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Joel
Danziger
Joel Danziger
is a founding partner of Danziger & Markhoff LLP and practices
in the areas of ERISA including pension and profit sharing plans
and employee benefits, corporate and estate planning.
He has extensive
experience in representing closely held businesses and professional
corporations. He counsels them in connection with the formation
and structure of business entities; ongoing business operations
and financing; corporate transactions and restructuring, and the
tax implications of business decisions.
A particular
concentration of Mr. Danziger is the representation of professional
corporations, specifically, the representation of medical groups.
He has been active in this area since the adoption by New York State
of the Professional Corporation statute in 1970. His experience
encompasses the establishment, operation, merger and sale of professional
practices and counseling them in connection with their pension,
profit-sharing and employee benefit plan; and counseling clients
regarding affiliation agreements with hospitals and management companies.
Mr. Danziger also has extensive experience in representing medical
school faculty practice groups and has done pioneering work in obtaining
tax exempt status for these entities.
A graduate
of Columbia College (1953) and Yale University Law School (1956),
Mr. Danziger has been active in a number of professional societies
including the Estate Planning Council of Westchester County (Past
President) and the Westchester County, (Pair Chairman of section
on Taxation) New York State and American
Bar Associations. He is admitted to practice in New York and Connecticut.
Email Joel at jdanziger@dmlawyers.com
Harris Markhoff
Harris Markhoff,
a founder of the firm, has a broad business and tax practice which
includes counseling individuals, professional corporations, closely
held and family-owned businesses on a wide range of corporate, tax
and estate planning issues. He negotiates and structures joint ventures,
partnerships, buy-sell agreements, stockholder arrangements, the
acquisition and sale of businesses, and other business transactions
and relationships. He also counsels clients in the context of dispute
resolution and dissolution of business relationships.
A leading tax
lawyer, Harris counsels clients on strategies to minimize income
and estate taxes. He is particularly experienced in pension and
profit-sharing law and the tax issues affecting the owners of closely
held businesses and the succession of those businesses.
Harris is a
graduate of Columbia College (1960) and Columbia Law School (1963)
and is listed in Best Lawyers in America - Trusts and Estates and
Corporate Categories. Harris is also listed in the Westchester Magazine list of top lawyers
in 21 specialties in the Trusts and Estates and Corporate categories.
He is a Past President of the White Plains Bar Association (1990),
the Estate Planning Council of Westchester County, Inc. (1975-1976)
and the Benjamin Cardozo Society - UJA Federation (1997-1999) and
is a Past Chairman of the Sections on Taxation (1973-1974) and Trusts
and Estates (1995-1996) for the Westchester County Bar Association,
where he also served as a Director from 1989-1995. Harris was also
a Director of the Estate Planning Council of New York City, Inc.
(1989-1992) and a member of the Estate Planning Committee for the
Trusts and Estate Section of the New York State Bar Association
(1978-1979).
Harris is a
member of the Board of Directors of the Westchester Holocaust Education
Center as well as a member of the American Bar Association Sections
on Taxation and Real Property, Probate and Trust Law.
Email Harris
at hmarkhoff@dmlawyers.com
Ira Langer
Ira Langer
has overall responsibility for the retirement services provided
by the firm. He is a tax attorney with over 25 years of experience
concentrating in the areas of pension, profit sharing, and employee
benefit law. His clients include professionals, the stockholders
of professional and closely held corporations, sole proprietors
and the principals of partnerships. He emphasizes optimization of
retirement plans for clients and their businesses and coordinating
retirement benefit distributions with client's estate planning programs.
Analysis of
Internal Revenue Code and Regulation provisions and IRS rulings
and pronouncements applicable to day-to-day qualified plan administration
issues is one of Ira's special areas of concentration. His services
include personal tax planning, development of tax reduction strategies
for businesses, structuring and restructuring of qualified and cafeteria
plans, and representation of clients before the Internal Revenue
Service.
Prior to entering
private practice, Ira was a trial attorney in the Tax Division of
the U.S. Department of Justice. He is the author of numerous publications,
including The Tax Planner, a tax strategy text for mid-level taxpayers,
and is a frequent lecturer to professional audiences on tax and
employee benefit law. Ira is admitted to practice before the U.S.
Tax Court and the U.S. Supreme Court and is a member of the New
York State Bar Association. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and
is a graduate of Columbia Law School (1965), where he was a Stone
Scholar.
