Martin Hall
Partner
Martin Hall joined Ropes & Gray LLP in 1986 and became a partner in 1994. He has been the chair of the firm's private client group since 2006. Martin maintains a broad-based practice that covers all aspects of estate and individual tax planning, including sophisticated wealth transfer strategies and charitable giving techniques. His clients include public company executives, private business owners, and other high net worth individuals and families, both domestic and international. In addition, he advises the development offices of numerous universities, hospitals and other non-profit organizations with respect to planned giving, gift acceptance policies and the structuring of major gifts, and has counselled the charitable trust departments of several national financial institutions. Martin is also the trustee of numerous private and charitable trusts.
Martin has co-authored two books on estate planning and charitable giving, has written numerous articles and papers in these areas, and has been quoted on charitable tax matters in The Wall Street Journal. He is a frequent speaker at national conferences and client-sponsored seminars, including the Silicon Valley Foundation and Stanford University Office of Planned Giving, Conference on Charitable Giving, and the SSgA Charitable Asset Management Annual Planned Giving Conference. He also chaired the New England Estate Planning Conference for Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc. from 2007-2012.
Martin is active in numerous professional bodies, including the American Bar Association and the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, and has held various leadership positions. Before moving to Boston, Martin was a Fellow and Lecturer in Law at the University of Chicago Law School (1982-83).
Publications
- Quoted, “Tax Moves to Make Now—Even if Congress Ends Up Changing Nothing,” The Wall Street Journal (June 11, 2017)
- Quoted, “Everything You Really Should Know About the ‘Nanny Tax,’” The Wall Street Journal (Feb. 13, 2017)
- Quoted, “Common Year-End Tax Blunders, and How to Avoid Them,” The Wall Street Journal (Dec. 12, 2016)
- Quoted, “Popular IRS Charitable Tax Break Can Be Valuable—for Those Who Know How to Use It,” The Wall Street Journal (March 28, 2016)
- Quoted, “As the Tax Deadline Nears, Here’s a Look at Things That Are New and Tricky,” The Wall Street Journal (Feb. 1, 2016)
- Quoted, “Tips for Taxpayers Who Received Filing Extensions,” The Wall Street Journal (Sept. 20, 2015)
- Quoted, “How to Value Charitable Stock Donations,” The Wall Street Journal (Jan. 4, 2014)
- Quoted, “Giving to Charity? Watch Out for These Tax Traps,” The Wall Street Journal (Dec. 15, 2013)
Books:
- Co-author, Practical Guide to Estate Planning, CCH (2016)
- Co-author, The Harvard Manual on Tax Aspects of Charitable Giving, 9th edition (2011)
Articles (since 2010):
- Co-author, “Why to Consider Donations Now Instead of Year End,” Advisor Perspectives (September 2019)
- Co-author, “Giving in a Post-Tax Reform World,” Trusts & Estates (June 2018)
- Areas for Reform: Split Interests and Partial Interest Gifts (with Carolyn Osteen, New York University, National Center on Philanthropy and the Law, “The Charitable Deduction: Reform or Simplification” (2012))
- Innovative CLAT Structures: Providing Economic Efficiencies to a Wealth Transfer Workhorse (with Paul Lee and Turney Berry) (37 ACTEC Law J. 93 (2011))
- Reeling, Rolling and Reining in “Shark-Fin” CLATs (with Paul Lee and Turney Berry (51 Tax Mgmt. Memo No. 25, 435 (2010))
Presentations
- Co-presenter, 2018 Legal and Tax Update & Economic and Planned Giving Trends (State Street Global Advisors: Charitable Asset Management 2019 Gift Planning Conference, Boston, April 2019)
- Presenter, The Life Cycle of a Donor’s Charity (53rd Annual Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, January 2019)
- Presenter, The Role of Donor Advised Funds, Private Foundations and Endowments in Philanthropy: A Debate (Leading by Example: Best Practices in Charitable Giving, October 2018)
- Presenter, Recent Developments: Charitable Gift Planning After the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and Advanced Planning and Drafting: What We Are Seeing and What We Might See After the 2017 Tax Legislation (Stanford University Conference on Charitable Giving, May 2018)
- Co-presenter, 2017 Tax Reform/Charitable Planning Update (State Street Global Advisors Charitable Asset Management 2018 Gift Planning Conference, Boston, April 10, 2018)
