Steve Gustafson serves as advisor and counselor to entrepreneurs, closely held businesses, and wealthy families.  His role is to synthesize multiple disciplines, providing integrated tax, business, and financial advice to the firm's business clients.  His practice is concentrated in the areas of tax and financial transactions including structuring corporate, joint venture, commercial and real estate transactions, and assisting family businesses with tax and financial planning matters. Steve's practice has a further emphasis on family wealth transfer planning, estate and gift matters, and business succession planning.

Steve has served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the John Marshall Law School, where he has taught Federal Income Tax Aspects of Real Estate Transactions as part of the Law School's LL.M. program.

Steve is a frequent speaker on topics including the tax and financial aspects of choice of business entity planning, structuring real estate transactions, business succession planning, the design of executive compensation plans, and the tax and financial aspects of planned charitable giving programs.  Steve was recognized as an Illinois Super Lawyer in 2009.

Recent Representative Matters

• Designed, structured, and implemented corporate acquisition transactions, including tax deferred roll-over of management equity. 
• Advisor to multi-generational families and their businesses in developing and implementing strategies to assure successful transition and continuity of family business activities.
• Assisted builder/development business with separation of business and investment activities, disposition of investment properties at capital gains rates; structured tax-deferred exchange transactions to roll-over gains into new investment properties.
• Assisted management team in a multi-million dollar leveraged buy-out transaction to acquire equity through qualified and non-statutory option plans.
• Assisted with tax structure and related planning for acquisition of major retail and related operations out of bankruptcy.
• Designed and implemented a spin-off of unwanted corporate assets from core corporate business operations.
• Designed and structured multi-asset exchange transaction for multiple radio station owner to permit owner to dispose of existing package of properties and acquire replacement properties on a substantially tax-deferred basis.

Presentations

• A Look at 1031 Like-Kind Exchange Transactions (Co-Presenter), co-sponsored by the Center for Real Estate Law and the Center for Tax Law & Employee Benefits at The John Marshall Law School, February 2008
• How to Structure the Real Estate Deal in Illinois, Lorman Education Services, May 2007
• The Financially Distressed Limited Liability Company: Substantive Legal and Tax Aspects, Professional Education Broadcast Network, March 2005

Professional and Civic Affiliations

• Chicago Estate Planning Council

Articles

• IRS Disavows Popular Year-End Tax Planning Move, GR Review, Spring 2008
• The Dilemma of Partnership "Divorce" in the Context of Tax-Deferred Like-Kind Exchanges, March 2008
• Municipal Bonds: State Tax Exemption Hangs in the Balance, GR Review, Winter 2008
• Prospects Dim for "Profits Interest" Tax Reform, GR Review, Fall 2007
• Income Tax Aspects: Choice of Business for Operations in the United States, Chicago International Trade Commission Handbook, 2004
• Restricted Stock and Stock Options: Tax and Other Consequences to the Family Business, Family Business Journal
• Preserving Family Assets: The Use of Planned Charitable Giving, New Directions for Philanthropic Fundraising (Jossey-Bass Publishers), 1996
• Tax Consequences of Eminent Domain, Illinois Eminent Domain Practice (Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education)