Email Ira at
ilanger@dmlawyers.com
Joshua S. Levine
Joshua S. Levine
concentrates in corporate, securities and health law and represents
closely held businesses and professional corporations -- primarily
medical practices -- on all aspects of their business dealings.
He counsels clients in connection with the formation of new businesses,
the organization of joint ventures, and the acquisition and sale
of businesses.
On an ongoing
basis, he works with clients on all types of commercial and contractual
matters, including stockholder agreements, partnership agreements,
employment agreements and private placement memoranda for securities
offerings; financing arrangements; and compliance with federal,
state and local regulatory requirements for health care clients.
In other circumstances, Josh has assisted clients in executing transactions
with foreign entities; formed tax-exempt entities, including medical
research foundations; and negotiated affiliation agreements between
physicians and medical institutions. He also has extensive experience
working with limited liability companies and limited liability partnerships.
Josh is a graduate
of Princeton University (1976) and received his law degree from
New York University in 1979.
Email Josh
at jlevine@dmlawyers.com
Robert B. Danziger
Robert B. Danziger concentrates
in corporate and health law. Bob also works closely with the firm's
enrolled actuaries, ERISA attorneys and plan administrators in managing
the extensive employee benefits department of the firm.
Bob works extensively
in the health care field and represents physicians, dentists and
other health care providers on all aspects of their practices including
advice and assistance in establishing the proper structure for the
professional practice, buying and selling practices, preparing partnership
agreements, agreements between hospitals and physician practices,
billing agreements, managed care agreements, etc. Bob is counsel
to the Ninth District Dental Association and in such capacity is
acutely aware of the legal needs of health care providers. Bob has
lectured extensively at professional associations including the
Fairfield County Medical Society, Westchester County Medical Society,
Beth Israel Medical Center, New York University Dental School, Columbia
Dental School and many other groups.
Bob is also
past president of the White Plains Bar Association (1995 to 1996)
and is a member of the Northern Westchester, Westchester County,
New York State and American Bar Associations. He is also a member
of the Business Development Board of Mahopac National Bank.
Bob received
his B.A. from Clark University in 1984 and his J.D. from Pace University
Law School in 1987. Bob is admitted to practice law in both New
York State and Connecticut.
Email Bob at
bdanziger@dmlawyers.com
Michael Markhoff
Michael Markhoff concentrates on estate planning and estate administration, representing professionals, executives and small businesses owners. Michael works with clients on minimizing (and often eliminating) estate and gift taxes through the coordination of pension benefits, business assets and other assets in the estate plan while preserving the client's assets for future generations. He analyzes liquidity needs for the payment of estate tax, including the use of life insurance products, family limited partnerships, qualified personal residence trusts and generation-skipping trusts. Michael also advises individuals with regards to charitable giving including the formation of not-for-profit corporations. He has also worked on numerous estates and estate plans involving clients who have non-citizen spouses. Michael works closely with accountants, financial advisors and insurance underwriters using a "team approach" to identify the clients' goals and provide creative and appropriate solutions.
Michael is a graduate of Columbia College (1987) and Brooklyn Law School (1990) and is listed in Best Lawyers in America - Trusts and Estates Category. He is a Past Chairman of the Trusts and Estates Section of the Westchester County Bar Association (1998-2000), Past Director of the Westchester Chapter of the Society of Financial Service Professionals (2001-2005) and Past President of the Northern Westchester Bar Association (2001-2002) and the White Plains Bar Association (2004-2005). Michael was the Ninth District Delegate to the New York State Bar Association Trusts and Estates Section (2003 - 2005) as well as a member of its Executive Committee (2000 - 2005).
Michael is President of the Estate Planning Council of Westchester County, Inc. (where he served on the Board of Directors from 1998-2001). He has been the Ninth District Delegate to the House of Delegates of the New York State Bar Association since 2005 and a Director of the Hudson Valley Estate Planning Council since 2003. Michael has also been a member of the Board of Trustees of the Bedford Free Library since 2005.
Michael is also a member of the Westchester County (Sections on Tax and Trusts and Estates), Connecticut (Estates and Probate Section) and American (Sections on Real Property, Probate and Trust Law) Bar Associations as well as the Estate Planning Council of Rockland County, Inc.
Email Michael
at mmarkhoff@dmlawyers.com
Gregory R. Tapfar
Gregory R.