- Co-presenter, Frontiers in Charitable Planning - Thinking beyond the Private Foundation and Donor Advised Fund (New England Estate Planning Conference, Boston, March 2018)
- Presenter, Beyond the Private Foundation (52nd Annual Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, January 2018)
- The Life Cycle of a Charity (American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, Summer Meeting 2017)
- What We Know So Far About Charitable Tax and Estate Planning in the Trump Years (Silicon Valley Community Foundation and Stanford University Conference on Charitable Giving, May 2017)
- Advanced Planning and Drafting: What we are seeing now and how to plan for uncertainty (Silicon Valley Community Foundation and Stanford University Conference on Charitable Giving, May 2017)
- The Current State of Philanthropy on a Local and National Level: What gives you hope and what keeps you up at night? (Silicon Valley Community Foundation and Stanford University Conference on Charitable Giving, May 2017)
- The Role of Donor Advised Funds, Private Foundations and Endorsements in Philanthropy: A Debate (Leading By Example: Best Practices in Charitable Giving, October 2016) (with Professor Roy Madoff and Charles Glassenberg)
- Giving the Business…To Charity: Charitable Planning with Closely-held Businesses (American Bar Association Joint RPTE-Tax Section Meeting, September 2016)
- The Shark-Fin CLAT – Go for a Swim, or Stay Out of the Water? (American Bar Association Joint RPTE-Tax Section Meeting, September 2016)
- Cover Your Bases – Law Firms as Fiduciaries (American College of Trust and Estate Counsel Summer National Meeting, June 2016)
- What’s New in 2016: Developments in Charitable Taxation and Charitable Planning (Professional Advisor Seminar, Community Foundation of Louisville, June 2016)
- Advanced Planning and Drafting: Ask the Experts, and Recent Developments in Charitable Taxation and Charitable Planning - What's New and What's Ahead (Silicon Valley Foundation and Stanford University Conference on Charitable Giving, May, 2016)
- What’s New in 2016: Developments in Charitable Taxation and Planning (SSgA Charitable Asset Management Conference, May, 2016)
- Structuring Charitable Gifts: Blending Philanthropic Objectives with Tax Planning (American Bar Association, Section of Taxation, Estate and Gift Tax Committee, May 2015)
- Advanced Planning and Drafting: Ask the Experts, and Recent Developments in Charitable Taxation and Charitable Planning - What's New and What's Ahead (Silicon Valley Foundation and Stanford University Conference on Charitable Giving, May 2015)
- Structuring Charitable Gifts: Blending Philanthropic Objectives with Tax Planning (American Bar Association, Section of Taxation, Estate and Gift Tax Committee, May 2015)
- International Charitable Giving - A Guide to U.S. Federal Tax Rules (Leading By Example: Best Practices in Charitable Giving, October 2014)
- Charitable Planning Techniques (Planning Co-Chair, ALI-CLE, June 2014)
- Recent Developments in Charitable Taxation and Charitable Planning (New Hampshire Estate Planning Council, May 2014)
- Planned Giving in a 2% World (Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, May 2014)
- Recent Tax Law Developments in Charitable Planning (SSgA Charitable Asset Management Conference, April 2014) (with Geoffrey Mason)
- Advanced Planning and Drafting: What’s New in 2014 and Recent Developments in Charitable Taxation and Charitable Planning (Silicon Valley Foundation and Stanford University Conference on Charitable Giving, April 2014) (with B. Howard Pearson)
- Dr. Barnes Takes a Mulligan: Maximizing the Chances that Your Donor’s Charitable Wishes are Followed (ACTEC Annual Meeting Seminar, March 2014) (with Turney Berry and Margaret Sager)
- Charitable Giving in the New Estate Planning Environment (48th Annual Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, January 2014) (with Turney Berry and Stephanie Casteel)
Education
- JD, summa cum laude, Boston University School of Law, 1986
- MA (Law), First Class Honours, Cambridge University, 1981
Admissions / Qualifications
Qualifications
- Massachusetts, 1986
Awards
- Boston Magazine “Top Lawyers” (2021)
- Chambers High Net Worth (2020-2021)
- Chambers USA (2013-2020)
- Best Lawyers “Lawyer of the Year” – Trusts & Estates (2020)
- The Best Lawyers in America (2009-2023)
- Massachusetts Super Lawyers (2004-2021)