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Carolyn is a partner in the Business & Finance Department and was Managing Partner of the firm’s Pittsburgh office from 2001 to 2006.  She is currently Corporate Secretary for the firm and a member of the firm's Executive Committee.  The greatest part of Carolyn's practice involves matters for exempt organizations, including public charities, private foundations, and trade associations.

She has extensive experience in representing exempt organizations before the Internal Revenue Service and the federal courts.  She regularly obtains and defends an organization’s exempt status, including representing clients on issues such as unrelated business taxable income, intermediate sanctions, and the private foundation excise taxes.

Carolyn provides day-to-day advice to a wide variety of tax-exempt organizations.  She has received numerous private letter rulings on behalf of clients that have permitted them to further their exempt purposes.  She also has planned complicated restructurings of exempt organizations, including the creation of affiliated entities as well as the sale of exempt organizations to for-profit entities.

Exempt organizations are nonprofit entities, and Carolyn is fully versed in the applicable nonprofit laws.  She regularly provides advice to governing boards concerning their fiduciary duties. In addition, she has particular expertise with respect to the legal issues affecting investments by nonprofit organizations.

A significant aspect of Carolyn’s practice includes charitable contribution issues, such as planned giving and other matters of interest to development professionals.  Clients rely on her to provide quick, concise answers to involved charitable-giving questions and to draft the appropriate documents; and she has written and spoken extensively on various issues relevant to exempt organizations and charitable giving as well.

Publications

• "IRS Clears Last Hurdle for Funding Foundations With Charitable Lead Trusts," Journal of Taxation of Exempt Organizations, July/August 2000 Vol 12/No 1
• "Recent Rulings Highlight Bequests of Income in Respect of a Decedent," Journal of Taxation of Exempt Organizations, September/October 2000 Vol 12/No 2
• "IRS Issues New Regulations For Charitable Trusts," Journal of Taxation of Exempt Organizations, March/April 2001 Vol 12/No 5
• "Let the Donor Beware of the Charitable Family Limited Partnership," Journal of Taxation of Exempt Organizations, May/June 2001 Vol 12 /No 6
• "Charitable Planning After The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001," Journal of Tax Exempt Organizations, November/December 2001
• "Supporting Organizations and Grantmaking After Lapham Foundation," Taxation of Exempts, July/August 2003, Vol 15/No 1
• "The Funding of Market-Rate Housing as Charitable Economic Development," Taxation of Exempts, September/October 2003, Vol 15/No 2

Experience

Legal Education

Graduate Education

Undergraduate Education

Professional Admissions / Qualifications

• Pennsylvania

Professional Affiliations

• Carlow University – former Director
• Family Services of Western Pennsylvania – Board Member
• Panel on the Nonprofit Sector Convened by Independent Sector – Member of the Governance and Fiduciary Responsibility Work Group (2005)
• Pittsburgh Cultural Trust – Director
• Saint Vincent's College – former Director
• The Children's Institute – Director
• The Pittsburgh Child Guidance Foundation – former Director
• United Way of Allegheny County – former Director
• WQED Multimedia – former Director

Awards, Honors and Recognitions

Carolyn was selected as a winner of the 2009 Women in Business Awards by the Pittsburgh Business Times.  In recognition of her service to the community, Carolyn was named Allied Professional of the Year for 2007 by the Pittsburgh Planned Giving Council.  In 2006, Carolyn was honored with the YWCA's Leadership Award for Professional Services, and was selected as a Woman of Spirit by Carlow College in 2002.  Since 2003, Carolyn has been included in The Best Lawyers in America, and is currently listed in the categories of Education Law, Non-Profit/Charities Law, and Tax Law.