Tapfar concentrates in health care and corporate law and represents
health care professionals and their professional corporations on
all aspects of their business transactions. He has been actively
involved in representing health care professionals and his experience
includes reviewing the transaction from the regulators viewpoint
to assure the client that such transaction complies with Federal
and state anti-kickback and self-referral laws, state regulatory
issues such as corporate practice of medicine and fee-splitting
prohibitions and emerging developments in health care legislation.
Greg is a member
of the health law sections for both the New York State Bar Association
and American Bar Association as well as a member of the American
Health Lawyers Association. He received his Bachelors degree from
State University College at Buffalo, a Masters in Public Administration
from New York University and a law degree from St. John's University.
Email Gregory
at gtapfar@dmlawyers.com
Stanley E. Bulua
Stanley E. Bulua concentrates in the areas of estate planning, estate administration, income taxation and employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs).
Through sophisticated trust and estate planning techniques, Stan’s estate planning clients have significantly reduced their projected estate tax liabilities. Stan is also well versed in advanced post-mortem techniques of estate administration.
In the area of income taxation, Stan has advised individuals, partnerships, trusts, limited liability companies and corporations on income tax issues affecting their operations and businesses. He has also represented individuals and entities on contested tax matters before the Internal Revenue Service, the United States Tax Court, the United States Second Circuit Court of Appeals, the Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York and the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.
In addition, Stan has overall responsibility for the firm’s ESOP practice. He is a recognized expert in the ESOP area, has lectured to professional groups on this topic and has vast experience in the design and implementation of ESOPs to deal with a broad range of business succession issues.
Stan is a graduate of Brandeis University (1976) and New York University School of Law (J.D. 1979, LL.M. – 1984) and is listed in Best Lawyers in America – Tax Category. Stan is also listed in the Westchester Magazine list of top lawyers in 21 specialties in the tax category. He is a past Chairman of the Tax Section of the Westchester County Bar Association (1998 – 2001), has served as a Director of the Estate Planning Council of Westchester County, Inc. from 2000 through 2003 and is a member of the ESOP Association. Stan is admitted to practice in New York and Connecticut.
Email Stanley
at sbulua@dmlawyers.com
Andrew
E. Roth
Andrew E. Roth concentrates
in the areas of pension, profit sharing and employee benefit law.
He advises clients on ERISA matters with respect to qualified and
non-qualified plans. His services include designing, drafting and
obtaining qualification for a broad range of defined contribution
and defined benefit plans, as well as ensuring their continued compliance
with applicable law. He has substantial experience in connection
with prohibited transaction and fiduciary matters.
Andy attended
University College of Arts and Science of New York University (BA
1975) and graduated magna cum laude from Brooklyn Law School
(JD 1981). Andy also received an LLM in Taxation from New York University
School of Law (1982). He is admitted to practice before the U.S.
Tax Court, the Federal District Courts for the Southern and Eastern
Districts of New York and is a member of the New York State Bar
Association.
Email Andy
at aroth@dmlawyers.com
Jay
Fenster
Jay Fenster is a partner at Danziger & Markhoff LLP. Mr. Fenster's
practice focuses on employee benefits and executive compensation matters.
He advises clients with respect to designing and maintaining qualified
plans, including 401(k) plans and ESOPs, non-qualified deferred compensation,
health and other welfare benefit plans, stock options, restricted
stock and other equity compensation arrangements. He regularly provides
counsel regarding ERISA fiduciary issues and employee benefits in
mergers and acquisitions, and advises both companies and individuals
with respect to employment agreements, bonus plans, and long term
and short term incentive arrangements. His clients include a wide
range of public and private companies and executives.
Mr. Fenster
is a popular speaker. He has spoken multiple times at Accountants
Continuing Education (ACE) conferences in New York, has delivered
a paper on compensation issues at the prestigious University of
Southern California Law School Institute on Federal Taxation, and
has lectured in Chicago at a seminar on Defined Contribution Plan
Investment Options, sponsored by the Center for Business Intelligence.
Mr. Fenster's published articles include "Equity Trap,"
an article about stock option taxation that appeared in the Los
Angeles Journal in January, 2001, "Repricing Employee Stock
Options in a Changing Market," an article he co-authored that
appeared in the October/November 2000 issue of Alley Way (New York
Law Journal) and "Naming IRA Beneficiaries That Cut Taxes,"
that appeared in the May, 1996 issue of the AICPA's Journal of Accountancy.
