Meet two of our attorneys:
Marla K. Conley
(215) 383-1752
Marla is a founding partner of Conley Law Group LLC where she focuses her practice on serving nonprofit organizations and their donors.
She provides general counsel and strategic planning services for a wide range of nonprofit organizations, from obtaining and maintaining tax-exempt status to major corporate restructures and affiliations. She advises clients regarding corporate structure; governance; taxation; fundraising; endowment and charitable trust management; grants; and charitable spending. Marla represents clients before the IRS, the Attorney General, and the Pennsylvania Orphans’ Court.
Marla has extensive experience in the federal tax and state charitable laws applicable to private foundations, charitable trusts, and other grantmakers, such as individual donors and sponsoring organizations of donor advised funds.
Marla also specializes in new and old charitable gifts, including general fundraising matters, corporate sponsorships, cause-related marketing, planned giving, and vetting and accepting complex illiquid assets such as collectibles, real estate, or interests in a closely held business. She regularly assists clients with grant and donation agreements as well as managing and investing, and removing old restrictions on, charitable funds, trusts, and endowments.
She speaks frequently on nonprofit governance and fundraising issues. Marla is always interested in hearing about new models for collaborative charitable funding or program evaluation.
Marla studied public policy affecting youth at Princeton University and then worked in direct service provision and affordable housing development in cities including Baltimore, MD, and Newark, NJ. She worked for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Maryland, the American Bar Association's Center on Children and the Law, and the Delaware Office of the Child Advocate. She received her undergraduate degree from Princeton University and her law degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania.
Prior to founding Conley Law Group LLC, she co-chaired the Nonprofit Practice Group at a large, full-service law firm based in Philadelphia.
Marla currently serves as co-chair of the Property Committee for the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania.
Joyce C. Sun
(215) 383-1751
Joyce is a senior associate at Conley Law Group LLC. She represents a variety of clients, including major grantmaking institutions and philanthropic developers. Joyce provides practical guidance on acquisitions, sales, leases, and other real estate transactions, and she assists nonprofits in accepting donations of real estate. Joyce is the treasurer of the Executive Committee for the Real Property Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association, and she serves as the chair of the Real Estate Committee for the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation.