Anything but Taxing: A Law School Alum’s Experience with Leaving His Legacy at Fordham

Barnet Phillips and his wife, Sharon

Barnet “Barney” Phillips, IV, Esq, LAW ’73, credits Fordham Law School as a valuable launching pad for his storied career as a tax lawyer and professor. Barney’s affinity for helping to advance educational institutions stems from having attended Portsmouth Abbey School, a co-educational Catholic, Benedictine boarding and day school in Rhode Island (for whom he was a former chairman of the board), Yale University (where he received his BA), and Fordham Law School, where he served as editor of Fordham Law Review and, as an alum, went on to be an adjunct professor.

Barney spent a majority of his career at the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, serving in the tax department for more than 30 years until retiring as Partner in 2010. Today he serves as senior consultant for Silver Point Capital LP and as a board member of Shepherds, a nonprofit he founded that provides mentorship to inner-city Connecticut youth.

Inspired by his time at Fordham Law School as both a student and a professor, Barney decided to make the School a beneficiary of one of his IRAs. Of this process, he shares that thanks to being a tax lawyer, “I knew making a testamentary gift, particularly via a retirement plan, [would be] both easy and tax efficient. To express my profound gratitude, it was therefore obvious that designating Fordham Law School as a beneficiary of one of my retirement plans was a good choice. Exempt from both estate and income tax, such a charitable gift is made by simply filling out a form with the custodian—no need to involve a lawyer or change one’s will.” Barney hopes that his gift will not only serve as a valuable investment in the School’s future but also inspire fellow alumni to add Fordham as a beneficiary of their retirement plan.

Please consider joining Barney as an 1841 (Fordham University) or 1905 (Fordham Law School) Society member by including Fordham in your estate plan. Gift planning experts from either institution would be pleased to work closely with you to create a plan that best allows you to meet your goals.