Matthew H. Kamens

Senior Counsel

Matthew concentrates his practice in trusts, estate, and business planning matters, as well as complex estate administration.  He has planned for, and handled the administration of, many large estates, including estate and gift tax planning and audits, disposition of assets both public and private, and matters affecting multi-generational planning.

Matthew serves as a trustee of a number of  substantial trusts holding liquid and illiquid assets and commercial and residential real estate.  He has significant experience in structuring major philanthropic gifts of all types and managing relationships with charitable organizations.  He also has extensive knowledge of life insurance and its structuring in estate planning contexts, and has handled the negotiation and preparation of many complex prenuptial agreements.  Matthew has a broad experience in planning with clients’ collections of fine arts, and he frequently acts as liaison to international and regional auction houses, museums, and art appraisers, overseeing the acquisition, maintenance, gifting, and sale of multi-million dollar collections.

Through June, 2020, Matthew was a long-time member of the board of trustees, executive committee and other committees of the Agnes Irwin School.  He was a member of the board of directors of the Jones Group, Inc. for more than a decade before its sale in 2014.  During his career, he has served as co-chairman of the board of trustees of the National Museum of American Jewish History, as a vice president and member of the board of directors and executive committee of the Federation Endowments Corporation, and as a member of the board of directors and board of trustees of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia.

Matthew serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School where he teaches the course Gift and Estate Tax in Practice.

Matthew earned his undergraduate degree, cum laude, from Franklin and Marshall College, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and his law degree, with honors, from Columbia University School of Law. 

News

Best Lawyers Honors More Than 200 Cozen O'Connor Attorneys in its Best Lawyers in America 2025 Edition

August 15, 2024

Best Lawyers selected 242 Cozen O’Connor lawyers from 24 of the firm’s U.S. offices for inclusion in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America.

Four Attorneys, Two Practice Areas Recognized in the Chambers 2024 High Net Worth Guide

July 23, 2024

The firm's Private Wealth Law and Family/Matrimonial: High Net Worth were both ranked in the Chambers 2024 High Net Worth Guide for Pennsylvania, as well as Jennifer Brandt, Lester Lipschutz, Matthew Kamens, and Robert Friedman.

Best Lawyers Honors More Than 200 Cozen O'Connor Attorneys to its Best Lawyers in America 2024 Edition

August 17, 2023

Best Lawyers selected 232 Cozen O’Connor lawyers from 24 of the firm’s U.S. offices for inclusion in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.

More Than 200 Cozen O’Connor Attorneys Named Best Lawyers and Ones to Watch

August 22, 2022

210 Cozen O’Connor lawyers from 24 of the firm’s nationwide offices for inclusion in the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.

More Than 205 Cozen O’Connor Attorneys Named Best Lawyers and Ones to Watch By The Best Lawyers In America

August 19, 2021

Best Lawyers selected 210 Cozen O’Connor lawyers from 23 of the firm’s nationwide offices for inclusion in the 2022 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.

200 Cozen O’Connor Attorneys Named Best Lawyers and Ones to Watch By The Best Lawyers In America

August 20, 2020

Best Lawyers selected 200 Cozen O’Connor lawyers from 23 of the firm’s nationwide offices for inclusion in the 2021 edition of The Best Lawyers in America© (Copyright 2020 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, SC).

Publications

End-of-Year Estate Planning [Private Client Services Alert!]

December 07, 2009

End-of-Year Estate Planning - Private Client Services Alert! - As we move quickly toward year end, consider the following for this year and for 2010"End-of-Year Estate Planning".

Education

  • Columbia University, J.D., 1976
  • Franklin and Marshall College, B.A., cum laude, 1973

Awards & Honors

Best Lawyers in America, 1993-2025

  • New York
  • Pennsylvania
  • American Bar Association
  • American College of Trust and Estate Counsel
  • New York State Bar Association
  • Pennsylvania Bar Association
  • Philadelphia Bar Association
  • Philadelphia Estate Planning Council