Email: dhruttenberg@smolenplevy.com
Daniel H. Ruttenberg, JD, CPA, LLM is a principal with the firm. Mr. Ruttenberg received his Bachelor of Science degree with a double major in Accounting and Finance from the University of Maryland. He earned his Juris Doctor with Honors from George Mason University School of Law and his Master of Laws in Taxation with Distinction from Georgetown University Law Center.
Mr. Ruttenberg argued Hillman v. Maretta in the US Supreme Court, a precedent setting case establishing that the federal regulations governing Federal Employee Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) policies preempt any state laws to the contrary. Mr. Ruttenberg is also the author of “The Tax Court’s Execution of the Family Entity: The Tax Court’s Application of Internal Revenue Code Section 2036(a) to Family Entities,” North Dakota Law Review Vol. 80:41 (2004).
Mr. Ruttenberg is the founder and President of Poker Players Who Care, a 501(c)(3) public charity which raises money for local, national and international worthy causes. For nearly two decades, he has served on the Board of Directors of Devotion To Children, a charity that provides access to high-quality educational and child-care programs for children from low-income families, aged six and under. Mr. Ruttenberg also served as the Director of the Fairfax Bar Association (FBA) for seven years. During this period, he was also elected president – the youngest in FBA history and served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Fairfax Law Foundation.
Mr. Ruttenberg was the driving force behind the passage of Virginia House Bill 693, which will go into effect on July 1, 2022. This new law directs the Department of Motor Vehicles to stop its practice of preventing citizens of the Commonwealth from qualifying for the Car Tax Relief they are entitled to when they title their automobiles in trust for estate planning purposes.
PRACTICE AREAS
- Estate planning
- Business succession planning
- Estate administration
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS
- Member of the Bar in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia
- Licensed Certified Public Accountant by the State of Maryland
HONORS AND AWARDS
- Honored with a President’s Lifetime Achievement Award by President Joe Biden in 2022
- Consistently named a Best Lawyer by The Best Lawyers in America© since 2015
- Recognized as an AV Preeminent by Martindale Hubbell in 2021
- Since 2013, he has consistently been chosen by his peers as a Super Lawyer for Virginia and the District of Columbia in estate planning
- Recognized as a Top Lawyer by Northern Virginia Magazine in 2016, 2015, 2013, and 2011
- Received a SmartCEO Magazine Power Player award in 2013 and 2014
