Lauren Caplan
You're changing the world. We provide the legal counsel to help you do it.
About
Mill River Advisory, LLC is a law firm working with mission-driven organizations and the funders who support them, helping both sides build the structure, capacity, and resources to tackle the toughest challenges.
Our services are designed around a simple idea: provide the practical, targeted legal counsel we wished we'd had when we were in-house -counsel that relieves the legal burdens that pull focus away from the mission. By working with both operating organizations and their funders, we help connect the dots to move more capital toward the challenges that matter most.
We bring a perspective shaped by over twenty years of deep in-house experience, emphasizing practical, solutions-oriented strategies that work on the ground. We work with a diverse client base including non-profit organizations, social enterprises, family offices, foundations, corporate philanthropy, and hybrid entities.
Whether supporting specific projects or serving as your outsourced general counsel, find more on the ways we can help support your work at www.millriveradvisory.com.
Practice areas
- General Corporate > Corp Governance
- Education Law > Universities
- Non-Profits > Private Foundations
- Non-Profits > Tax Exempt Orgs
- General Corporate
- Investment Funds
- Non-Profits
Services
Sustainable Funding
Our sustainable funding services help mission-driven organizations attract and retain the full range of funding your mission deserves. Whether that means strengthening existing governance practices; structuring new revenue-generating activities; navigating the legal frameworks for innovative partnerships; or designing a capital structure that reduces dependence on any single funding source, we can help.
Impact Capital
The need for thoughtful capital has never been greater — and neither has the scrutiny on the funders providing it. Our Impact Capital Services provide strategic legal counsel that helps funders protect and maximize the impact of every dollar. Whether that means identifying and mitigating unanticipated risks or assessing whether your current structure is best positioned for lasting change, we can help move the needle on the most complex challenges.
General Counsel
Legal needs don't follow a fixed schedule and the right level of support looks different for every organization. We serve as outside general counsel for organizations including nonprofits, social enterprises, family offices, foundations, and corporate philanthropy departments. We provide flexible, ongoing legal support that can be dialed up during periods of growth or transition, and scaled back when things are steady.
What clients say
“Third Side Strategies is an action-oriented think tank and non-profit advisory firm that helps companies strengthen the governance of their public affairs in turbulent times, both to manage risk and advance long-term value for business and society. As we launched Third Side Strategies, it was critical that we offer a practical, legally robust approach that management teams, boards and investors could apply right away to govern their engagements in the public sphere—building on existing governance and risk management practices, but also addressing new risks amid incredible socio-political instability. Lauren served as our Director of Governance and Risk Integration during the launch and beyond; she listened deeply for underlying tensions and needs, offered considered, solid guidance for navigating those challenges, drafted practical tools and resources for our key audiences and identified hidden strategic opportunities multiple times. Her attentive listening, pragmatic legal judgment, and strategic insight made her an invaluable collaborator throughout the process.”
Elizabeth Doty
Experience
Associate General Counsel
Yale University
Jun 2018 – Feb 2023
General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer
Greenworks Lending
Sep 2015 – Jan 2017
Assistant General Counsel & ESG Policy Officer
Commonfund
Oct 2007 – Sep 2015
JD
Georgetown University Law Center
2005
AB
Harvard College
2000