MISSION-driven. experienced. cost-effective. dependable. trustworthy

SERVING B-CORPS AND MISSION-DRIVEN BUSINESSES

Our Mission

At ImpactGC, we stand at the intersection of legal expertise and purpose-driven business. As a benefit LLC and a B Corp, we understand the importance of your mission and the unique needs of clients who are, or who are seeking to become, B Corps, benefit corporations, or social impact companies .

Our stated public benefit is to actively support the success of mission-driven businesses by proving scalable and comparatively low-cost access to high-quality legal support by experienced attorneys who share our clients’ commitment to making a positive impact on society. Additionally, we have a significant pro bono commitment and intend to contribute a fixed portion of our revenues to non-profit organizations providing services that support our mission and those of our clients.

ImpactGC is committed to giving no less than 5% of revenues to charity in the form of monetary contributions and in-kind services to registered nonprofit organizations. This commitment will remain public, and we will report our final percentage on an annual basis

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Meet Our Team

Julie Ryan

MANAGING PARTNER

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Jim Black

MANAGING PARTNER

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Maura Molloy Grant

PARTNER

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Jamie Principe

of counsel

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Christian Hammond

Of Counsel

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Christian Hammond

Of Counsel

CONTACT

EDUCATION

J.D., Harvard Law School

PRACTICE AREAS

Outsourced General Counsel | Trademark prosecution and counseling | Copyright prosecution and counseling | Intellectual property licensing | Commercial contracts | Start-ups | Technology | Software

BAR ADMISSION

District of Columbia

Christian is an experienced intellectual property lawyer with broad legal and entrepreneurial experience. As both a lawyer and a founder, she is uniquely attuned to the business side of law and adept at helping clients find solutions and accomplish ambitious goals. She enjoys demystifying government rules and regulations and finding ways to advance client objectives while satisfying the relevant government agency. 

Christian has experience crafting both conventional and novel intellectual property strategy and stands ready to adapt to the unique goals of each client. She has guided clients in both traditional approaches, such as securing key trademark and copyright registrations and advising on enforcement against infringers, and non-traditional approaches such as permissive licensing arrangements based on open source or creative commons concepts. She regularly advises on intellectual property strategy during pivotal moments, such as important product launches and geographical expansions. 

Most recently, Christian founded Bevel Law, an intellectual property boutique representing a diverse range of companies, from traditional brick and mortar to software startups. As both an attorney and an entrepreneur, Christian approaches each legal challenge with a practical, real-world view. She is often invited to speak on intellectual property topics and has presented on podcasts, at conferences, and for industry-specific membership organizations. 

Christian is passionate about supporting businesses that are doing good in the world and believes that every client deserves personalized and approachable legal advice. As a biracial African American and Japanese woman, she enjoys mentoring and building community in multicultural spaces. Christian is based in the Washington D.C. area where she enjoys spending time with her family, taking a good Zumba class, and baking gluten-free desserts. 

Key Experience: 

  • Founder, Bevel Law PLLC 
  • Of Counsel, Ashbury Legal PC

 

Select Speaking Engagements and Publications: 

  • “Techin’ Over: How emerging technology is changing IP practice”, presentation for the International Trademark Association (INTA) Trademark Administrators & Practitioners Meeting (panelist)
  • “A Tangled Web(3): Introduction to web3 for IP lawyers”, presentation for ALT Legal 
  • “IP Law Matters: Practical ways that IP lawyers can advance social justice” presentation for ALT Legal (panelist)
  • “How to legally protect your brand”, presentation for The National Society Of Black Wedding and Event Professionals (NSBWEP)
  • “Legal 101 for founders”, presentation for the Loudoun County Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!)

 

Memberships/Activities: 

  • DC Bar Association 
  • National Association of Women Business Owners, DC
  • Women’s Bar Association of the District of Columbia
  • League of Women Lawyers

Jamie Principe

Of Counsel

CONTACT

EDUCATION

J.D., New York Law School

B.A., Women’s Studies, University of Connecticut

PRACTICE AREAS

Outsourced General Counsel | NDA Negotiation | Vendor & Consulting Agreements | Employment Contracts | Separation Agreements | Dispute Resolution | Contract Drafting & Negotiation | Compliance Oversight | Access, Reliance & Engagement Letters

BAR ADMISSION

New York, New Jersey, Florida, California

Jamie brings over 19 years of legal experience to her role as Of Counsel at ImpactGC. As the founder of JL Principe Legal PLLC, she utilizes her diverse experience to provide outsourced general counsel services to entrepreneurs and businesses, with a particular focus on supporting women and women-owned businesses.

 Throughout her distinguished career as an in-house attorney across various industries, Jamie has consistently demonstrated her commitment to making a meaningful difference in people’s lives through her legal and business acumen. She is known for her collaborative approach, working closely with clients to educate and empower them to navigate complex legal challenges with confidence and clarity.

