The University of Pittsburgh School of Law is pleased to announce that Pitt Law Professor Philip Hackney is a 2020 recipient of the Outstanding Academic Award in the Nonprofit Sector from the American Bar Association's (ABA) Business Law Section's Nonprofit Committee. Hackney, a member of the Pitt Law faculty since 2018, primarily focuses his scholarship and teachings on the law that governs the nonprofit tax-exempt sector, such as charities, social welfare organizations, labor unions, and trade associations.
Hackney studies the impact of the Internal Revenue Code on the operation of these organizations that provide vital services to the most vulnerable through charity, engage in political activity, and manage a large percentage of the provision of health care and education. He believes that a better understanding of nonprofits provides insight into how to design the income tax and state law rules to optimally channel nonprofits to serve these purposes. Professor Hackney has deeply engaged in law reform efforts. He served as a member of the Advisory Committee to the Independent Sector to update its Ethics and Principles of Good Governance for Nonprofit Organizations in 2014. In Louisiana, he served as a member of the Louisiana Tax Institute, a state board created to aid the state in improving its tax system. Previously, Professor Hackney served as a member of the faculty of the LSU Law Center.
Before the academy, Hackney spent five years at the Office of the Chief Counsel of the IRS in {01286610.DOCX; 1} 5 Washington, D.C. There he drafted IRS regulations, advised the TEGE commissioner, and litigated exempt organization tax issues.