Lawyers: Do all nonprofits need them?

After reading the pdf articles about the legal acts the government has passed in reaction to the September 11 incident, I would take them as scare tactics if I were a director at a nonprofit organization. The articles make it seem that the government is watching and tracking every monetary transaction that every nonprofit organization makes. I have worked with a few different nonprofits and neither of them was closely tied to legal counsel.

These articles make it appear that it is essential for a nonprofit to have legal counsel in order assure safe operation no matter the size of the operation. I spent a little time working with a controller that has worked in private and public companies and how Sarbanes-Oxley has changed the workplace environment. If there is a call for nonprofits to start using these guidelines, as the nonprofit director I would have no choice but to seek legal counsel to understand all of the implications.

Small nonprofit directors may be scared into believing a lawyer is necessary in order to continue safe operation and medium to large size organizations would believe a lawyer is necessary as well because their assets and donor base could potentially be linked to terrorist persons. So do all nonprofits need a lawyer to sort through the legal acts, or can nonprofits continue their business as usual without legal counsel?