- What is your practice area?
I am a business and tax attorney and in that role I help clients with all phases of the business lifecycle, including the following:
– Choosing the legal and tax structure of the business
– Organizing and financing the business
– Operating the business and structuring compensation to owners, employees, and independent contractors
– Acquiring intellectual property and other significant assets
– Buying into a business or buying out partners from an existing business
– Structuring and documenting the sale or purchase of a business
– Succession planning
– Dissolution and liquidation of a business
- What MacElree office location do you work from?
I am licensed in both Pennsylvania and Delaware, so I work from our West Chester, Pennsylvania and Centreville, Delaware offices.
- How long have you been with MacElree Harvey?
I just celebrated my 10th year here.
- Which 3 words would you use to describe your job?
Listening. Thinking. Doing.
- Where were you born, and where did you grow up?
I was born and raised in Dover, Delaware. My father worked for the state government and my mother was an ER nurse at Kent General.
- What did you want to be when you grew up?
So many different things—a musician, a writer, a doctor, a baseball player, an astronaut. I first thought about law school when I was in high school. I won an essay contest about the importance of an independent judiciary. I got to meet justices of the Delaware Supreme Court and tour the courthouse. Then-senator Biden sent me a congratulatory letter. Years later, I learned that my essay was one of only two submissions and there were two winners.
- What was your first paying job?
My first job was at TCBY, the yogurt/ice cream place. My sister worked there and helped get me the job. One of my grandfather’s first jobs was selling ice cream at Coney Island. My father’s first job was at an ice cream restaurant and the same for my mother-in-law. It runs in the family. My daughter doesn’t know it yet, but ice cream is her destiny.
- What is your favorite pastime?
I have two young children, so pastimes are suspended until further notice. In truth, I am having such a great time being a dad and this is all I want to do with my free time.
- What do you find most rewarding about practicing law?
The challenge of the work itself. If you like to use your brain and solve problems every day, a transactional business lawyer is a pretty good job to have.
- Are there any specific legal issues or trends that you’re particularly passionate about or interested in?
As a result of my business and tax practice, I have been fortunate to work closely with physician groups on various health law and corporate issues, including their buy-in and buy-out arrangements. This work is a lot of fun!
- Can you share an example of a time when you had to think creatively to find a solution for a legal problem?
People often consider tax a “dry” area but, in fact, there is a lot of creativity required to do the work. We recently helped a group of affiliated companies with a tax-free restructuring, which required dozens of steps, including divisive spin-off transactions, tax free contributions of stock, and stock-for-stock mergers. It was a lot of work, but as a result our client is operating much more efficiently and was able to obtain financing on better terms than it did before.
- How do you approach building and maintaining client relationships?
I have never articulated a specific approach to this. The relationships I have with my clients are no different than the relationships I have with my non-client friends—I care about them as human beings and genuinely want them to succeed.
- What do you see as the biggest challenges facing the legal profession today, and how do you navigate them in your practice?
I am a proponent of the use of technology to make our work more efficient, but law is a personal service industry. To continue to add value to our clients, I will not let technology form a barrier that prevents me from making a personal connection with them.
- Can you talk about a mentor or role model who has had a significant impact on your career?
I have benefited from great mentors here at the firm—Al Gollatz, Harry DiDonato, and many others—all of whom have played a major role in my development as a lawyer.
I cannot field any question like this, though, without mentioning my parents as my number one influence. There is just so much to admire about them that I do not know where to start. I will say this, as it pertains to my practice: If there is a task that must be done, my parents just go about accomplishing that task, no matter how difficult it might be. I have never in my life heard them complain about anything. At the same time, they are genuine and honest in their dealings with others. I’ve done my best to adopt these qualities myself and I think they are essential to my success.
