“ SERVING PURPOSE DRIVEN BUSINESSES
I hope to leave my mark by practicing values-based law joyfully and prioritizing meaningful work that helps people transform their lives, supports my community, and drives lasting positive social and environmental change.
Currently, Nazareth provides general counsel services in business, employment, and education law for purpose-driven organizations, from small businesses to educational institutions and nonprofits. Her practice covers the full business life cycle, including transactions, employment issues, contracts, risk management, regulatory compliance, and governance. Nazareth also serves as a senior mediator for North Carolina state government and universities, working with clients across sectors.
Describe a memorable MSBA event or product that has had an impact on you personally or professionally.
NATASHA NAZARETH
Nazareth Bonifacino Law
NATASHA NAZARETH’S legal career began at Legal Aid advocating for children’s rights to justice, healthcare, education, and safety, followed by roles at public universities and independent schools. These experiences led her to co-found Nazareth Bonifacino Law in 2022 with Ginny Bonifacino, focusing on serving purpose-driven businesses and underserved entrepreneurs: Black, indigenous and people of color, immigrants, women, and service-disabled veteran business owners.
In 2023, her firm became Maryland’s first Certified B Corp law firm, committed to the triple bottom line of people, planet, and profit.
The MSBA has provided me with numerous opportunities to learn and grow professionally. I value each of these experiences as steps that helped shape my career. I’m a frequent user of the free CLE that is included with the membership. I often listen while I’m driving or folding laundry. One recent deeply inspiring event was the Solo and Small Firm Symposium. I came away with a boost of entrepreneurial energy and several actionable “how-tos” from other successful small firms. The connection with other firms like Nazareth Bonifacino Law has continued beyond the symposium, with attorneys reaching out to follow up on the roundtable discussion that Bethesda estate planner Meredith Hill and I co-led on organizing and operating a modern law firm.
How do you spend your free time?
Maintaining balance and well-being is important to me. When I’m not practicing law, I cherish spending time with my children and our dogs. I love to be active and enjoy the outdoors, yoga, and exploring new places and cuisines through travel. We have a family joke about being adventurous eaters: we'll eat just about anything once, and often I recreate the dishes at home. I also spend time with the youth-led youth group at my Quaker meeting. They design their own religious study, programming, and service projects. As a Friendly Adult Mentor, I coach and support them, holding space for them to discover what’s in their spiritual toolkits and how they would like to live their values in their communities.
What causes are you passionate about?
I am passionate about advancing a more just and equitable world for my children. I hope to leave my mark by practicing values-based law joyfully and prioritizing meaningful work that helps people transform their lives, supports my community, and drives lasting positive social and environmental change. This is why our firm focuses on supporting the 'missing middle' of entrepreneurs—those underserved business owners who often lack access to critical resources in the first five years, a make-or-break period for most small businesses.
I am also passionate about giving back to the communities that have supported me. Within the legal community, I have found deep fulfillment in my roles with the MSBA, my local bar association, and various specialty bar associations that I have been fortunate to be part of over the last three decades.
Do you find time to relax and unwind?
Yoga! My daily practice ranges from a few quiet minutes to my favorite class, which is advanced yogi playtime. It’s a great way not to take myself too seriously and to find ease in my body despite so much time in front of the computer.
I understand you recently won a prestigious Reisman Award. That is exciting! Explain how this award will give you and your firm national exposure.
It was exciting, thank you! Winning a Reisman Award this year was an incredible honor for Ginny and me, and we’re both proud to be recognized by Clio, the global cloud-based legal technology company. The Reisman Awards celebrate excellence in legal practice, innovation, and client service, and being selected as a recipient for excellence in client service underscores the meaningful work that we’re doing at Nazareth Bonifacino Law. This award highlights our commitment to providing high-quality client care and legal services to purpose-driven businesses and underserved entrepreneurs. Winning the award has already connected us with new clients, partners, and like-minded professionals who are driving forward modern ways of practicing law that are both tech-savvy and client-centered. As the firm continues to grow, the recognition by Clio will continue to reinforce our position as leaders in purpose-driven legal practice, extending our reach to a broader audience and building stronger relationships within the legal and business communities here in the mid-Atlantic and beyond.
I understand you also won an ABA Solo and Small Firm Lifetime Achievement Award. How does it feel to be honored by the ABA?
Receiving the Solo and Small Firm Lifetime Achievement Award from the ABA in May 2024 has been a career highlight—I am honored and humbled to have been selected for the award, which pays tribute to the lifetime accomplishments of a solo or small firm practitioner who is considered by their peers for consistently demonstrating excellence and distinction in their law practice field. I am truly grateful to my peers who identified me as one who epitomizes the values and standards of the legal profession. The best part of the award process was making phone calls to thank those who have been particularly impactful in shaping me as a lawyer.
Photo courtesy of Travis Marshall Photography