Irene Hong focuses her practice on tax-exempt organizations. She supports private foundations, public charities, social welfare organizations, and other tax-exempt entities, many of which are active worldwide. She advises clients on a range of issues, including nonprofit formation and exemption, corporate structuring, domestic and international grantmaking, impact and charitable investing, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) audits, corporate governance, operational policies and procedures, and tax and regulatory compliance. In addition to her work with tax-exempt organizations, Irene also advises for-profit entities operating in the philanthropic sector.
Prior to joining Morgan Lewis, Irene was an associate in the international tax group of another global law firm, where she advised multinationals with streamlining their business operations through intellectual property (IP) migration and entity restructuring strategies, supply chain optimization, pre-acquisition internal carve-outs, and post-acquisition structure integration. She also advised clients in tax controversies, focusing on the US federal income tax implications of cross-border operations.
Active in professional organizations, Irene serves in leadership roles with the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area and Asian Alumni of Penn Carey Law.
During law school, Irene served as co-president of the University of Pennsylvania Asian Pacific American Law Students Association, volunteered with the Pennsylvania Innocence Project in Philadelphia, and completed externships with UN Women in New York City and the Center for American Progress in Washington, DC.
Mentorship Committee Co-Chair, Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area
Board Member, Asian Alumni of Penn Carey Law
Member, Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Silicon Valley
Member, Korean American Bar Association of Northern California
Member, Bar Association of San Francisco
Civic Leadership Program, Asian Pacific American Leadership Institute
Board Leadership Academy, Asian Pacific American Leadership Institute
Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholar and Extra Innings Fellow