Representative Cases and Matters for Howell Bramson

Our Corporate and Tax lawyers often provide legal and tax advice clients on foreign investment opportunities. Howell Bramson advised a client in connection with a multi-million dollar investment, through an irrevocable family trust, in a Brazilian fund. With the growth rates in many emerging markets (e.g. the “BRIC” countries, i.e., Brazil, Russia, India and China) much higher than the growth rate in the United States, many investors are looking for opportunities in such countries. Such investments can involve complicated income tax issues as well as estate planning opportunities.

Our Tax lawyers often advise clients on opportunities available through Internal Revenue Service-sponsored tax initiatives. The IRS has instituted a program - the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative - which may be of benefit to certain taxpayers who have offshore investments but have failed to disclose such investments and failed to report the income earned on such investments. Pursuant to US Treasury Regulations, disclosure of such investments is generally required on a “Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts” or “FBAR” form, in which a taxpayer reports the existence of such assets. Here, Howell Bramson advised a client in connection with the client's participation in IRS's new program.

Our Corporate & General Business lawyers are involved in many different types of sales and purchases of businesses. Howell Bramson has been involved in the purchase and sale of drug stores over the years. Here, Howell completed the sale of a drug store to a publicly traded chain of drug stores.

Buying and selling businesses is an integral part of our Corporate & General Business practice. Howell Bramson has represented drug stores over the years, including a partial or complete sale of the business. Here, Howell represented the corporate owner of a substantial drug store in a sale of its prescription inventory and customer lists to CVS. As part of the transaction, the principal of the seller entered into a non-compete agreement.

Our Corporate & General Business lawyers often represent clients in the purchase and sale of businesses, and even develop expertise in the industry. Here, Howell Bramson represented the owners of a school bus transportation business in the sale of the business to a publicly traded corporation.

Our corporate lawyers sometimes represent principals of companies that sell their company but continue on with the acquiring company. Howell Bramson represented the president and major interest holder of a limited liability company that was sold to a venture capital firm for a purchase price in excess of $14 million. The client remained as President and interest holder after the sale.

Our lawyers often represent clients in dealing with beneficiary designations on pension and qualified plans. In one such case, Howell Bramson, Robert M. Redis and other lawyers at the firm successfully represented a surviving spouse’s estate and persuaded the lower court to invalidate a beneficiary designation on a qualified plan for the Decedent’s child (to the exclusion of the decedent’s spouse) on the grounds that the beneficiary designation violated the spousal consent rules under ERISA. The trial court's determination was upheld, on appeal, by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. The appeal also deal with significant legal questions, such as the applicability of ERISA to controlled foreign corporations and whether these sufficiently implicated the Interstate Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution.