Michael Arlein is Chair of the firm's Trusts and Estates group and the firm’s practice group devoted to Founders & Entrepreneurs and has been with the firm since 2000. Mr. Arlein focuses his practice on estate and tax planning for high net worth individuals and families, including founders and entrepreneurs, Wall Street professionals, principals at venture capital and private equity firms and hedge funds, real estate developers, corporate executives, professional athletes, entertainers and artists. A former investment banker, Mr. Arlein brings to his clients insight and business sense that distinguishes him among lawyers. He works closely with clients and their other trusted advisors to identify their objectives and provide creative and practical solutions designed to meet their specific goals. Collaborating with lawyers from the firm's other practice areas, Mr. Arlein often serves as "general counsel" for his clients, coordinating all of their personal legal needs.

Mr. Arlein's practice extends to all aspects of sophisticated planning, wealth preservation and philanthropy. He has extensive experience preparing wills and trusts and implementing complex strategies involving grantor-retained annuity trusts (GRATs), family partnerships and limited liability companies, life insurance, Delaware trusts, and other wealth transfer techniques. Mr. Arlein frequently represents clients in administering large estates and trusts and in resolving complex estate and gift tax audits. He also has considerable experience negotiating and preparing prenuptial agreements, designing estate plans for international clients, and counseling clients on estate planning opportunities that arise in connection with the sale of privately held businesses and digital assets.

In recent years, Mr. Arlein has worked with the founders of numerous venture-backed companies in connection with their estate and tax planning. Among others, he has worked with some of the founders of the following companies (who have given permission to be included on this list): 305 Fitness, AirPay, Alleviant Medical, Alma, Anchor, Angle Health, Anvyl, AppNexus, Arch, Aterian, Attentive, Audigent, Bay Dynamics, Bedrock Ocean Exploration, Beeswax, Bounce, Care/of, Carpe, Casper, Chicory, Codeacademy, Cometeer, Coursedog, Dia & Co., Daily Harvest, Dash, Digital Ocean, Drink LMNT, Duolingo, EdSights, Fair Harbor, Feel Good Foods, Finny AI, Firstleaf, Fishbowl, Fishwife, Flatiron Health, Frame.io, Frida Baby, Formsort, fuboTV, Gimlet, Gorgias, Graphite, Greater Industries, H1, Harry’s, Healthie, Henry AI, Highland Fleets, Hubble Contacts, Imperfect Foods, Impiricus, Influenster, Kalshi, Kard, Keynes Digital, Khaite, Kingdom Supercultures, Koneksa Health, Koyfin, LawnStarter, Localize, Loom, Maestro, Magic Spoon, Maiden Century, Maven Clinic, Memfault, MikMak, mParticle, MoneyLion, Namecheap, Nominal, NotaryLive, NS1, Pearl Health, Parallel Learning, Proper Cloth, Quartzy, Ramp, Rhone Apparel, ROKO Labs, Roman Health, Roofr, Runway, Sage, Saturn, Savvy Wealth, Scoop Technologies, Sequen, Shade, ShopKeep, Slack, Slice, SmartMedia Technologies, Sollis Health, Standard Bots, StellaService, Tesorio, Transfix, Triple Whale, Trunk Tools, Underdog, Vesta, Vestwell, Virtru, Voray, Voyager Technologies, Xtreme Solutions, and Xwing. In that context, Mr. Arlein has developed deep experience implementing planning strategies for Qualified Small Business Stock. Please visit the Founder Focus Resource Center where you will find unique content on topics of interest to founders and entrepreneurs and their professional advisors.

Mr. Arlein is recognized in Chambers High Net Worth as a top-tier practitioner in its Private Wealth Law guide for New York. Market sources quoted in the publication note: 

• “Michael is the complete package: a strong practitioner, a client service person, a relationship builder, and really great to work with.” 
• “Michael takes a genuine interest in the client and provides in-depth counsel and advice that is both practical and sophisticated."
• "His level of sophistication and responsiveness is unparalleled in the industry."
• "Michael is highly technical in tax law and very good at explaining things at a client's level so they can understand it. He is also very fast and reliable."
• "Michael is great with clients, friendly, and a strong communicator. He handles extremely complex clients in a sophisticated yet digestible manner."
• "Michael is excellent in all regards. He is extremely knowledgeable, attentive, and diligent."

Mr. Arlein has received Martindale-Hubbell’s highest rating of "AV Preeminent" based on both peer reviews and numerous client reviews. Mr. Arlein frequently publishes articles and lectures on various estate planning topics. He served on the Board of Directors of the Estate Planning Council of New York City and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP). He is a Guest Lecturer on the Practice of Wealth Management for High Net Worth Clients at Columbia Business School. Mr. Arlein also serves on the Association of the Bar of the City of New York’s Trusts, Estates & Surrogate's Courts Committee, as well as the New York-Presbyterian Planned Giving Advisory Council.  

In 2018, Mr. Arlein received the Jeremy G. Epstein Award for Outstanding Pro Bono Service for his work with clients of the Planning and Estates Law Project (PELP). PELP offers free legal assistance with end-of-life planning, probate, and estate matters to low-income individuals in New York City.