation
Metropolitan Portland Leadership Council Member

Oregon State Bar Nonprofit Law Section
Executive Committee Member

Keller Foundation
Board Member

Le Monde Immersion
Board President

Marathon Scholars
Founding Partner, Former Chair, and Former Trustee

Oregon Foundation for Reproductive Health Advisory Council
Former Council Member

Young Audiences of Oregon
Former Board Member

Reed College Alumni Board
Former Board Member

American Bar Association
Estate Planning Council of Portland
Multnomah Bar Association
National Committee on Planned Giving
Northwest Planned Giving Roundtable
Oregon Women Lawyers

"Ethical Considerations Related to Public Charities and Private Foundations," Oregon Community Foundation, September 2017

"Is it the Beginning of the End of the Estate Tax?" Estate & Charitable Planning, Portland Business Journal, March 2017

"Nonprofit Board Service," Professional Advisor's Forum, Oregon Jewish Community Foundation, January 2017

“Thought Leader Forum: The State of Oregon Nonprofits,” Portland Business Journal, December 2016

"The Intersection of Nonprofits and School Law: An Introduction to Public Charter and Basic School Law," Current Topics for Nonprofits, OSB Nonprofit Law Section, September 2016

"New Online Form 1023-EZ Makes Applying for Recognition of 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Status Easier," Oregon State Bar NOLS Newsletter, Fall 2014

"Navigating the Rules of Serving on Nonprofit Boards," Multnomah Bar Association, April 2014

"Writing Bylaws That Solve More Problems than They Cause," Nonprofit Law CLE: Tips from Pros and Practitioners, Oregon State Bar Nonprofit Organizations Law Section, March 2014