Dowd, John J.

Matt is Of Counsel to the firm and concentrates his practice in the area of elder law, estate administration, and Medicaid planning. In his Medicaid planning practice, Matt works with families to preserve their assets, while obtaining access to necessary long term care services. Matt has been a Legal Services Provider for the Saratoga County Office for the Aging for over a decade and previously served as the Saratoga County Examiner of Guardianship Accounts. Matt is a frequent lecturer on elder law issues for the State and County Bar Associations, as well as the Office for the Aging and Community Hospice.

Matt is a member of the New York State Bar Association and the Elder Law Section. He also served as an elected representative to the New York State Bar Association House of Delegates between 2003 and 2005. Based on Matt's professional background and long history of community service, the Saratoga County Bar Association nominated Matt in 2007 for a New York State Bar Association Outstanding Lawyer Award.

Matt's interest in the well being of our elderly led him to establish the Saratoga Springs Memory Walk for the benefit of the Alzheimer's Association in 1997. Matt served as Chairman of the Memory Walk from 1997 to 2001. The Saratoga Springs Memory Walk has been held annually since 1997 and has raised over $1 million dollars since its inception. In December, 2000, Matt was recognized as Volunteer of the Year by the Adirondack Branch of the Alzheimer's Association.

Matt served as City Attorney for the City of Saratoga Springs from 2004 to 2006. During his tenure, Matt acted as the primary staff person responsible for the City's purchase of six unique open space parcels, totaling 100 acres. Matt also drafted the first revision of the City of Saratoga Springs Ethics Code in over thirty years. Matt served as Special Counsel to the City in the defense of tax assessment cases between 2002 and 2006 and as Assistant City Attorney from 1996 to 1999. After leaving the City of Saratoga Springs, Matt represented the Town of Queensbury defending a tax assessment challenge case involving millions of dollars in assessed value. Matt has also successfully handled numerous tax assessment challenges for private landowners, resulting in significant reductions in their assessments.

Matt is a Member of the Saratoga Springs Rotary Club and presently serves as Club President for 2012. Matt is also a Board Member and Secretary of the Saratoga Springs Rotary Education Foundation. The Foundation raises funds for and manages an endowment for the Rotary scholarship program, which provides over $40,000 in scholarship funding every year to area high school students.

Matt is a prior recipient of the Outstanding Young Leader Award from the Greater Saratoga Springs Jaycees. He also received the Twenty Under Forty award for Community Leadership from the Saratogian, and he is a 1998 graduate of the Leadership Saratoga Program, created by the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce to develop community leaders in the Greater Saratoga area.