Sebastian Gheith

Sebastian Gheith joined amfAR in May 2017 as Associate Counsel and Director of Planned Giving. He brings over 20 years of professional legal experience to the Foundation and now serves as amfAR’s General Counsel and Director of Planned Giving. Prior to serving as amfAR’s in-house counsel, Mr. Gheith worked as a litigator with Constantine Cannon LLP, where he litigated a variety of complex commercial cases from inception to trial.

In matters ranging from international standard setting disputes between the world’s largest mobile communications technology companies to representing the nation’s merchants in a class action brought against credit card companies and banking institutions for charging excessive fees, Mr. Gheith brings a broad range of legal knowledge and experience to the Foundation. Mr. Gheith represents amfAR in all facets of its legal needs including managing all of its contract needs, corporate governance, state and federal regulatory compliance, estate matters, intellectual property, and litigation. Mr. Gheith also heads amfAR’s Planned Giving department, managing estate bequests to the Foundation and outreach to prospective planned giving donors.

Mr. Gheith first began working with not-for-profit organizations early in his career by helping numerous clients form and manage their not-for-profit entities, and by volunteering pro bono legal services to organizations with limited resources. After successfully defending the Fair Foods Standards Council on a pro bono basis against a multinational agricultural producer and conspiring agricultural farming operations, Mr. Gheith decided to shift the focus of his services from complex commercial litigation to representing not-for-profit organizations. The sense of fulfillment and accomplishment he experiences from helping organizations that work to improve society and make the world a better place led him to amfAR.

Mr. Gheith is a graduate of Seton Hall Law School and is licensed to practice in the States of New York and New Jersey, and in the Southern District of New York.