TAX
Our tax practice is handled on a coordinated basis by attorneys in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Florida advising corporations, business associations, partnerships, individuals, estates, trusts, qualified pension and profitsharing plans and plan participants in all legal matters involving federal, state and local taxation. We have the knowledge and the skill to represent our clients in this highly technical and constantly changing field of law.
The firm's tax attorneys work closely with attorneys in other practice areas to advise our clients. The close working relationships among the various practice areas enables our attorneys to create and to implement plans, structures and instruments that permit our clients to achieve their business objectives with the least amount of federal, state and local tax consequences.
Our tax practice ranges from counseling clients regarding the tax consequences of complex business reorganizations, mergers, acquisitions, and takeovers to personal income tax, estate tax planning, issues of low income housing tax credits, and controversy and litigation disputes (both in administrative and court proceedings with the Internal Revenue Service and state taxing authorities). Our tax attorneys also handle multi-state taxpayer projects involving the States of Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. These projects include counseling clients to minimize or to reduce their state tax burdens, advising clients to qualify for tax benefits or economic tax incentives and representing clients in administrative hearings and judicial proceedings against the state tax authorities.
Additionally, our tax attorneys are well versed in ERISA matters and perform due diligence and counseling in mergers and acquisitions. We also undertake the following for our clients: remedy operational and form problems with employee benefit plans; represent our clients in connection with audits of their plans by the Department of Labor and/or the Internal Revenue Service; and advise on establishing administrative procedures. We also assist with the following: designing, drafting or reviewing for compliance group health plans, cafeteria plans, VEBA's and other welfare benefit trust plans; designing and drafting nonqualifed retirement plans, Rabbi trust and 457(f) plans; and drafting and designing qualified retirement plans.
We also counsel clients regarding legal matters involving trusts, estates and wills. Our work includes planning for income tax relating to trusts and estates, estate tax, gift tax and matters related to charitable organizations. We work closely on matters involving estate and gift planning, transfers of personal wealth during life and at death, furnishing legal advice about managing personal wealth and reducing income taxes and advising fiduciaries or beneficiaries in connection with trusts or estate administrations. We have developed estate planning techniques to transfer wealth of an older generation to a younger generation. This includes innovative succession planning techniques for the family owned business. A segment of this practice includes representing clients in estate and gift tax, trusts and estate litigation.