Mr. Fenster
has been a member of the American Bar Association since 1981. He
is member of the Board of Directors of Yeshiva Tifereth Yisroel
and American Friends of Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh.
Mr. Fenster
earned his J.D. from Fordham University School of Law in 1980, where
he graduated magna cum laude and was a member of the Fordham Law
Review. He earned an LL.M in Taxation from New York University School
of Law in 1984. He received his B.A. from Yeshiva University, graduating
magna cum laude in 1976.
Email Jay at
jfenster@dmlawyers.com
Martin P. Daniels
Martin P. Daniels
concentrates in the areas of estate planning, estate and trust administration,
non-profit institutions and real estate. Martin counsels individuals
and families in connection with estate and tax planning to minimize
or eliminate estate and succession taxes and to preserve and protect
their assets. He also counsels individual and corporate clients
in the administration and settlement of trusts and estates. Martin
also has significant experience counseling clients and fiduciaries
in all aspects of commercial and residential real estate acquisitions,
dispositions and leasing transactions and has represented numerous
Connecticut based clients before local zoning boards.
Martin received
his B.A. degree from Skidmore College in 1985, his M.Sc. degree
in Political Philosophy from the London School of Economics and
Political Science in 1986, and his J.D. degree from Syracuse University
College of Law in 1990.
Martin is admitted
to practice in New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts and is a
member of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, the
Trusts and Estates Law and Real Property Law Sections of the New
York State Bar Association, and the Estates and Probate, Planning
and Zoning, and Real Property Sections of the Connecticut Bar Association.
Martin is an active member of the Estate Planning Council of Lower
Fairfield County and has lectured on matters related to estate planning.
Email Martin
at mdaniels@dmlawyers.com
Irwin Rubin
Irwin Rubin,
counsel to Danziger & Markhoff LLP, practices in the areas of
tax and employee benefit law. He works with closely held businesses
and their principals to structure retirement and pension plans,
general tax planning, and estate planning. He assists clients to
design retirement plans to attain the greatest tax advantages permissible
under the law, ensure compliance with applicable IRS and ERISA requirements
on an ongoing basis, and restructure and amend plans as circumstances
warrant. He has extensive experience in such areas as prohibited
transaction exemptions, correction of plan audit problems; obtaining
Section 501 (c) (3) tax exempt status, and negotiation on behalf
of clients with the IRS, Department of Labor and the Pension Benefit
Guaranty Corporation.
A graduate
of Franklin and Marshall College (BA 1971) and Duke University Law
School (1974), Irwin also earned an LLM in Taxation from New York
University (1975).
Email Irwin
at irubin@dmlawyers.com
David P. Gesser
David P. Gesser concentrates in corporate, health and securities law. He represents closely held businesses, including professional health care practices, on a wide range of matters, from formation and financing, to mergers and acquisitions.
David advises clients on all types of contractual and commercial matters, including limited liability company membership agreements, stockholder agreements, partnership agreements, employment agreements, asset purchase agreements, stock sale agreements, withdrawal agreements and private placement memoranda for private placement securities offerings. He also counsels his clients with respect to financing matters, real estate matters (including industrial revenue bond financing, sales and purchases of real property and leasing) and the formation and operation of not-for-profit corporations. David’s experience also includes trademark practice.
David is a graduate of Brooklyn College of the City University of New York (1982) and received his law degree with honors from the National Law Center of George Washington University in 1985.
Email David at dgesser@dmlawyers.com
Karen C. Hunter
Karen C. Hunter serves as counsel in our trusts and estates department and concentrates in estate, gift, income and generation-skipping transfer tax planning for high net worth families. She also focuses on succession planning for family owned businesses, has directed the creation and administration of numerous charitable organizations and represents individuals and corporate fiduciaries of trusts and estates.
Karen is admitted to the bars of the States of Florida and New York and is a member of the New York State Bar Association and its Trusts and Estates Law Section. She is also a member of The Association of the Bar of the City of New York as well as the Florida Bar Association, in which she is a member of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section.
Karen co-authored "Reversal of Fortune: The Use of Grantor Trusts in Estate Planning," which was published in The Chase Journal, Vol. II, Issue 4, 1998.
Karen earned her B.A. at the University of North Carolina in 1976, her law degree at the University of North Carolina School of Law in 1981, and her LL.M. at New York University School of Law in 1984. She is admitted to practice law in New York and Florida.