 What sets Jamie apart is her ability to diffuse tension in challenging legal situations through her refined sense of humor, fostering camaraderie and productive relationships with clients and colleagues alike. She firmly believes that effective legal counsel goes beyond technical expertise to include genuine human connection.

 When not advocating for her clients, Jamie can be found singing karaoke, taking dance lessons, or enjoying the company of her dog Joey.

 Jamie’s addition to the ImpactGC team reinforces our commitment to providing exceptional legal guidance through professionals who combine deep knowledge with a genuine passion for client advocacy and empowerment.

Key Experience: 

  • Founder, JL Principe Legal PLLC

  • Deputy Chief Compliance Officer & CISO, Levine Leichtman Capital Partners, LLC

  • Regulation Compliance Manager, Rogerson Kratos

  • Of Counsel, NuEra Law Group, Inc.

  • General Counsel, Spiritus Life, Inc.

  • Compliance Manager, Peachtree Financial Solutions

 

Memberships/Activities: 

  • New York City Bar Association
  • Women Owned Law
  • ProVisors

Maura Molloy Grant

PARTNER

CONTACT

EDUCATION

J.D., The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law

PRACTICE AREAS

Outsourced General Counsel

Complex commercial contracts

Corporate formation and governance

Commercial and Captive Insurance

Employment matters

Separation and Consulting agreements

BAR ADMISSION

New York, District of Columbia

Maura brings over twenty years of experience in corporate law to Impact GC, including a thriving practice acting as outside general counsel to commercial and non-profit clients across industries. Navigating multiple client legal issues simultaneously, Maura provides reliable, responsive, and reasonable support.  Maura is recognized for her ability to dissect complex legal and factual issues and collaborate with clients to develop effective solutions, particularly in the areas of employment, insurance, contract negotiation, and corporate formation and governance.

Maura has significant experience working with boards of directors and executives on corporate governance, operations, and strategic planning, and guiding companies through complex M&A transactions, liquidation and dissolution procedures, and C-suite succession planning.

Maura’s work with non-profit organizations, from formation to tax-exempt qualification and helping them meet their operational goals and compliance requirements, has proven particularly rewarding. She looks forward to deeper involvement representing non-profit purpose-driven organizations at Impact GC.

Maura sits on the Board of Directors of a Bermuda-based commercial and captive insurance services group. She is also a director and secretary of a nonprofit charitable youth sporting organization, and a long-time volunteer in her children’s school and parish community, where she was a member of the Strategic Planning Committee of the School Advisory Board for five years.

Maura is based in the Washington, D.C. area, where she enjoys cooking, reading, attending her children’s many sporting events, and spending time hiking with her family and yellow Lab, Archie.

Key Experience: 

  • Principal, Hanson & Molloy PLLC
  • U.S. General Counsel, Mizzen Holdings Ltd.
  • U.S. General Counsel, United Insurance Company
  • General Counsel, The National Fencing Foundation of Washington, D.C., Inc.
  • General Counsel, U.S. Capitol Historical Society

Jim Black

MANAGING PARTNER

CONTACT

EDUCATION

J.D., University of Virginia School of Law

PRACTICE AREAS

TBC

BAR ADMISSION

New York, District of Columbia

Jim is a highly experienced corporate lawyer with more than two decades of legal experience, including as a partner in a leading global law firm and most recently as Chief Legal and Compliance Officer and Member of the Executive Leadership Team of a publicly traded international company.   

 

Jim’s career has shown him the importance of working with a clear focus on ethical and sustainable business practices, which led him to co-found ImpactGC to further his personal mission of helping make business a force for good.  Jim is fully committed to operating with a triple-bottom-line approach (People, Planet, Profit) and to helping mission-driven clients of all types pursue their important social, environmental and governance aims. 

Jim has extensive experience counseling founders and executive teams on corporate strategy, major transactions and other important matters, including litigation management, corporate governance and compliance. He has advised on numerous complex commercial contracts across a range of industries, as well as mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance deals. His commitment to social justice and human rights is reflected in a long track record of pro bono and other volunteer work, including advising a prominent LGBTQ civil rights organization, the Innocence Project and the American Academy in Berlin, among others.   

Jim spent well over a decade working and studying overseas, including in Germany and the Czech Republic, and he speaks fluent German.  He is a frequent author and speaker on a wide range of business law topics, including those of particular relevance to mission-driven companies. He is based in the Washington D.C. area, where he loves to spend time hiking, biking and running the trails and communing with nature in the woods of Northern Virginia.  In his personal time, he is a devoted father of two, partner and dog dad of a highly opinionated Shiba Inu.  

