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Leech Tishman: Legal Services
  • Firm
    • About Us
    • Management
    • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
    • Careers
  • People
  • Capabilities
    • Practice Group
      • Business Restructuring & Insolvency
      • Construction
      • Corporate
      • Employment & Labor
      • Estates & Trusts
      • Intellectual Property
      • Litigation & Alternative Dispute Resolution
      • Real Estate
        • Leech Tishman Closings
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Matthew Rak

Partner

Matthew Rak is a Partner in Leech Tishman and leads the Business Succession Group and the Nonprofits & Tax-Exempt Organizations Group. He is also a member of the Estates & Trusts Practice Group. Matt is based in the Pittsburgh office, where he advises organizations on tax compliance, planned giving, and special asset matters.

Matt works closely with clients to develop practical plan designs which address asset protection, tax efficiency, business succession and other client concerns. He is also experienced in the varied aspects of estate and trust administration, including post-mortem tax planning and fiduciary liability.

Matt regularly lectures on the benefits of charitable legacy planning, estate planning, estate administration, and oil and gas planning to other professionals in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Read More
Charitable Organization Experience
  • Catholic Cemeteries Association of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; President
    • Duties include oversight of a large endowment fund; compliance oversight under Pennsylvania law; and reputation management.
  • Catholic Family Security Association; Director
    • Duties include overseeing expansion of services and growth of organization.
  • The Pittsburgh Foundation; Member, Professional Advisors Committee
    • A steering group established to gain input and share ideas on trends in charitable planning.
  • Franklin Park Borough
    • Civil Service Commissioner
    • Judge of Elections (elected term expiring December 2020)
  • Wheeling Jesuit University (past)
    • Development board
  • Mental Health and Recovery Board of Belmont Harrison and Monroe Counties, Ohio (past)
    • Administered mental health service providers in eastern Ohio.
Nonprofit and Charitable Professional Experience
  • Outside General Counsel to charitable organizations
  • Rapport and routine interaction with the estate planners, financial advisors, and accountants in the region, performing team-based planning
  • Charitable trust reformation and approval with Attorney General’s office and Orphans’ Court
  • Charitable trust management with local financial institutions
  • Family reputation management and privacy protection
  • Private Foundation and Private Operating Foundation life-cycle compliance from creation through termination
  • Special asset management
  • Advise charities and donors regarding development and cultivating planned gifts
    • Draft and negotiate naming rights agreements for both donees and donors
    • Draft guides for charities regarding effective planned giving techniques
  • Chapter 42 Excise Tax knowledge
  • Tax audit and compliance
  • Proactive risk resolution and long-term risk awareness
  • Dynasty trusts focused on long-term sustainability using real estate and business interests
  • Pre-transaction planning for business owners encountering liquidity events and business exits

Academics
J.D., The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law
Certificate of Law and Public Policy, The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law
B.S. in Biology, cum laude, Wheeling Jesuit University

Admissions
Pennsylvania
West Virginia
Ohio

Experience
Metz Lewis Brodman Must O’Keefe LLC
Thorp Reed & Armstrong, LLP
Herndon, Morton, Herndon & Yaeger

Professional Accolades

Super Lawyers
Pennsylvania Rising Star, Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Magazine (2019)

Publications
IRS Finalizes Electronic Form 1023 to Apply for Exempt Status and Publishes 2020 Year User Fees, Leech Tishman Client Alert, February 2020
Lawyers Guide to Life Insurance, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, June 2018
Guide to Preparing the Fiduciary Income Tax Return, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, February 2018
Probate: Pennsylvania State Q&A, with Steven H. Seel, Practical Law by Thomson Reuters, January 2018
Understanding Ancillary Probate in Pennsylvania, with Steven H. Seel, Practical Law by Thomson Reuters, January 2018

Speeches & Presentations
“Estate Planning and Administration after the SECURE Act, Including Using IRAs in Conjunction with Charitable Remainder Trusts,” Pennsylvania Bar Institute, February 2020
“Estate Planning with Retirement Benefits,” Special Lecturer, University of Pittsburgh Law School, April 2019
“Estate Planning for Younger Couples and Retiree,” Society of Financial Service Professionals, September 2019
“Administering and Estate,” Pennsylvania Bar Institute, September 2019
“Lawyers Guide to Life Insurance,” Pennsylvania Bar Institute, June 2018
“Preparing the Fiduciary Income Tax Return,” Annual Estate & Elder Law Symposium, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, February 2018
“Practical Planning Following the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” March 2018
“Planned Giving: You Don’t Have to be an Expert, Just Know One,” Panelist, Greater Pittsburgh Nonprofit Partnership 2017 Summit, October 2017
“2018 Planning Landscape,” with Larry S. Blair and Steven H. Seel, February 2018
“Entering and Exiting Estate Planning Strategies,” 18th Annual Estate & Elder Law Symposium, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, February 2017

Insights

Nov. 11, 2022  |  Client Alerts

Reminder for Tax-Exempt Organizations to Report and Pay Excise Tax on Excess Compensation

Leech Tishman Joins Downtown Pittsburgh Partnership

Jun. 10, 2022  |  Firm News

Leech Tishman Joins Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership as a Downtown Champion Member

Rak NAPEC

Feb. 17, 2022  |  Press

Leech Tishman Estates & Trusts Attorney Matthew Rak Published in NAEPC Journal of Estate & Tax Planning

Sep. 13, 2021  |  Client Alerts

Small Business Administration Enhancements to COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program

Apr. 12, 2021  |  Client Alerts

Eat It Up: Meals 100% Deductible for a Limited Time Only

Feb. 22, 2021  |  Client Alerts

Eligibility Requirements for the Second Round Employee Retention Credit (ERC)

Feb. 10, 2021  |  Client Alerts

The Oft Overlooked Employee Retention Credit for Employers

Apr. 23, 2020  |  Client Alerts

Remote Notarization Temporarily Authorized in Pennsylvania Beginning April 20, 2020

Apr. 15, 2020  |  Client Alerts

Charitable Deduction Limits Increased for 2020 Tax Year; New Above-the-Line Deduction for Gifts Permitted

Apr. 13, 2020  |  Client Alerts

Remote Estate Planning and Notarization: Updated

Mar. 18, 2020  |  Client Alerts

April Section 7520 Interest Rate Drops to 1.2% – These Lemons Make GRAT Lemonade

Feb. 5, 2020

IRS Finalizes Electronic Form 1023 to Apply for Exempt Status and Publishes 2020 Year User Fees

Feb. 5, 2020  |  Client Alerts

IRS Issues Final 2019 Tax Year Due Dates

Jul. 19, 2019  |  Press

Leech Tishman Attorney Matthew Rak featured in Thomson Reuters “Practical Law”

Leech Tishman Estates & Trusts Partner Matthew Rak was recently featured in Thomson Reuters’s Practical…

May. 22, 2019  |  Firm News

Leech Tishman Lawyers Recognized as 2019 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers

Apr. 9, 2019  |  Firm News

Leech Tishman Welcomes Matthew Rak

PITTSBURGH, PA – April 9, 2019 – Leech Tishman is pleased to announce the addition…

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Matt Rak Headshot

Office Location

Pittsburgh

Contact

Email: mrak@leechtishman.com

Phone: 412.261.1600

Fax: 412.227.5551

Practice Groups

  • Estates & Trusts
  • Nonprofits & Tax-Exempt Organizations
  • Tax
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