MICHAEL FAY, Esq.

Attorney at Law

Wilmer Hale

Charlestown, MA

“We just don’t know how many lives Mary and everyone who works through and for The Nurturing Network has saved. The Almighty knows, and He has counted them all.”

Michael Fay is a partner in the Private Client Practice Group. He joined the firm in 1975. Mr. Fay is the former chair of the practice group and has served as a member of the firm's Pro Bono Committee for over 25 years.

Practice

Mr. Fay has 30 years of experience in representing high net worth clients and their families. His practice runs the gamut from estate and wealth planning to trust and estate administration, and planning for family philanthropy. His clients include venture capitalists, investment bankers, founders of significant private firms, senior officers of publicly owned companies, real estate developers, key executives of pre-IPO and other emerging firms, and families with significant accumulated capital. Most frequently, his work relates to tax-efficient transfer of wealth, creation of family controlled structures for long-term financial management and disposition of family assets, risk management, and advice regarding implementation and oversight of family philanthropic endeavors.

Recent Highlights

• Representation of public and private company chief executive officers to structure and implement plans, affecting hundreds of millions of dollars each, to benefit both family members and philanthropic interests.

• Representation of multiple generations of several client families in coordinating tax and wealth management strategies, benefiting future generations for decades into the future.
• Representation of a key investor and executive at an emerging technology company regarding early, tax efficient transfer of stock to children and grandchildren well before an eventual IPO or similar transaction.
• Representation, on a pro bono basis, of a national not-for-profit organization in enhancing its development program, including advice regarding sophisticated planned giving opportunities for its members.
• Representation of executors of a significant estate, dealing with difficult issues relating to valuation, management and disposition of interests in significant closely-held businesses, resolution of a wide array of tax planning problems and opportunities, and discharge of fiduciary duties.

Professional Activities

Mr. Fay is a fellow and a member of the Charitable Planning Committee for the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. He is also a member of Attorneys for Family Held Enterprises.

Honors and Awards

• Recognized by the editors of Worth magazine as one of the nation's "Top 100 Attorneys, a group chosen for a combination of outstanding legal practice and exceptional client service (2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008)
• Consistently selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America in the area of trusts and estates (2005-2009)

• Named a "New England Super Lawyer" (formerly "Massachusetts Super Lawyer") in estate planning/trust in the 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 issues of Boston Magazine

Speaking Engagements

• Family Firm Institute National Conference – Estate Planning for Significant Family Firms – Boston, MA – 2004

• Massachusetts Continuing Education Inc. – Planning for Reformation and Other Equitable Relief to Modify Charitable Trusts – Boston, MA – 2003

Publications

Mr. Fay has been quoted in articles regarding estate and tax planning and philanthropy in The Wall Street Journal, Time, Forbes, Financial Planning, U.S. Trust Company of New York’s Business Advisor, Family Business Magazine, The Boston Business Journal and Massachusetts Lawyer’s Weekly. He also has commented on such matters on National Public Radio.

Community Involvement

Mr. Fay is the Chairman of the Board of Professional Advisors of The Boston Foundation. He is also a member of the corporation of Partners HealthCare, secretary of Dartmouth Education Association, and an overseer of Catholic Student Center at Dartmouth. He is a former member of the Executive Committee of the Dartmouth College Alumni Council.