Before becoming a lawyer, I was working as a tax accountant /CPA in Denver, and doing tax returns for a huge affordable housing developer. Every time a difficult question arose on the tax side that wasn’t readily available, we’d call the tax lawyer, Steve – he was brilliant, and he understood the whole business. It seemed like as soon as he came in, he saved the day. In my role, I just didn’t know the other aspects of the business well enough, but I wanted to be able to provide more service than the narrow, discrete area of tax accounting I was doing. Going to law school allowed me to be better able to understand my clients’ goals, and why they were trying to achieve them.
My Approach
Helping clients develop affordable housing allows me to assist them with a rounded approach based on my background of investment banking, law and tax accounting. I have a holistic approach to law which views the client’s business from its perspective, not just with a legal view. Helping clients address their issues of course includes risk management, but is much more. I partner with clients to help them understand their options for financing a project, improve their financing strategies through working with the spreadsheets and projections, and do the legal work that goes along with it. Sometimes, this also means referring lenders to my clients, or bringing others onto the team to help get the deals completed.
I directly assist from the complicated tax and legal financing side, but I also really enjoy understanding the client’s business and developing relationships with my clients and understanding their goals from their perspective.
Outside of the office, I like to play outside – whether it’s fly fishing, hiking in the high country, back country skiing, biking, or sailing.
A Groundbreaking Moment in My Career
Practice Areas
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Tax Credit Financing & Syndication
Bold Perspectives
Event
11th Annual Affordable Housing Summit
05.09.24
Event
10th Annual Affordable Housing Summit
05.09.23
Event
Affordable Housing: Are there any answers to the crisis?
10.16.21
Honors & Awards
The Best Lawyers in America©
Minneapolis Lawyer of the Year: Tax Law, 2019
Real Estate Law, 2013-2025
Tax Law, 2013-2025
Rising Stars
Minnesota Law & Politics, 2004, 2006 - 2007
Associations & Memberships
Minnesota State Bar Association
William Mitchell College of Law
Adjunct Professor
University of St. Thomas
Instructor, Center for Business Excellence, 2005
Instructor, 2017-2018
Oasis For Youth
Board of Directors
