Northwest Federal Tax Conference™ (2 days) – Webcast

Larry Brant is a Shareholder at Foster Garvey PC in Portland, Oregon. He focuses his practice on assisting public and private companies, partnerships, and high-net-worth individuals with tax planning and advice, tax controversy, and business transactions. Larry regularly advises clients in entity selection and formation, structuring mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and other business transactions.

Larry represents a number of professional services clients in accounting, law, healthcare, behavioral health, dentistry, engineering and architecture. Additionally, he represents a large array of clients straddling several industries, including farming and agriculture, logistics, manufacturing, high tech, recycling, construction, real estate, and maritime.

Larry is a past Chair of the Oregon State Bar Taxation Section. He was the long-term Chair of the Oregon Tax Institute and is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Portland Tax Forum. Larry is an Expert Contributor to Thomson Reuters Checkpoint Catalyst. He is a Fellow in the American College of Tax Counsel.

Larry publishes articles on numerous income tax issues, including Taxation of S Corporations, Reasonable Compensation, Circular 230, Worker Classification, § 1031 Exchanges, Choice of Entity, Entity Tax Classification, and State and Local Taxation. In addition, he regularly speaks at national, regional and local tax institutes, including the NYU Tax Institute, the Florida Tax Institute, the NYU Tax Conferences in July, the Portland Tax Forum, the OSCPA Annual State and Local Tax Conference, the OSCPA Annual Real Estate Conference, the OSCPA Annual Forest Products Conference, the IRS Tax Practitioners Forum, the Northwest Federal Tax Conference and the Oregon Tax Institute.

Larry was the 2015 Recipient of the Oregon State Bar Tax Section Award of Merit, recognizing him for professionalism, reputation, leadership, and service to the tax community and the community at large.

He is the Editor and an author for Larry's Tax Law, a nationally recognized tax blog dedicated to providing technical support to tax and accounting professionals. Larry was named a "Top Author" for Tax by JD Supra in its Readers' Choice Awards, 2019-2021.

(11/11/21)

Frank Ciatto, JD (B'88, L'94) is a corporate partner in the D.C. and New York offices of Venable LLP.  Frank is a business attorney who assists entrepreneurs with existing and new business ventures. His legal knowledge and practical experience are important in helping owners and investors realize the full value of their ideas and investments. Frank focuses on corporate and partnership structuring, mergers and acquisitions, limited liability companies, private equity investments, tax and accounting issues, business divorces, and succession planning.  Frank majored in accounting at Georgetown and worked for three years at Coopers & Lybrand before returning to Georgetown for law school. 

Before becoming President of the Georgetown Alumni Association on July 1, 2020, Frank served in various capacities on the Board of Governors, including Treasurer from 2014 to 2018.

Frank met his wife Deanne Collins Ciatto (C'89) at Georgetown and they have three daughters, Sophia (C'21), Francesca (a rising freshmen at the College of the Holy Cross) and Julianna (a rising high school junior).

(8/10/21)

Gwendolyn Griffith is a partner in the law firm of Tonkon Torp LLP in Portland, Oregon, where she is the practice group leader for the Taxation and Employee Benefits Practice Group. Gwen's tax practice is wide ranging, including corporate, partnership and international tax matters, as well as the income tax and transfer tax issues of complex trusts and estates. She began her law career at the Dallas, Texas law firm of Akin Gump, and then spent many years teaching law school at Willamette University College of Law before re-entering private practice. She has been with Tonkon Torp since 2008 and has been recognized as a Best Lawyer in Tax Law since 2012. She is the author of several books on taxation and received the 2017 Multnomah County Bar Association Pro Bono Award of Merit for her work with a state wide pro bono project called The CLiF Project.

Gwen is married to Peyton Lieuallen, a retired school administrator, and they have two grandchildren. Peyton and Gwen enjoy catering to the whims of their West Highland white terrier, Bentley, and attending to the endless remodeling needs of their 100-year old house in Monmouth.

(1/5/21)

Max Hansen, JD, CES has spent the bulk of his legal career helping taxpayers realize the benefits of 1031 Exchanges, stimulating local economies with each transaction. While you might not believe the tall tales he spins about his time on ranches or as an attorney, you can trust his 40+ years of expertise gained in structuring and facilitating 1031 Exchanges. He is passionate about protecting the benefits IRC Section 1031 provides to property owners and currently serves on the Government Affairs Committee for the Federation of Exchange Accommodators. Max has held many titles and leadership roles within a host of professional organizations and is tapped often as a subject matter expert to share his knowledge on Section 1031 exchanges nationally. Now a Managing Director at Accruit, he splits his time between the Accruit Western Region Office in Dillon, MT and his home office near Plymouth, UT.

(7/29/21)

Alexander Lee focuses his practice on domestic and international transactional tax issues associated with complex corporate transactions with an emphasis on cross border transactions and corporate transactions. He is a highly regarded tax lawyer and has consistently been selected by leading companies and peers as one of the top tax practitioners in the country and around the world.

