Practices
• Nonprofit Organizations
• Tax-Exempt Organizations
• Tax
• Corporate and Business
Education
• J.D., cum laude, Villanova University School of Law
– Executive Editor of Moorad Sports Law Journal
– Dorothy Day Award for Pro Bono Service Work
– Federal Tax Clinic Award for outstanding contributions to the Villanova Tax Clinic
– Herman J. Obert Award for attaining highest grade in class of Business Organizations
• LL.M., Taxation, Villanova University School of Law
• M.B.A., Accounting, Canisius College
• B.S., Accounting and Finance, cum laude, Canisius College
Bar Admissions
• Pennsylvania Bar Admission
• U.S. Tax Court Admission
Service, Recognition, and Recent Publication
• IRS VITA, volunteer return preparer
• Pennsylvania Super Lawyer Rising Star for Nonprofit Organizations (2017 – 2024)
• Effectively Representing Your Client Before the IRS (publication by the ABA Tax Section), Co-author and editor of the chapter titled, “Assisting Small Nonprofit Organizations” (Chapter 30 in 9th edition, forthcoming 2025; Chapter 26 in 8th edition, published in 2021)
Background
Prior to starting his own practice, Ben worked as an Attorney at Cheshire Law Group and as an Associate Attorney in the Tax and Corporate and Business Departments at Dilworth Paxson LLP. He has experience representing and advising individuals, tax-exempt nonprofit organizations, and business entities in a broad range of tax and business areas, including tax planning, tax controversy, charitable planning, trusts and estates, tax and financial reporting and analysis, and corporate governance matters.
Ben previously worked as a student attorney at the Villanova Tax Clinic, where he received a fellowship to work in the Tax Clinic while he completed his LL.M. in taxation. Through his work in the Tax Clinic, Ben assisted individuals who were experiencing economic hardship with their tax cases and controversies including issues pertaining to disallowed business expenses, foreign earned income exclusion, dissipated assets in the context of offer in compromise, and IRS levy action. Ben also worked as a Research Assistant to Professor Joy Mullane (conducting legal research regarding executive compensation structures and the rules incentivizing the use and abuse of contingent compensation arrangements) and Professor T. Keith Fogg (conducting legal research regarding current IRS tax procedure cases for the tax blog ProcedurallyTaxing.com).
Ben’s prior work experience also includes working as an Internal Audit Intern for Erie County Agricultural Society and working as a Summer Associate at Kavinoky Cook, a business law firm located in his hometown of Buffalo, New York. His legal pro bono experience includes preparing federal and Pennsylvania returns as part of the IRS VITA program.
Representative Experiences
Nonprofit Organizations
• Assisted founders of nonprofit organizations in considering various nonprofit entity options and governance structures
• Drafted nonprofit entity formation documents, governance documents, policies, and resolutions
• Advised on corporate governance questions and questions involving membership and board approval
• Advised on fundraising compliance matters and matters involving gift agreements, grant agreements, restricted endowments
• Advised on the fiduciary duties of directors of nonprofit corporations and trustees of charitable trusts
• Advised on fundamental change transactions involving notice to the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
Tax-Exempt Organizations
• Advised on federal and state exempt organization compliance matters
• Reviewed and advised on IRS tax and information returns and other regulatory filings
• Prepared and filed IRS applications for tax-exempt status, IRS requests for miscellaneous determination, and IRS requests for retroactive reinstatement of tax-exempt status
• Assisted clients in responding to IRS notices, inquiries, and requests for additional information
• Advised on matters involving the prevention and correction of private benefit, private inurement, self-dealing, and excess benefit transactions
Tax
• Advised individuals, estates, trusts, business organizations, and tax-exempt organizations on tax compliance matters at the international, federal, state and local levels, and worked with the administrative agencies of the various taxing authorities to respond to notices, resolve issues, and negotiate settlements
• Assisted clients in obtaining tax collection alternatives, such as offer in compromises and installment agreements
• Represented individuals in U.S. Tax Court controversies and worked to settle cases with IRS Office of Chief Counsel and IRS Appeals
Corporate and Business
• Provided counsel to nonprofit organizations engaging in joint ventures and transactions with for-profit business organizations
• Advised exempt organizations on the legal and tax considerations, benefits, costs, and risks involved with conducting unrelated business activities in-house as compared to establishing and utilizing a separate legal entity to conduct such unrelated activities
• Advised on transactions involving mergers, acquisitions, affiliations, reorganizations, restructuring, and repositioning
• Drafted, reviewed, and negotiated lease agreements and settlement agreements involving tax-exempt organizations