Meet The Team
Joseph M. Zender, JD
Joe Zender, an associate in the Business and Corporate group at DUGGAN BERTSCH, serves as advisor and outside general counsel to business owners, founders, entrepreneurs, professional athletes and closely held/family-owned businesses.
Joe’s practice specializes in representing clients at all stages of the business life cycle – from formation or acquisition to exits. He regularly counsels clients on a broad range of corporate transactions, including acquisitions, sales, capital raises, minority investments, joint ventures and equity transfers.
As outside general counsel, in addition to working with clients to navigate day to day legal matters and risk analysis/mitigation, he regularly assists clients with respect to shareholder and operating agreements, employment, consulting and advisory agreements, commercial contracts, equity agreements and plans, and corporate and board governance matters.
Joe also works closely with his DUGGAN BERTSCH colleagues advising clients with respect to trust and estate planning/implementation, family office administration and governance, wealth transfer planning, asset protection planning and charitable giving. In that regard, Joe’s clients have access to the full range of private client services, with Joe serving as the point of contact.
Prior to joining DUGGAN BERTSCH, Joe was a member of the private equity / mergers and acquisitions group of Paul Hastings LLP in Chicago, IL. In that role he concentrated on corporate transactional matters with an emphasis on mergers and acquisitions for private equity clients.
Joe holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of Illinois College of Law and a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Publications
Open House
Due to unforeseen circumstances, DBTA Open House for WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25TH has been Postponed. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding. Thank you for your interest and understanding.
Alert: Qualified Opportunity Zone Funds
Summary As part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA), a new community and economic development program was enacted under Section 1400Z-1 & 1400Z-2 that garnered little attention at the time of passage, but which now appears to be causing high net worth investors and the investment community at large to take […]
IRS TO ALLOW MOST TAXPAYERS TO DEFER PAYING 2019 TAXES ON APRIL 15, 2020 DUE TO COVID-19
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, speaking at a coronavirus news conference today, announced that individuals who owe taxes to the IRS can defer up to $1 million, and corporations can defer up to $10 million in payments, for a period of 90 days from the April 15th deadline. At this point, the deferral applies to the income taxes owed, and there does not appear […]
DB Alert: 2019 Payment and Filing Deadlines
As we previously alerted our clients and friends, the Internal Revenue Service has postponed the tax payment deadlines for calendar year taxpayers until July 15, 2020 provided that the amounts owed did not exceed certain levels (prior alert); however, the tax filing deadline itself was not automatically extended under this prior guidance Recent guidance just […]
Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act: Forgiveness Relief
Last week Congress passed H.R. 7010, the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 (PFA), significantly amending certain provisions in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) relating to a borrower’s loan forgiveness relief requirements. The President subsequently signed the PFA legislation into law which provides PPP borrowers with the following favorable modifications that should enable more, […]
Significant Estate, Gift, and Income Tax Changes Proposed Under The “Build Back Better Act”
On September 13, 2021, the House Ways and Means Committee released a proposed tax bill (House proposal) as part of the Biden administration’s “Build Back Better Act.” The segments of the proposed bill discussed below highlight important changes to the way trusts, estates, and individuals could be taxed. However, it is important to note that […]
For the 99.5% Act
In late March, the “For the 99.5% Act” (the “Act”) was introduced to Congress. The Act contains several additions, removals, and amendments to the Internal Revenue Code that would significantly alter estate and business planning practices. The changes, if enacted, that would be most relevant to comprehensive planning for the private client are summarized below. […]