Category: Announcements

Firm is Proud Sponsor of The Contemporary Austin

Posted by GFGR on

GSRP is now a proud sponsor of The Contemporary Austin, the capital city’s premier contemporary arts museum. Created in 2011 by a merger of the Jones Center for Contemporary Art and the Austin Museum of Art, Contemporary Austin showcases two renowned and architecturally unique locations and brings multidisciplinary exhibitions, engaging programs, and enticing special events to the city’s visual arts landscape.

Supporting the museum falls squarely in line with GSRP’s strong support of Austin’s art and art business communities. Through long-standing relationships with both local artists as well as gallery owners who represent artists around the globe, we have built a unique collection of original works.

Peggy Ugent Appointed to AICPA Panel

Posted by GFGR on

Peggy Ugent is appointed to the American Institute of CPA’s Trust, Estate and Gift Tax Technical Resource Panel for the 2013-2014 year. The 10-person panel monitors legislative and regulatory activity, meets and collaborates with technical staff at IRS and the Department of the Treasury and other professional groups, and supports the AICPA membership by developing products and services to assist members in tax practice.

Giordani & Chesner Author Bloomberg Tax Management Portfolio

Posted by GFGR on

BNA Bloomberg published Tax Management Portfolio 870, Private Placement Life Insurance and Annuities, authored by GSRP’s Leslie Giordani and Bob Chesner, on September 2, 2013. Portfolio 870 explores all facets of PPLI and PPVA as financial products, and offers an in-depth examination of the uses of PPLI and PPVA, focusing on their importance as investment tools that have powerful applications in the areas of estate, income tax, and asset protection planning.

Alyssa Gault Joins ALA

Posted by GFGR on

Alyssa Gault, Accounting Administrator for GSRP, has been accepted into membership in the Association of Legal Administrators (“ALA”). ALA is a professional organization that identifies and provides solutions to the most strategic and operational challenges law firms face today. Congratulations, Alyssa!

Cindy Grossman Elected Texas Bar Foundation Fellow

Posted by GFGR on

Cindy Grossman was elected as a Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation, in recognition for her exceptional professional accomplishments and dedication to the advancement of the Texas legal system. The Foundation funds projects to promote justice, ethics in the legal profession, education of the public, research, and victim services. Each year, the top one-third of one percent of Texas attorneys are invited to become Fellows. We congratulate Cindy on her achievement and commitment to professionalism and the community.

GSRP Adds New Offshore Tax Compliance Practice Area

Posted by GFGR on

The world is shrinking. Overseas connections are expanding. Families are spread across countries and continents. Many people in the United States (and U.S. citizens living abroad) are beneficiaries of foreign trusts or estates, and even more seek to invest overseas.

These trends have not gone unnoticed. Congress, the Internal Revenue Service, and other governmental agencies are ramping up enforcement efforts and getting results. The IRS hired about 3,300 new agents and tax compliance officers in 2009-2010 alone!

The regulatory landscape has changed dramatically since passage of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance provisions of the HIRE Act of 2010 (“FATCA”). And in recent years, the IRS has offered two separate voluntary disclosure programs to U.S. persons who had failed to fully report foreign assets.

GSRP is a law firm with in-house senior accounting expertise and a robust offshore and domestic tax compliance practice. The boutique nature of our firm allows us to deliver highly-personalized services. Our clients in the U.S. and abroad are much more than just files. Our technical expertise and proven processes, which utilize the latest technology, enable us to provide services that are reasonably-priced and timely-delivered.

Bob Chesner Launches ‘The Observation Deck’

Posted by GFGR on

COO and Finance and Insurance Director Bob Chesner recently launched his new blog, “The Observation Deck.” This exciting new venture will focus on the integration of politics, taxes, economics, financial planning, and insurance.

The linkage between these has never been greater and will only continue to converge over time.  The legislative and executive branches of the government will continue to have a greater influence on Wall Street and Main Street, and in turn, financial and tax planning. That will increase the need for appropriate risk management.  When new tax code and financial regulations are passed, they impact each of us in ways known, unknown and sometimes unintended. The Observation Deck will highlight both the obvious and not so obvious consequences.

Amy Quiñones Promoted to Insurance Coordinator

Posted by GFGR on

Congratulations to Amy Quiñones, who was promoted to GSRP’s Insurance Coordinator. In this role, Amy will be responsible for assisting in the design, implementation, and administration of offshore and domestic life insurance structures. She will gather the financial and medical information necessary to underwrite a policy, and work closely with the insurance brokers and carriers on underwriting and all post issuance matters.

