The third sector deserves a second look.'The importance of nonprofits is intensifying around the globe. Nonprofit organizations are essential to the effective management of society's goals and priorities, both in the United States and abroad. Catastrophes and challenges unresolved by governments and for-profit businesses increasingly demand the contributions of charitable institutions. 2 The third sector has come into its own.

Despite the prominence of many American nonprofit institutions, the growing recognition of the field of nonprofit law as a distinct area of study and practice is a relatively recent trend. 3 In 2006, a proposal was made to the American Association of Law Schools to create a new section on Nonprofit and Philanthropy Law. 4 In 2007, a blog for law professors specializing in nonprofit law was established. 5 In 2009, the American College of Trusts and Estates Counsel sponsored a symposium entitled" The Law of Philanthropy in the 21st Century." 6 The momentum gathering behind the movement to recognize and analyze nonprofit law as a discrete area of legal study offers a rare opportunity to improve that field by encouraging an international perspective. As part of its growing commitment to examine and improve the state of nonprofit law in America, legal scholarship should embrace a comparative law approach.'