Best Lawyers in America for Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law

Cynthia Umphrey helps families and business owners make significant personal and professional life decisions. Ms. Umphrey calls upon over 20 years of experience in estate planning, post-death administration, business structuring and business exit planning to guide you through life’s most important choices. Estate Planning & Post-Death Administration: Ms. Umphrey walks her clients through the entire estate planning process with care. Some concerns she will help you resolve include: h...

Bill West is a Shareholder and Chairs the Business Section and Co-Chairs the Mergers & Acquisitions Section. Bill is a trusted advisor to his clients and they rely on his ability to achieve desired outcomes in a practical, timely and cost-effective manner – in other words, he gets things done. He has over 30 years of experience in corporate and business related transactions including: Mergers and acquisitions Complex corporate and commercial transactions Corporate governance and bus...

Charles H. Packer is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law and Trusts and Estates. Charles H., who practices law in San Jose, California, has been recognized since 2021. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Charles H. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Marc Bishop focuses his practice on general business representation and transactional work, including mergers and acquisitions, private equity, and finance of companies. A trusted advisor, Marc works closely with clients to find reasonable, effective solutions to legal problems. Marc serves as the general corporate counsel to a variety of companies, providing and coordinating legal services meeting the needs of operating businesses, including services relating to organizational structure, con...

Mark D. Burish is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships) and Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law. Mark D., who practices law in Madison, Wisconsin, has been recognized since 2019. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Mark D. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Mr. Hirsch focuses his practice on representing individuals and companies engaged in real estate and business transactions. His clients include manufacturers and service providers in various industries, as well as tenants, landlords, developers, and lending institutions. Mr. Hirsch has experience in commercial real estate acquisitions, sales, development, financing, leasing and joint venture formation. He is also experienced in business acquisitions and sales, corporate organization/governanc...

Justin Galletti is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships), Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law, Commercial Finance Law, Commercial Transactions / UCC Law, Corporate Law and Real Estate Law. Justin, who practices law in Southport, Connecticut, has been recognized since 2024. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Justin is held by other...

Professional Experience As chair of the firm’s estate planning and probate group, Laura Hoexter’s practice focuses on wills, trusts and estates. She works with individuals to help them establish foundational documents, such as tax-saving wills and living trusts, financial and health care powers of attorney, and health care directives. She addresses complex issues that may arise, including non-citizen status, retirement benefit planning and life insurance arrangements. Laura has si...

William B. Sherman is a partner in Holland & Knight's Fort Lauderdale office. Mr. Sherman serves as chair of the firm's Tax Team and concentrates his practice in the area of domestic and international taxation. He has provided sophisticated tax planning for mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, joint ventures and investments for clients in diverse industries, such as hospitality, petrochemicals, aluminum, tobacco, real estate, transportation, telecommunications, retailing, investment ...

Clark Luke is a partner in the firm’s Tax and Trusts & Estates practice groups. His practice is primarily focused on estate planning and administration, taxation, corporate law, and M&A. Clark has been listed in Chambers USA High Net Worth Guide , The Best Lawyers in America ®, and Mid-South Super Lawyers . He has an LL.M. in Taxation from the University of Florida Levin College of Law and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Stephen Daiker focuses his practice on estate, gift and income tax planning for high net-worth individuals, charitable planned giving, and succession planning for owners of privately-held businesses. He is a frequent speaker on these topics and has written articles for numerous publications, including Taxation for Accountants, taxation for Lawyers, The Florida Bar Journal, The Journal of the Missouri Bar, The Journal of Financial Planning, and the Tax Management Journal of Estates, Gifts and ...

Bryan K. Hogue is the Managing Partner of Carlile Patchen & Murphy LLP. He has been a lawyer for 35 years and concentrates his practice in the representation of business owners and closely held businesses concerning their general business matters, estate, tax and business succession planning. He currently co-chairs the Business Department at CPM, which provides a wide range of services for corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships and other business organizations. He previou...

David M. Hohman is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law and Corporate Law. David M., who practices law in Omaha, Nebraska, has been recognized since 2018. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which David M. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

At Withers Bergman LLP, Steven focuses his practice on estate planning, trust and estate administration, charitable giving and representing tax-exempt organizations. He has designed and used computer modeling to show the economic consequences of various estate planning and charitable giving techniques. Steven is also experienced in the area of executive compensation, focusing on compensation and intermediate sanctions issues for tax-exempt organizations. Steven has represented exempt organiza...

Eric W. Seigel is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships), Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law and Mergers and Acquisitions Law. Eric W., who practices law in South Bend, Indiana, has been recognized since 2024. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Eric W. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Stephen H. Gariepy is a partner and National Co-Chair of Hahn Loeser’s Estate Planning, Wealth Transfer & Preservation Section. Steve focuses his practice on leading-edge estate planning techniques. His ability to design creative and comprehensive plans – and make them practical and understandable – has attracted clients nationwide from the ranks of Forbes 400, business owners, families and nonprofit organizations. Steve regularly counsels owners of privately held compan...