JEANNIE ROSE BARKSDALE

PARTNER

Jeannie Rose Barksdale is a creative problem-solver who partners with clients to achieve their goals, leveraging her in-house General Counsel and nonprofit law firm experience to offer legal expertise, strategic engagement, thoughtful risk management, and wise counsel.  

A business lawyer with a nonprofit/tax-exempt background, and former General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for global non-profit organization International Justice Mission, Jeannie Rose has worked extensively with charities, social enterprises, and mission-driven organizations as both outside and in-house counsel.

With expertise in governance, legal compliance, risk mitigation, safeguarding and internal investigations, Jeannie Rose partners with clients to address both recurring business needs and critical life-cycle events, such as: 

  • Forming a new entity 

  • Launching a new product or program 

  • Expanding to a new place 

  • Structuring business and governing relationships between entities 

  • Developing partnerships and collaborative projects 

  • Building a strong internal foundation to support scale 

  • Managing an orderly and efficient dissolution

She has extensive experience working across jurisdictions, having incorporated entities overseas in multiple countries and developed innovative solutions to support clients' missions in diverse legal landscapes. She also serves as an outside General Counsel, providing clients the peace of mind of having one trusted resource who can figure out what needs to happen to achieve client goals—and take care of it. 

More than simply a legal expert, Jeannie Rose is a true business partner who helps clients seize opportunities, navigate complex challenges and get things done. She uses her legal expertise to help organizations proactively address risk, identifying potential legal roadblocks to strategic plans and charting a way forward. She has helped clients build ethical infrastructure, developing policies and systems to deter and detect misconduct, and has conducted and overseen internal investigations on a wide range of allegations. Jeannie Rose’s ability to bring a steady hand during crises—whether through misconduct allegations, board disputes, staff safety concerns, or public relations issues—has made her a trusted advisor to organizations navigating difficult situations.  

While Jeannie Rose is a west-coaster at heart, originally from a small wine-making town in Washington State and a Stanford graduate, she has lived happily in “east coast exile” for nearly twenty years, first in New York City and currently in Washington, DC with her husband Nate and three children. She is also a writer and spiritual director, and operates Rock Creek Sanctuary, a micro-urban retreat space where she hosts individual and group retreat gatherings. Jeannie Rose is deeply involved in her community, serving on the board of Christian Legal Aid of the District of Columbia and her local church, and supports safeguarding across the Anglican church as pro-bono Vice Chancellor for Safeguarding for the Anglican Church of North America. 

Jeannie Rose has a passion for connecting with others cross-culturally and can converse about food in Spanish, Italian, and Thai. She brings this warmth and appreciation for cultural diversity into her professional life, where she seeks to foster strong, meaningful relationships with clients. 

    • Guided numerous founders through all aspects of forming a new organization and obtaining tax-exemption where eligible.

    • Developed and enacted novel governance structure for complex charity seeking an updated approach to better align with its mission and goals.

    • Developed framework and licensing agreement for family of charities working collaboratively to preserve appropriate independence while ensuring minimum standards. 

    • Oversaw expansion of charity scaling program and fund-raising work into multiple new countries. 

    • Supported company expanding overseas by vetting overseas counsel and proposing creative solutions for expanding operations in light of legal constraints of new territory. 

    • Incorporated suite of related entities with distinct capacities in response to complex law governing charities in a foreign jurisdiction, drafting cooperation agreements to support practical working arrangements. 

    • Advised and executed on strategy for spinning off operations into wholly-owned LLC charity to address foreign government risks.  

    • Provided training to non-profit board on board governance and duties.

    • Supported launch of mobile app, including developing licensing agreements, negotiating translations, and addressing data privacy requirements.

    • Provided legal guidance and drafting support for collaborative film project between two non-profits.

    • Supported non-profit pseudo-merger where one organization acquired a dissolving organization’s intellectual property and incorporated it as a program. 

    • Advised on and executed formation of scholarship program.

    • Advised charity as part of crisis management team in addressing extortion threats by former contractor.

    • Supported insurance claim resulting in significant unforeseen coverage for crisis management expenses and surviving family after the loss of a staff member in the line of service.  

    • Developed contract templates for key recurring contracts to reduce hands-on legal guidance required.  

    • Conducted and oversaw numerous internal investigations, including overseas corruption allegations and cross-national investigation of safeguarding allegations against multiple charity staff members. 

    • Drafted ethics policies, including whistleblower and anti-harassment policies, aligned with organizational culture.

    • Supported religious organization in assessing a series of related allegations, ultimately supporting a review board evaluation and finding. 

    • Advised on safeguarding infrastructure and risk related to grant certifications, supporting development of policies, reporting systems and response processes to meet key grantor requirements. 

    • Oversaw investigation of financial fraud by a high-level non-profit leader and advised mitigation plan for preventing future occurrences.  
       

Clients and colleagues alike recognize Jeannie Rose for her exceptional legal expertise and unwavering commitment. As noted by those who have worked closely with her:

"Jeannie Rose is a much-sought-after thought partner - an expert problem solver across the range of legal issues we face. She is an excellent attorney and solution-oriented in her approach to providing legal advice. Instead of saying no, she tenaciously seeks alternatives to help our internal clients get to workable solutions that minimize risk, and she does this in such a winsome and collaborative manner that brings out the best thinking from all."

–Stacy McMahan, CFO, International Justice Mission


"Jeannie Rose Barksdale is an exceptional attorney who brings far more than legal expertise to her professional engagements - she is a collaborative and creative problem solver who approaches challenges with a remarkable "can do" attitude. During her two terms on our Parish Council (board of directors), Jeannie Rose consistently demonstrated extraordinary commitment, dedicating significant time and energy to advancing our organization's mission through innovative approaches to HR, structural development, and change management. Unlike many attorneys who might focus primarily on potential risks, Jeannie Rose stands out for her proactive mindset, always working constructively to help her colleagues achieve their goals and find practical solutions to complex issues."

–Deborah Tepley, COO, Anglican Church in North America

Education

  • New York University School of Law, JC, magna cum laude / order of the coif

  • Stanford University, BA, with distinction

Clerkship

  • Eastern District of New York

Bar/Court Admissions

  • New York State

  • Washington, DC

  • Eastern District of New York

Professional Affiliations

  • Anglican Church in North America, Vice-Chancellor for Safeguarding

  • Christian Legal Aid of DC, Board Member

  • Church of the Advent, Washington, DC, Board Member

  • Open Hands Legal Services (Legal Aid Clinic), Former Young Advisory Board Member and Volunteer 

  • All Angels Church, New York City, Former Board Member

Publications and Speaking Engagements

Writing
Jeannie Rose has regularly contributed to legal blogs on topics including tax-exempt law, corporate governance, and nonprofit structures, and has published work in the Oxford International Journal of Refugee Law.

Speaking Engagements
Highly requested internal speaker at International Justice Mission on various topics including ethics, governance, policy training and leadership.

Certificates

  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Certificate, eCornell

  • Employee Training & Development, eCornell