June 15, 2016 (NEW YORK) – On the June 5th episode of the HBO program, Last Week Tonight, John Oliver forgave nearly $15 million of medical debt. And thanks to the work of charity RIP Medical Debt and Proskauer lawyers Ron Franklin, David Miller and Jinyoung Joo, the debtors did not have to pay tax on the debt forgiveness. Read more about the transaction on Proskauer’s Tax Talks blog.
Proskauer worked with pro bono client RIP Medical Debt to structure the debt forgiveness and, previously, to help establish the charity’s 503(c) status. The charity’s sole mission is to help poor people by purchasing and abolishing unpaid medical debt using donated funds.
Proskauer has a long history of public service and a distinctive pro bono program that enables its attorneys to make a broad impact through a variety of projects such as this one.