Matthew J. Cristy

Matt Cristy is an associate in the Tax Section of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP where he specializes in Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits.

Mr. Cristy’s experience covers a wide variety of benefit plan issues arising under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code, including Section 401(k) plans, Section 403(b) tax-sheltered annuities, Section 457 deferred compensation plans, employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), voluntary employees’ beneficiary associations (VEBAs), and welfare benefit plans.

He has experience drafting deferred compensation plans, plan amendments, and summary plan descriptions (SPDs). He has also advised employers on COBRA and USERRA issues related to employee benefits.

Mr. Cristy also practices in the field of state and local taxation. In addition to answering a variety of state and local tax questions for corporations, his experience includes drafting voluntary disclosure agreements and requests for favorable tax rulings from state and local tax authorities.

He is a member of the American Bar Association, the ABA’s Taxation Section and the State Bar of Georgia. He is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, the Supreme Court of Georgia, the Court of Appeals of Georgia, and Georgia’s superior courts.

While attending Emory University School of Law, Mr. Cristy was Research Editor of the Emory Bankruptcy Development Law Journal, a James L. Colson Scholar and a recipient of the Dean’s Public Service Award.

Mr. Cristy co-authored “New York’s ‘Convenience of the Employer’ Rule: From Defending the Fisc to Punishing Telecommuters” for the Journal of State Taxation, March-April 2006; and he wrote “Measuring Assets and Liabilities Under the I.R.C. Sec. 108 Insolvency Exclusion” for the Emory Bankruptcy Developments Law Journal, Spring 2003. He has also written several articles on state tax matters.