ESOP Attorneys (A National Primerus Practice)
ESOP Plus®: Schatz Brown Glassman Kossow LLP

ESOP Plus: Schatz Brown Glassman Kossow LLP
250 Mill Street, Suite 309-311
Rochester, New York (NY) 14614

Toll Free: 888-840-6830
Phone: 585-512-3414

Fax: 585-270-3760
Email: rbrown@esopplus.com
Website: www.esopplus.com

Find A Reputable ESOP Attorney At ESOP Plus®: Schatz, Brown, Glassman, Kossow, LLP

ESOP Plus: Schatz Brown Glassman Kossow LLP's reputable team of ESOP attorneys have been involved with over 100 ESOP transactions nationwide in the past decade alone. Few ESOP law firms or lawyers offer the same level of proven experience in Employee Stock Ownership Plan services. The ESOP Plus team lawyers are members of the ESOP Association, the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO), and the Ohio Employee Ownership Center (OEOC).  They provide exceptional legal work for companies to establish, maintain, and benefit from ESOPs. Consult with a skilled professional ESOP lawyer at ESOP Plus to learn more about the advantages and disadvantages of an ESOP in your unique circumstances.  

Why Consider An ESOP?
An Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) can be an important tool for succession planning and exit planning in family businesses and other closely held businesses. An ESOP ownership plan can also be used as a finance and employee ownership tool in large or small public companies. When one or more owners of a closely held business decide that they want to sell all or part of the ownership interest in their business, they have a number of alternatives in addition to using an ESOP, including:

The ESOP attorneys at ESOP Plus collaborate with clients’ other trusted advisors including their other Primerus counsel to determine whether an ESOP best meets their clients’ exit planning needs. If an employee stock ownership ESOP plan is not the best solution, the ESOP Plus team of ESOP attorneys will work with the client, its lawyers and other trusted advisors to design a succession strategy that produces the most desirable results. The lawyers at ESOP Plus do not "sell" ESOPs. They help guide clients to their best exit plan.

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The Advantages Of Using An ESOP?

• An ESOP creates a tax-sheltered private market for the shares of a closely held company. One of the problems that entrepreneurs and family business owners face is that there is no convenient market for their shares. This means that it is very hard for them to sell only a part of their business. They may want to liquidate some of the personal wealth that is trapped in their company without selling the whole company. They often want to do this in order to reduce the risk to themselves and their families of having "all their eggs in one basket"

• The selling shareholder can usually retain substantial control over the company that is now partially or wholly owned by the ESOP plan. The selling shareholder may not want to give up control of their company to an outside buyer who may not continue the business and personal philosophy.

• By selling to an ESOP the selling shareholder will be able to protect the legacy of the business they have built and nurtured. The company will not become an anonymous division of an absentee buyer.

• Using an ESOP can help the selling shareholder protect the valued employees of the company. The selling shareholder may want to protect their employees from the layoffs that usually result when third party financial buyers purchase closely held companies. An ESOP Plus attorney can provide further insight regarding the employee protection benefits of ESOPs.

• By selling to an ESOP, the shareholder may be able to postpone or eliminate any capital gains tax on the sale.

• The company may be able to obtain substantial tax benefits that enable it to reduce the cost of its borrowing both for the ESOP purchase of the shareholder's interest and for its general corporate borrowing.

• Employees of the ESOP owned company will have a substantial, tax sheltered retirement benefit that will grow with the growth and prosperity of the company.

The Disadvantages Of Using An ESOP?

• ESOPs can be expensive to implement. They are complex plans, and they require a number of professional advisors, including accountants, valuators, and ESOP attorneys. Even so, the expense of implementing an ESOP is generally not more than the cost of implementing any other succession or exit strategy. In conjunction with the client’s other trusted advisors, the ESOP Plus attorneys will assemble a team of advisors to suit a client's particular needs and financial situation.

• ESOPs require the company to follow good corporate practices that are often ignored in closely held companies.

• ESOPs require annual valuations and careful record keeping. Generally, the annual valuation is much less expensive than the original valuation at the time of the sale. The ESOP lawyer practice can introduce the company to ESOP savvy third party administrators  (TPAs) who can keep good records for the plan.

• Periodically, Congress changes the rules governing ESOPs. These changes are almost always quite small, but they usually require amendments to the ESOP Plan and/or Trust documents. Every five years, the company must submit the ESOP Plan and Trust documents to the Internal Revenue Service for a review of the plan provisions. Preparing the amendments and submitting the Plan and Trust documents to the Internal Revenue Service usually incur some legal costs. An ESOP Plus lawyer can coordinate with the third party administrator to draft and submit the revised ESOP documents.