Key Experience: 

  • Chief Legal and Compliance Officer and Member of the Executive Leadership Team, Northern Data Group 
  • Partner, White & Case, LLP 
  • Partner, Acceleron Law Group, LLP 
  • Counsel, Morrison & Foerster LLP 
  • Counsel, Linklaters LLP 

Select Speaking Engagements and Publications: 

  • “The Benefit Corporation Movement”, presentation at ABA Business Law Section Meeting, Orlando, FL April 2024 
  • “Leading Evolving Organizations”, panel discussion on employee ownership at BLD Southeast, September 2024 
  • Various contributions to ABA M&A Committee Deal Points studies and the Annual Survey of Judicial Developments Pertaining to M&A 
  • Numerous other articles in ABA publications and the legal and financial press on various aspects of business law 

Memberships/Activities:

  • Member of Steering Committee of B Local Mid-Atlantic
  • B Academics  
  • National Center for Employee Ownership 
  • American Bar Association Business Law Section, Middle Market & Small Business Committee (MMSB) and M&A Committee 
  • Former Co-Chair of International Business Transactions Subcommittee of the ABA MMSB Committee 
  • Real Leaders  
  • Global Alliance of Impact Lawyers 
  • American Council on Germany 

Julie Ryan

MANAGING PARTNER

CONTACT

EDUCATION

J.D., cum laude, Georgetown Law

PRACTICE AREAS

Complex commercial contracts | Cross-border M&A | Venture capital | Private equity | Corporate governance | Impact investing | Employment matters | Technology start-ups | Regulatory compliance | Partnerships | Secured transactions | Data privacy | Entity formation and structuring | E-commerce | Intellectual property licensing

BAR ADMISSION

New York, District of Columbia, California

Julie is an accomplished global corporate and securities lawyer with over 25 years’ legal and entrepreneurial experience. She is recognized for her unique problem-solving, collaborative approach, and enjoys working with clients to understand their specific business concerns and creating tailored, practical legal solutions. 

Starting her career at the law firms of Clifford Chance LLP and Akin Gump LLP, Julie developed broad expertise representing major clients in a range of complex cross-border transactions.  She also has significant experience working with entrepreneurs and small- to mid-cap companies. She is the co-founder of AltaClaro, an innovative experiential online learning platform, and has represented numerous successful tech start-ups in all stages of growth.  

Most recently, Julie served in an in-house counsel role as Chief Regulatory Officer and Deputy General Counsel at Northern Data, a German public company, where she spearheaded the company’s U.S. restructuring and successfully negotiated several high-stakes commercial transactions. 

Julie is passionate about supporting women and minority-owned businesses and working with purpose-driven clients, believing that every business, large or small, deserves high quality, practical legal support from a lawyer who understands their business goals and concerns. She also enjoys being involved with the community. She currently is an adjunct professor at Georgetown Law, volunteers with several non-profit organizations and accelerators, has published a textbook as well as numerous articles, blogs, and presentations, and served on the corporations committee for the State Bar of   California for over 8 years. 

Julie spent several years working overseas, including Bogotá, Colombia, and Montreux, Switzerland, and speaks fluent French and Spanish. She is based in the Washington D.C. area where she loves to spend time with her family on the Potomac River paddling and sailing.

Key Experience: 

  • Chief Regulatory Officer and Deputy General Counsel, Northern Data AG 
  • Partner, Acceleron Law Group, LLP 
  • Partner, Russ, August & Kabat 
  • Senior Attorney, Akin Gump LLP 
  • Co-Founder and Chief Learning Officer, AltaClaro, Inc. 

Select Speaking Engagements and Publications: 

  • Collaboration with Halcyon House, an accelerator for impact-driven businesses and ChIPs, an organization that advances and connects women in technology, law, on a series of presentations on starting a business. 
  • Startup Law 101: Negotiating to “Yes,” Virtual Event hosted by ChIPs Advancing Women and sponsored by Halcyon House (panelist). 
  • “Silicon Beach Jeopardy: 6 Essential Areas for In-House Counsel to Consider When Managing Venture Capital or M&A Transactions,” CLE Presentation, Namwolf Annual Meeting, Los Angeles, CA. 
  • Transaction Lawyering: An Experiential Approach to Communication & Problem-Solving (Carolina Academic Press). 
  • “Advising the Pre-public Company,” CLE Presentation, Annual Meeting of the State Bar of California, Monterrey, CA. 

Memberships/Activities: 

  • Adjunct professor of law at Georgetown Law  
  • Real Leaders  
  • Global Alliance of Impact Lawyers 
  • Association of Corporate Counsel 
  • Women’s Bar Association of DC 
  • Women Owned Law 
  • WeTheChange 
  • Business for America 
  • Conscious Capitalism 
  • B Local Mid-Atlantic