Email Karen at khunter@dmlawyers.com
William
Miller
William Miller
is the Chief Enrolled Actuary and Technical Director of the Pension
Administration Department of Danziger & Markhoff. He counsels
individuals, professional corporations and business owners in connection
with the design and operations of their retirement plans. He works
closely with the firm's pension law attorneys to maximize the tax
and financial benefits of retirement plans.
At the plan
design stages, he consults with Clients to determine tax, financial
and business goals relevant to the plan, and formulates alternative
models demonstrating the plan costs under a range of options. Mr.
Miller also consults with clients who have existing retirement plans
to ensure the reliability of the cost projections and evaluate options
in structure and contribution levels.
Bill is a graduate
of Queens College and earned his M.S. in Quantitative Analysis with
specialization in Actuarial Science from New York University. He
is an Enrolled Actuary and is a member of the American Society of
Pension Actuaries and the American Academy of Actuaries and has
written articles on pension issues for the Journal of Taxation of
Employee Benefits.
Email Bill
at bmiller@dmlawyers.com
Aileen Palazzo
Aileen Palazzo
is Director of Pension Administration for Danziger & Markhoff
LLP. She consults with clients who are establishing pension plans
for themselves and their employees to assist them in structuring
the most appropriate plan, given their business, financial and tax
objectives. She is an Enrolled Actuary and has extensive experience
in designing and administering defined contribution plans and defined
benefit plans. Once plans have been established, Aileen collaborates
with Danziger & Markhoff's plan administrators, and attorneys
to administer the plans and ensure compliance with a broad range
of legal requirements.
She handles
the full range of administrative aspects of pension, profit sharing
and 401K plans for closely held businesses, mid-size corporations
and professional practices. This includes plan valuation, reporting,
contribution calculations, eligibility requirements, IRS and Department
of Labor filings, participant termination, and compliance with all
government regulations.
As an Enrolled
Actuary certified by the Joint Board for Enrollment of Actuaries
(IRS and Department of Labor), Aileen performs plan actuarial services
required under the law including annual certifications of minimum
funding requirements, annual pension premium calculations, and certifications
of sufficiency at plan termination. She works closely with the firm's
pension staff to maximize the tax and financial benefits of retirement
plans.
Aileen is a
graduate of Catholic University of America and a Member of the American
Society of Pension Actuaries.
Email Aileen
at apalazzo@dmlawyers.com
Edward
A. Echeverria
FSPA, MAAA,
CPC, EA, is an Enrolled Actuary for Danziger & Markhoff. Mr.
Echeverria has over 20 years of experience in employee benefits
(defined benefit and defined contribution) administration, with
expertise in both small and large plans. Mr. Echeverria also has
expertise in post-retirement benefit (FAS 106) and nonqualified
plan valuation and consulting, as well as controlled group and nondiscrimination
test consulting.
Mr. Echeverria
graduated from Siena College with a Bachelor's of Science Degree
in Finance. Mr. Echeverria is a Fellow of the American Society of
Pension Actuaries, a Member of the American Academy of Pension Actuaries,
a Certified Pension Consultant as well as an Enrolled Actuary. He
has addressed audiences, including the Ohio State University College
of Law, the Enrolled Actuaries Meeting and both national and regional
American Society of Pension Actuaries meetings. He has also written
articles on various employee benefits topics.
Email Ed at
eecheverria@dmlawyers.com
Timothy O'Connell
Timothy O’Connell
is an Enrolled Actuary with Danziger & Markhoff LLP. Tim has
over 20 years of experience consulting with pension clients in both
the large corporate plan market as well as with small business owners.
He has experience in all phases of the design, implementation and
administration of defined benefit plans including Cash Balance plans.
As an Enrolled Actuary, Mr. O’Connell consults with clients on the technical aspects of the
operation of their plans and the analysis of valuation results. For larger clients, this will
typically involve monitoring of the required minimum contributions, maximum deductible limits
and the required accounting disclosures under applicable Financial Accounting Standards. Smaller
clients will typically focus on the efficiency of the tax implications and the plan design as well
as budgeting of contribution requirements. He also has experience with nonqualified Supplemental
Executive Retirement Plans (SERPs) and deferred compensation arrangements.
Mr. O’Connell is a graduate of SUNY at Stony Brook with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Applied
Mathematics and Statistics. He is an Associate of the Society of Actuaries, an Enrolled Actuary
and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries.
Email Tim at
toconnell@dmlawyers.com
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