Matthew Whitehorn – Philadelphia Business Lawyer

Matthew Whitehorn

Dilworth Paxson LLP

(215) 575-7166

(215) 754-4603

https://www.dilworthlaw.com/

1500 Market St.
Suite 3500E
Philadelphia , PA 19102

Matthew Whitehorn

Dilworth Paxson LLP

Rating:

Firm Summary

Overview

Matthew I. Whitehorn is a Partner in the Firm’s Tax Group, Chair of the Employee Benefits Group, and Chair of the Pro Bono Committee, and was the 2016-2017 Chair of the IRS Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities (ACT). Matt works with clients on a broad range of benefits matters and has spent over 25 years focusing his practice on ERISA issues. In addition to ERISA and retirement plan fiduciary requirements, Matt regularly addresses benefits issues such as: Affordable Care Act compliance; governmental and tax-exempt employer pension and 457(b) plans; employee benefits in bankruptcy; compliance reviews of qualified retirement plans; and non-qualified deferred compensation plans and compliance with Code Section 409A and Code Section 457(f) requirements. Matt is a member of the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plans as well as the IRS Mid-Atlantic Area Pension Liaison Group. He serves as the co-chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association Employee Benefits Committee and is a member of its Pension Committee. Matt is an Adjunct Law Faculty at Temple University Law School and has taught Qualified Employee Benefit Plans and Executive Compensation through its Graduate Tax Program. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel.

Representative Experience

  • Part of acquisition counsel team involving a major local newspaper publisher.
  • Part of pension counsel team for major urban municipalities and suburban municipality.
  • Provides retirement and health & welfare plan advice to the human resource departments of local private sector companies, tax-exempt. organizations, and governmental organizations.
  • Interacted with PBGC regarding imposition of an involuntary plan termination against a financially-distressed employer.
  • Negotiated a settlement with the US Department of Labor EBSA concerning fiduciary breach claims against a plan trustee.
  • Effectuated various IRS and US Department of Labor plan correction approvals relating to issues such as plan loan failures, errors in automatic enrollment arrangements, late or incomplete filings of Form 5500,etc. as well as consulting on employer self-corrections.
  • Negotiated settlements of multiemployer plan withdrawal liability assessments.
  • Obtained relief from IRS-assessed ACA ESRP and reporting & disclosure penalties

Professional & Community Activities

  • Member, Pennsylvania Bar Association, Legal Services to the Public Committee, Tax Section
  • Member, ABA Labor and Employment Section (Employee Benefits Committee)
  • Member, Philadelphia Bar Association, Pension Plan Committee, and Employee Benefits Committee (Co-Chair)
  • Member, American Bar Association, Tax Section – Low Income Taxpayer Committee
  • Member, IRS Mid-Atlantic Area Pension Liaison Group
  • Treasurer, AccessMatters
  • Finance Committee, Philadelphia VIP, Inc. (Volunteers for the Indigent Program)
  • Member, IRS Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities (ACT), 2014 – 2017; Chair, 2017
  • Adjunct Faculty Member, Temple University Beasley School of Law, Graduate Tax Program
  • President, Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel, Philadelphia

Professional Recognition

  • Fellow, American College of Employee Benefits Counsel
  • Selected to The Best Lawyers in America®, in the area of Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, 2022-Present
  • Named to the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers list, 2014–2019, 2022-2024 (Employee Benefits)
  • Received the Legal Clinic For The Disabled Special Service Award, 2019
  • Received the Villanova Law Alumni Association Award for Public Service, 2017
  • Philadelphia VIP, Inc. (Volunteers for the Indigent Program), Volunteer of the Month, October 2007

Education

  • LL.M., Taxation, Temple University School of Law, 1987
  • J.D., Villanova University School of Law, 1984
  • B.A./M.A., History, Johns Hopkins University, 1981

Bar Admissions

  • Pennsylvania, 1984
  • New Jersey, 1985
  • District of Columbia, 1988
  • United States Court of Appeals Third Circuit, 1988
  • United States District Court Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 1987
  • United States Tax Court, 1986