Services
Industries
Education
University of Michigan Law School, J.D., 1978
University of Michigan, B.A., 1975
Bar Admissions
- Michigan
- New York
Court Admissions
U.S. Tax Court
U.S. District Court
- Eastern District of Michigan
With more than 30 years of experience in a wide variety of transactions, Gary brings a unique combination of pragmatism, insight and knowledge to bear on each client's particular needs.
Developing strategies to meet the goals of both the parties to the transaction, as nearly as possible, is a particular focus of his approach to the practice of tax law. He represents publicly traded companies, family enterprises, developers, investors, manufacturers, distributors, inventors, colleges, foreign governments and individuals.
Gary's experience is broader than just income tax planning. It also includes estate and gift tax planning, employment taxes, withholding tax considerations, excise taxes, sale and use taxes and other forms of business taxes.
He also has more than 25 years of experience in immigration work. He has experience in matters that include a variety of visas (H, L, E, TN, B), adjustment of status, advance parole, labor condition applications, labor certification (PERM) and a variety of other matters. Gary also handles waiver applications, loss of conditional permanent resident status and asylum claims.
Representative Matters
The breadth of Gary’s experience enables him to counsel his diverse clients on a wide variety of issues, as evidenced by these recent transactions:
His analysis and opinion on the tax status of financial products sold in a public offering was critical to the success of the transaction.
He developed and coordinated the tax planning for a stock and asset acquisition by a foreign client of companies in 13 countries.
He challenged the IRS conclusion that income earned by a company owned by a client constitutes foreign base company income.
He defended a tax-exempt entity against an IRS proposal to revoke the company’s tax-exempt status and to impose penalties upon the officers for the receipt of excess benefits.
Gary’s extremely varied transactions include partnership mergers; tax issues arising from asset and stock sales; the evaluation of workers’ status for employment tax purposes and the potential tax ramifications of that issue; tax issues arising from a variety of fringe benefits offered as part of an employment package to a recruited executive; the tax ramifications arising from the settlement of various forms of litigated disputes; like-kind exchanges and various forms of corporate combinations, reorganizations and dispositions.
Represented Second City Capital Partners II, LP, on the spin-out and "roll up" of more than 20 companies holding 16 office properties consisting of 1.85 million sq. ft. of rentable space in five states, and the initial public offering of City Office REIT, Inc.'s common stock.
Represented WorkForce Software, LLC on the nine-figure majority investment by New York-based Insight Venture Partners.
Honors
Best Lawyers in America, Tax Law, 2013-present
DBusiness Magazine, Top Lawyers, Nonprofit/Charities Law, Tax Law, Family Law, Trusts and Estates, Labor and Employment Law
Michigan Super Lawyers, Tax, 2010-2014
Professional Activities
State Bar of Michigan, Taxation Section, Council Member; Probate & Estate Planning
American Immigration Lawyers Association
National Association of Bond Lawyers
Civic, Cultural & Social Activities
Country Club of Detroit
Speeches
"Hiring Foreign Nationals: What You Need To Know," Miller Canfield, Southfield, Michigan, May 12, 2009
"Tax-Exempt Organizations in Michigan," Lorman Seminar, February 15, 2007
Publications
"Treasury's proposed guidelines would clarify foreign tax credits," Midwest In-House, November 2006
