East Bay General Counsel, P.C.
Berkeley, California
We serve as primary legal counsel to nonprofit institutions, mission-driven organizations, and companies that need broad, pragmatic, and trusted legal advice — providing the breadth of an in-house general counsel with the perspective of a dedicated outside advisor.
About
Chris Boas is an attorney and outside general counsel with more than twenty years of experience advising organizations across the full range of legal, governance, and operational matters. His practice centers on serving as primary legal counsel to nonprofit institutions, mission-driven enterprises, and companies that need broad, pragmatic, and business-minded legal advice.
Chris advises executive leadership and boards on governance, contracts, employment and personnel matters, compliance, risk management, and organizational decision-making. He has served as outside general counsel to nonprofit and spiritually oriented organizations, where the work requires sensitivity to mission, values, and community alongside sound legal judgment.
Before founding East Bay General Counsel, Chris built and led the legal department of a publicly traded software company through its NASDAQ IPO. He subsequently co-founded three social impact ventures addressing financial inclusion and agricultural sustainability, serving as both chief executive and legal counsel in each.
Practice Areas
We serve as outside general counsel to organizations across sectors, providing the legal counsel and operational judgment that leadership needs to make sound decisions.
Primary legal advisor to leadership and boards, managing day-to-day counsel and outside specialists across the full range of legal and operational matters.
Governance structures, board operations, bylaws, fiduciary obligations, regulatory compliance, and organizational policies for nonprofit institutions.
Policy development, workplace investigations, performance management, disciplinary actions, and terminations, with emphasis on fairness and practical risk mitigation.
Vendor contracts, partnership agreements, employment and consulting agreements, NDAs, waivers, releases, and licensing arrangements.
Identifying and managing legal and operational risk, with clear recommendations that balance legal exposure with mission, values, and organizational realities.
Establishing and maintaining the right legal structure, with counsel on compliance and best practices for board and organizational operations.
Real estate transactions, land use, regulatory matters, lease agreements, property management, and long-term stewardship considerations.
Protecting intellectual property, navigating data privacy requirements including CCPA and GDPR, and managing technology-related legal matters.
Experience
Outside general counsel to nonprofit organizations, mission-driven enterprises, and companies across a range of sectors. Advise executive leadership and boards on governance, contracts, employment matters, compliance, risk management, and organizational decision-making.
Co-founded and led three ventures applying technology to financial inclusion and agricultural sustainability — Airbanq, Zeptoo, and SourceTrace Systems — serving as both chief executive and legal counsel. Airbanq served underbanked American consumers, backed by First Round Capital, Floodgate, and Cowboy Ventures. Zeptoo built mobile payment platforms across emerging markets. SourceTrace addressed agricultural traceability in Central America and Asia.
Built and led the legal department of an enterprise software company from early stage through its NASDAQ IPO and eventual acquisition.
Nonprofit Board Service
Education