Robert Kelly’s practice focuses on the legal and financial interests of high-net-worth individuals, closely held and family-owned businesses, and tax-exempt organizations. A significant part of Bob’s practice is devoted to tax-oriented commercial law, with an emphasis on business counseling (the acquisition and disposition of business interests, structuring business transactions, family business succession planning and corporate governance issues), estate planning and administration, estate and trust litigation, and counseling non-profit and tax-exempt organizations. He brings an innovative and practical approach to clients’ problem and to all phases of the client counseling process.
Bob’s prior experience as a practicing Certified Public Accountant gives him unique insight into the legal, financial and operational obstacles facing MBK’s entrepreneurial clients. His extensive experience as a counselor to businesses and their leaders helps him provide prompt, practical and creative problem-solving advice. He applies his dispute resolution skills to areas ranging from adversarial business division or dissolution cases to business valuation disputes to informal workouts.
In the area of non-profit and tax-exempt organizations and charitable giving, Bob’s professional experience and active community engagement afford him an in-depth understanding of the increasingly complex and sophisticated charitable and philanthropic environment. Bob has been a leader of, and counsel to, a variety of community-based organizations, private foundations, health care institutions, educational institutions and social service providers. Bob serves as one of five Trustees (and former Board Chair) of the $3 billion (assets) Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation based in Baltimore, Maryland. He also serves as Director of WVIA, the NPR and PBS public media affiliate for Northeastern and North-Central Pennsylvania. He previously served as a Director of Citizens Savings Bank, headquartered in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania (Audit Committee Chair; Asset/Liability Committee Member,) as a Director of the Moses Taylor Health Care System, and as a Director and President of The Scranton Lackawanna Industrial Building Company (SLIBCO), the industrial development arm of the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce.
Bob has written numerous articles on tax and estate planning, and frequently lectures at the national, state and local levels on the topics of non-profit and tax-exempt organizations and tax and estate planning. Bob has been honored by his peers every year since 2007 as one of Pennsylvania’s Super Lawyers. He holds an AV Preeminent ® Peer Review Rating from Martindale Hubbell.
Practice AreasBusiness & FinanceEstate Planning & Wealth PreservationNon-Profit & Tax Exempt OrganizationsTaxationElder LawAdmissionsEducationAssociationsCommunity InvolvementPrior ExperienceSpeaking Engagements