• The company and the ESOP must make provisions to buy out the accounts of employees who die, become disabled, retire or are separated from service. The company should undertake a "repurchase liability study" on its own or with the help of its TPA or other professional.
  
  

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The ESOP Plus® Attorneys:

Robert E. “Rob” Brown - Rob Brown is a partner of ESOP Plus: Schatz Brown Glassman Kossow LLP. Rob has been practicing tax law, corporate finance law, and employee benefits for 40 years. From 1978 to the present, he has been a member of the executive committee of the Tax Section of the New York State Bar Association where he has chaired various subcommittees, including the Committee on Employee Benefits. Rob has spoken at numerous seminars and published many works on ESOPs. Additionally, he has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America (taxation) since 1993, and is a Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel.

Robert F. “Rob” Schatz - A partner at ESOP Plus: Schatz Brown Glassman Kossow LLP works extensively with corporate issuers, their Boards of Directors, management, stockholders and ERISA fiduciaries in connection with the design and documentation of ESOPs, as well as stock option, phantom stock and other equity-based/performance-based deferred compensation plans and arrangements, and with matters relating to corporate finance, corporate responsibility and fiduciary matters. Rob also has substantial experience with ESOPs in financially troubled corporations.  Rob is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Employee Ownership Foundation.

Richard A. “Rich” Glassman - A partner at ESOP Plus: Schatz Brown Glassman Kossow LLP has more than 30 years of experience in law, banking and general management in both publicly-traded and closely-held companies. He spent 20 years in the commercial banking industry, followed by a 10-year stint in the private sector as President and COO of a nationwide travel management company. Rich specializes in the areas of banking, finance and corporate law, and mergers and acquisitions as they relate to ESOPs and other employee ownership issues.

Mark R. Kossow - A partner at ESOP Plus: Schatz Brown Glassman Kossow LLP focuses his practice in ESOP services, ESOP transactions and taxation. He specializes in representing corporations, trustees and selling shareholders in leveraged transactions involving ESOPs. Mark utilizes his expertise in ERISA and tax law in order to effectively represent New York clients in ESOP deals, and also represents clients in both corporate transactional and employee benefit matters. Mark has particular experience in issues relating to the tax advantages of ESOPs in S corporations.  Mark has a Master of Laws degree in taxation from New York University.

The ESOP Plus: Schatz Brown Glassman Kossow LLP team of attorneys is active in The ESOP Association, the National Center for Employee Ownership, and the Ohio Employee Ownership Center.  The ESOP Plus team members speak frequently at seminars sponsored by these organizations, trade organizations and bar associations on topics relating to ESOPs.

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Comprehensive ESOP Services

ESOPs require a complementary team of advisors, including attorneys, accountants, business valuation consultants, and third-party administrators. A crucial component of the ESOP advisor services provided by ESOP Plus: Schatz Brown Glassman Kossow is the access clients have to a robust and ever-expanding network of professional resources and partner firms. Schatz Brown Glassman Kossow ESOP Plus attorneys are able to provide access to a wide array of trusted professionals including other Primerus lawyers who match a common standard of excellence in their respective fields.  The ESOP Plus Primerus international connection gives ESOP Plus clients a way to implement their employee ownership plans in their US and international divisions and subsidiaries.

ESOP Plus®: Schatz Brown Glassman Kossow LLP - The National ESOP Lawyers of Choice

ESOP Plus: Schatz Brown Glassman Kossow LLP attorneys have more than 100 years of combined experience in the Federal and state tax law and ERISA requirements that govern ESOPs. The law firm represents owners who sell to ESOPs, corporations who sponsor ESOPs and all types of ESOP trustees and fiduciaries, including inside ESOP trustees, independent ESOP trustees, institutional ESOP trustees and ESOP trustees directed by an independent fiduciary registered as Investment Adviser under the Investment Advisors Act of 1940. The lawyers of ESOP Plus: Schatz Brown Glassman Kossow LLP have performed the legal work necessary for companies to establish, maintain, and benefit from ESOPs ranging in size from $500,000 to $1.1 billion.

ESOP Plus®: Schatz Brown Glassman Kossow LLP Practices exclusively in the Employee Ownership Field with a particular Emphasis on ESOPs

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Speak With A Knowledgeable ESOP Plus Attorney - Call: 585-512-3414

New York ESOP Attorney
Schatz, Brown, Glassman, Kossow, LLP

ESOP Plus: Schatz Brown Glassman Kossow LLP
250 Mill Street, Suite 309-311
Rochester, New York (NY) 14614

Toll Free: 888-840-6830
Phone: 585-512-3414

Fax: 585-270-3760
Email: rbrown@esopplus.com
Website: www.esopplus.com