Xander is the youngest practitioner (and one of only two under the age of 50) to be recognized by Chambers Global and the Legal 500 International as one of the Nation's top leading experts in International Tax. He is described by clients as "very detailed in his descriptions and his explanations, very thorough, he anticipates the types of issues we need to be aware of." He is also recognized as an expert in domestic corporate Taxation by Chambers USA and the Legal 500 USA. He has been trusted to serve as lead tax counsel on over 1000 corporate transactions. He has led a number of signature transactions, including:

• Represented Samsung Electronics in its US$8.2 billion acquisition of Harmon Kardon, Inc., the Korean company's largest transaction to date and biggest cross border acquisition ever by a South Korean company.
• Represented Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd., China's largest meat manufacturer in its US$7.1 billion acquisition of Smithfield Foods Inc.; at the time, the largest acquisition by a Chinese company of a US public company.
• Advised Dubai World in its US$7.1 billion investment in MGM MIRAGE pursuant to a public tender offer and joint venture to build the CityCenter (including the Aria, Vdara and Mandarin Oriental) in Las Vegas.
• Represented Marvel Entertainment in its US$4 billion sale to The Walt Disney Company in a tax-free reorganization.
• Represented Ardea Biosciences in its US$1.26 Billion sale to AstraZeneca.
• Represented J.P. Morgan, Citi, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank as the underwriters on the US $1.68 Billion IPO of Haitong Securities, the second largest securities firm in China.
• Represented BBMG, a state-owned enterprise controlled by the Beijing Municipal Government, on its HK$6.8 billion global offering, comprising a Hong Kong public offer and an international offering (UBS, Macquarie and J.P. Morgan were underwriters).

He has been a frequent speaker at the USC Tax Institute since 2002 and serves on the Executive Committee.

(5/4/21)

Frank Remund is a financial advisor with Springwater Wealth Management, LLC. From 2008 to 2016, he was the managing member of Remund Financial Planning, an independent, fee-only advisory firm. Prior to establishing his financial advisory practice, Frank was an owner and manager of Gootee Chevrolet, Pontiac & Buick in Chehalis, Washington from 2003 to 2007. From 2002 to 2003, Frank worked as an intern and employee for Nike.

Frank received his Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the University of Washington in 2002. He also holds a Certificate in Personal Financial Planning from City University. Frank is a Certified Financial Planner™ professional and an Enrolled Agent, authorized to represent taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service. He is also a member of several professional organizations, including Garrett Planning Network.

He has taught the rigorous Retirement Income tax course for H&R Block tax professionals, as well as Employee Stock Plan Compensation, Restricted Stock Units, Employee Stock Purchase Plans, and Non-Qualified Options. He is an active member of several civic and community service organizations.

A former Pac 10 conference high jumper and track & field team captain at the University of Washington, Frank is actively involved with amateur youth baseball, soccer and basketball as a volunteer. Frank and his wife Abby live near Portland with their four children.

(5/18/21)

Patrick Sharma advises clients on the domestic and international tax aspects of a variety of business transactions, including mergers, acquisitions and debt and equity financings. He has also represented clients in disputes with the IRS and maintains an active pro bono practice helping nonprofit organizations achieve and preserve tax-exempt status.

(5/18/21)

Steven Siegel, LLM (Taxation), JD is president of The Siegel Group, which provides consulting services to attorneys, accountants, business owners, family offices and financial planners. Based in Morristown, New Jersey, the Group provides services throughout the United States.

Mr. Siegel is the author of many books, including: The Grantor Trust Answer Book (2018 CCH); The Adviser's Guide to Financial and Estate Planning (AICPA 2020); Federal Fiduciary Income Taxation (Foxmoor 2019); Federal Estate and Gift Tax (Foxmoor 2016)). He is co-author of Income Taxation of Trusts and Estates, (Carolina Press 2020). He is the co-author with Richard Oshins, Esq. of The Anatomy of the Perfect Modern Trust, Estate Planning Magazine, January and February 2016.

In conjunction with numerous tax planning lectures he has delivered for the National Law Foundation, Mr. Siegel has prepared extensive lecture materials on the following subjects: Planning for An Aging Population; Business Entities: Start to Finish; Preparing the Audit-Proof Federal Estate Tax Return; Business Acquisitions: Representing Buyers and Sellers in the Sale of a Business; Dynasty Trusts; Planning with Intentionally-Defective Grantor Trusts, Introduction to Estate Planning; Intermediate-Sized Estate Planning; Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid: Explanation and Planning Strategies; Subchapter S Corporations: Using Trusts as Shareholders; Divorce and Separation: Important Tax Planning Issues; The Portability Election; and many other titles.

Mr. Siegel has delivered hundreds of lectures to thousands of attendees in live venues and via webinars throughout the United States on tax, business and estate planning topics on behalf of numerous organizations, including The Heckerling Institute on Tax Planning, Notre Dame Tax and Estate Planning Institute, CCH, National Law Foundation, AICPA, The Kansas City Estate Planning Symposium, Yale School of Management; U. of Chicago Business School, Western CPE, the National Society of Accountants, Cohn-Reznick, Foxmoor Education, many State Accounting Societies and Estate Planning Councils (including: The California CPA Society, The Southern Nevada Estate Planning Council; the Oregon CPA Society; the Southern Arizona Estate Planning Council; the Georgia CPA Society) as well as on behalf of many private companies.

He is presently serving as an adjunct professor of law in the Graduate Tax Program (LLM) of the University of Alabama (teaching Income Taxation of Trusts and Estates), and has served as an adjunct professor of law at Seton Hall and Rutgers University law schools.
Mr. Siegel holds a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University (magna cum laude, phi beta kappa), a juris doctor from Harvard Law School and an LLM in Taxation from New York University Law School.

(3/10/22)

John Werlhof, CPA, Is a tax principal in Roseville, CA and provides tax research and planning services to privately held businesses and their owners. He serves clients in all phases of the business cycle and has deep expertise in business acquisitions, dispositions, financings, and restructurings. He has authored articles which have been published in Corporate Taxation and Construction Accounting and Taxation. Werlhof has experience facilitating tax trainings for a Big 4 and regional CPA firms.

(4/1/20)