Duval & Stachenfeld LLP announced today the formation of a new Tax Practice Group with the addition of leading tax attorney, Stephen B. Land, as a partner in its New York office. Mr. Land was the former head of the US Tax Practice for Linklaters and worked out of their New York office.
“We are very proud and pleased to have Stephen Land join Duval & Stachenfeld,” stated Bruce M. Stachenfeld, co-founder and managing partner of the firm. “Stephen is one of the top tax lawyers in the United States. His arrival gives us a platform to create a leading tax practice in New York City. That is the goal. This is just a start – wait a bit – and see what develops here in tax. Our model here is to pick practice areas in which we can become a leader and grow those practices to the pinnacle. We have achieved that in real estate and in certain areas of litigation, and we are now going to attempt the same in the tax area. In a year or so we plan to be as well known for cutting edge tax work as we currently are for cutting edge work in these other areas.”
“I am excited by the opportunity to start a new tax practice at Duval & Stachenfeld LLP,” said Mr. Land. “Long ago I started and built a tax practice at the then-highly-respected and well-known boutique law firm, Howard, Darby & Levin. That was a special place; it was small but handled cutting edge work for major clients. Then I moved to the opposite end of the world – Linklaters – one of the best, largest and most prestigious law firms in the world. And I also built a cutting edge tax practice there. I have now just arrived here at Duval & Stachenfeld, and this feels like coming back to my boutique roots. I’m energized by everyone’s commitment here to care for the client and for each other. The entire team is charged up to achieve the firm’s goal of ’becoming one of the premier law firms in the world.’ I can’t wait to get going!”
Mr. Land’s tax practice focuses on regularly advising clients on tax aspects of U.S. domestic and international mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance matters; in particular, financial instruments and derivatives, corporate restructurings, structured financing arrangements, real estate, joint ventures, and executive compensation.
Prior to joining Duval & Stachenfeld LLP, Mr. Land served as the head of the US Tax Practice at UK law firm Linklaters LLP, where he practiced for 15 years in their New York office.
Stephen Land has been recognized as a leader in the tax field and he speaks regularly on tax topics at conferences in the U.S. and elsewhere. He is a member of the Executive Committee, Tax section, of the New York State Bar Association, and has been published in The Tax Lawyer and Tax Law Review, among others. Mr. Land has been recognized by Chambers and Legal 500 as one of the top international tax lawyers in the United States.
Duval & Stachenfeld LLP is an almost 15-year old law firm based in Manhattan that focuses on complex real estate transactions, litigation and arbitration, corporate and M&A, bankruptcy, structured finance strategies, environmental, and tax exempt organizations. With close to 35 attorneys, the Duval & Stachenfeld Real Estate Group has one of the largest real estate legal teams in New York City.
