M&A Tax Duo, Lebovitz and Weerts, move from DLA Piper to White & Case
White & Case LLP has announced that Michael Lebovitz and Stephen Weerts have joined the Firm’s Global Tax Practice as partners in its Los Angeles office. The duo will work closely with the Firm’s Global Mergers & Acquisitions Practice.
Lebovitz and Weerts have deep experience assisting clients on all international business and tax planning issues that arise in pre-transaction restructuring and post-acquisition integration. They will advise clients on the legal and tax aspects of international joint ventures, cross-border mergers and acquisitions and international corporate finance and capital markets transactions.
“Cross-border M&A deals provide substantial opportunities for effective tax planning,” said Kim Boylan, Head of White & Case’s Global Tax Practice. “Mike and Steve will add a new and important capability to our Global Tax Practice. They will help clients navigate international deals and adapt their corporate structures, as appropriate, to take advantage of transformational acquisitions.”
“From an M&A perspective, having Mike and Steve join the Firm will be a huge benefit to our clients,” said John Reiss, Head of White & Case’s Global Mergers & Acquisitions Practice. “Recent events in the M&A market underscore the substantial economic benefits that can be derived from sophisticated pre-acquisition tax planning combined with effective post-acquisition implementation. That is what Mike and Steve do.”
Lebovitz and Weerts both join from DLA Piper, where they were partners.
Steve Weerts’ practice focuses on the tax aspects of cross-border deals and multi-jurisdictional transactions. He has extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions, supply-chain and intellectual property planning, legal entity rationalization, transfer pricing, VAT/GST planning and capital markets transactions.
A frequent lecturer for tax and legal education providers such as Bloomberg/BNA, Tax Executives Institute, the Association of Corporate Counsel and Networking Seminars, Steve has also written extensively on US and international tax issues, and has been published in Thomson Reuters’ Practical International Tax Strategies. He has served as an adjunct professor in Loyola Law School’s Tax LLM program, where he has taught a course in advanced international taxation.
Michael Lebovitz’s practice focuses on international business and tax planning. He advises on the tax aspects of international joint ventures, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, post-transaction integration, international corporate finance, capital market transactions and general international tax planning matters.
Leading businesses in media and entertainment, life sciences, high technology and consumer products, seek Mike’s extensive experience in pre-transaction restructuring and post-acquisition integration matters.
He has successfully led teams advising multinational groups on restructuring in advance of a sale or spin-off of a division, as well as designing and implementing integration plans following a global merger or acquisition. Mike’s clients also benefit from his experience bringing together the corporate, tax, labour and other aspects of pre-transaction restructuring and post-merger integration.
A frequent speaker on international tax matters, he has lectured throughout the United States and in Europe and Asia for organisations including the Tax Executives Institute, Bloomberg/BNA, the Association of Corporate Counsel, the American, California and Los Angeles County Bar Associations and the California Society of CPAs.
Mike has written frequently on international tax topics, and his articles have appeared in numerous publications including the Journal of International Taxation, High Tech Industry, Tax Planning International Review, Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review and Major Tax Planning. In 2007, Mike was honoured with a prestigious Burton Award for Legal Achievement, in recognition of his achievements in legal writing.
Mike is also a Certified Public Accountant.