Jenny Kassan is an attorney and community development consultant, specializing in environmentally friendly and socially responsible ventures.  Her legal practice areas include small business start-up and financing, securities regulation, nonprofit law, business agreements, real estate development, franchising, cooperatives, and assessment districts.

Jenny is the Managing Director of Katovich & Kassan Law Group and CEO of Cutting Edge Capital, Katovich & Kassan Law Group’s sister business.

Jenny earned a masters degree in City and Regional Planning from the University of California at Berkeley and earned her J.D. from Yale Law School.  She worked for eleven years at the Unity Council, a nonprofit community development corporation in Oakland, where she served as staff attorney and managed community economic development projects including the formation and management of several social ventures designed to employ and create business ownership opportunities for low-income community residents.

Jenny has also worked for Ralph Nader’s Center for Study of Responsive Law, University Students Cooperative Association, the Institute for Policy Studies, California Rural Legal Assistance, Texas Rural Legal Aid, La Mujer Obrera Workers Center, Center for Democratic Solutions, National Economic Development and Law Center, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, the City of Oakland, Alameda County Social Services Agency, the Training and Development Corporation, and Richmond Main Street Initiative.

Jenny is the President of Community Ventures, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the economic and social development of communities.  With Janelle Orsi, she co-founded the Sustainable Economies Law Center, a nonprofit organization that conducts education and advocacy on legal issues related to community asset ownership, cooperative enterprise, urban agriculture and sustainable food enterprise, alternative methods of exchange, and affordable and supportive housing.  She currently serves as President of the Sustainable Business Alliance and as a board member for the Post Carbon Institute.

Past engagements:

Incubate 2.0 – November 16-18, 2010, San Francisco

Forum of Legal Aspects “Cooperative Law Congress”- October 25-27, 2010, Miami

2010 National Cooperative Worker Conference, August 6-9, 2010, UC Berkeley

Triple Bottom Line Business Entities – July 22, Bar Association of San Francisco

8th Annual BALLE Business Conference – May 21-23, 2010, Charleston, SC

The National Cooperative Business Association Annual Conference – May 4-6, 2010, Washington, DC

California Co-op Conference – April 9-10, 2010, Santa Rosa, CA

The Business of Sustainability: Growing Health, Wealth, and Ecological Integrity in our Food System – January 20, 2010 – Pacific Grove, CA

Jenny’s transcripts and publications:

Jenny Kassan entered the SOCAP Impact Challenge, answering the question: How will social enterprise unlock the $120 billion market opportunity for individual impact investment? SHE FINISHED IN THE TOP FIVE! Read her article on triplepundit.com.

Jenny Kassan was featured in California Lawyer magazine! Read the article here.
Raising Money Via Private Placements – Small Business Monthly
Noncompete Agreements Are Also Nonlegal in California – Small Business Monthly
Who is a Contractor? What is an Internship? – Small Business Monthly
Partnerships that Pay Off - Small Business Monthly
Protecting Your Mission: Legal Tools to Keep Your Company on the Righteous Path - Small Business Monthly
How to Raise Money But Not Break the Bank – Small Business Monthly
Structuring Your Business for Sustainability – CASFS Conference
“Alternative Structures for ‘Social Businesses” - Business Law News
Legally speaking, what is a Worker Cooperative
SEA conference article

Jenny’s audios/videos:

Accelerating Community Capital Workshop: The Legal Landscape - live recording from the 2011 BALLE conference

Foundations for Credit and Finance in a Local Living Economy - live recording from BALLE conference

“Confused About L3Cs and the Rest? Me Too. Jenny Kassan Esq. Helps Us Out”

Structuring Your Business for Sustainability