Amy has been with GSRP since 2007. Prior to joining the firm, she was a financial analyst at Applied Materials, where she provided analysis on a variety of complex and diverse projects, created financial forecasts, and developed financial models.

Firm News from 2009

Posted by GFGR on

December
On December 3-4, Cindy Grossman presented at the 38th Annual Oklahoma Tax Institute hosted by the Oklahoma Society of CPAs.

September
Leslie Giordani and Derry Swanger were named to the Texas Super Lawyers list for 2010, as published by Super Lawyers magazine. Super Lawyers represent the top 5% of lawyers in the state, as determined by Law & Politics magazine. Each attorney is featured in the Texas Super Lawyers Edition in the October issue of Texas Monthly magazine.

July
Leslie Giordani, Derry Swanger, and Michael Ripp were selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers in America © 2010 by Woodward White, Inc.

Peggy Ugent presented “U.S. Tax and Information Reporting for Foreign Trust and Entity Structures” at the American Institute of CPAs Advanced Estate Planning Conference in San Diego. The conference was held July 20-22. 

Cindy Grossman was named to the Texas Rising Stars list for 2009, as published by Super Lawyers magazine. This is Cindy’s first year to be selected to the Rising Stars list, which represents the top 2.5% of up-and-coming lawyers in the State of Texas, as determined by Law & Politics magazine.

April
Partners Leslie Giordani, Derry Swanger, Michael Ripp, and Steve Phillips, as well as senior directors Bob Chesner and Peggy Ugent, continue their practice as a new firm–Giordani, Swanger, Ripp & Phillips, LLP. GSRP will continue to offer superb client service while providing top-rate legal advice in a broad range of transactional practice areas.

Firm News from 2008

Posted by GFGR on

November
Leslie Giordani was named to the Super Lawyer list by Law & Politics magazine in the corporate counsel edition. She was featured in a special issue distributed to more than 20,000 corporate counsel and 5,000 CEOs of the top private and publicly held companies in the country.

October
Michael Ripp, Mari Reed, and Cindy Grossman were named to the Texas Rising Star list for 2008, as published by Super Lawyers magazine. Rising Stars represent the top 2.5% of up-and-coming lawyers in Texas, as determined by Law & Politics magazine.

Bob Chesner presented “Asset Protection Tools and Techniques,”at the 2008 McGehee Group Annual Advisors Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. The conference was held October 19-21.

Leslie Giordani and Derry Swanger were named to the Texas Super Lawyers list for 2009, as published by Super Lawyers magazine. Super Lawyers represent the top 5% of lawyers in the state, as determined by Law & Politics magazine. Each attorney is featured in the Texas Super Lawyers Edition in the October issue of Texas Monthly magazine.

September
Leslie Giordani, Derry Swanger, Michael Ripp, and Steve Phillips were selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers in America© 2009 and are featured in a special section of American Lawyer magazine, published in December.

July
Leslie Giordani, Bob Chesner, and Michael Ripp were quoted by Lewis Schiff in his article “A Special Kind of Life Insurance,” in Investment Advisor Magazine.

Leslie Giordani and Bob Chesner presented “Private Placement Life Insurance in the Offshore Marketplace,” at the Eleventh Annual Advanced ALI-ABA Course of Study for Counselors to Foreign and U.S. Clients. The workshop was held July 31-August 1 in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

June 2008
Leslie Giordani and Bob Chesner presented “Gaining Preferential Tax Benefits On Your Investments Via Private Placement Life Insurance,”at the 15th Annual Family Office Forum in Chicago, Illinois. The conference was held June 18-20.

April
At Ballet Austin Foundation’s 10th anniversary dinner, Derry Swanger for his efforts as the foundation’s legal advisor. 

February
Bob Chesner chaired the IIR 6th Annual Event: Alternative Investing Through Life Insurance and Annuities in Miami, Florida, February 25-27. Leslie Giordani chaired the planning segment of the same conference and was a panelist in the session “Lessons from the Field: Protecting your Clients from Diversification Failures and Investor Control.” Michael Ripp also participated, sitting on a panel called “Solidify Market Understanding Through Comprehensive Q&A with Seasoned Managers.”