Trusts and Estates attorney K. Eli Akhavan has joined the New York City office of Steptoe & Johnson LLP’s Tax and Private Client practice as a partner, focusing on domestic and international tax and estate planning for high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and closely held, family-run businesses, the firm recently announced.
"Eli's wide ranging experience in tax and estate planning will add to our extensive offerings to private wealth clients in the United States and around the world," said Steptoe Chair Gwen Renigar. "We are pleased to bring him on board as we continue to expand our Tax and Private Client practice."
Akhavan specializes in the creation of domestic and foreign trusts; pre-immigration and expatriation planning; business succession; and charitable structuring. He also advises international clients on planning for the purchase of U.S. residential and investment real estate, the release said.
"Joining a firm with an international footprint as expansive as Steptoe's is an exciting step," Akhavan said in the news release. "I particularly look forward to collaborating with the highly regarded and trusted advisors within Steptoe's Tax and Private Client practice. In deciding to join Steptoe, I was particularly attracted to the breadth of its high-net-worth clientele and its in-depth engagement with their businesses and estates."
According to Beth Tractenberg, co-chair of Steptoe’s tax group and head of Steptoe’s private client practice, Akhavan’s areas of expertise are a welcome addition to her team’s work.
"Our private client lawyers counsel clients on the legal aspects of financial planning for their businesses and personal lives,” she said in a prepared statement. “We work hand-in-hand with our clients to gain an intimate understanding of their interests so that we can most effectively incorporate their business goals into estate and income tax planning. Eli's experience and his strategic and creative thinking will add to our group’s deep bench."
Outside of his day-to-day practice, Akhavan an active member in a number of organizations and committees committed to advancing trusts and estates law, including the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP); the American Bar Association’s International Tax Planning Committee of the Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section, as well as the Asset Protection Planning Committee; and the New York State Bar Association’s International Estate Planning Committee.
Akhavan has also served as a professor of international taxation at St. John's University School of Law. He has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg News, and on Fox News.
Akhavan graduated magna cum laude from Columbia College, where he received a bachelor's degree. He earned a J.D. and LL.M. from New York University School of Law.
Founded in 1913, Steptoe & Johnson LLP is an international law firm headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, London, Brussels, Beijing, and Hong Kong.
