Speakers

All programs and speakers subject to change.

Partner
State & Local Tax Practice Group
Business Crimes, Regulatory Offenses & Corporate Investigations Practice Group
New York Tax Investigations & Defense Practice Group
Health Law Practice Group
False Claims Act Practice Group
Albany and New York Offices

Areas of Practice: New York tax compliance, investigations, and audits; health care and Medicaid compliance, audits, and investigations, financial and business fraud investigations; physician and professional licensing and disciplinary actions Professional Experience: Mr. Comiskey has held top-level government positions with New York State agencies responsible for tax enforcement and for investigating and prosecuting health care fraud, physician misconduct, complex financial fraud, and official misconduct. Prior to joining Hodgson Russ LLP, Mr. Comiskey was the deputy commissioner for tax enforcement at the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, where he served as New York's top tax enforcement officer in charge of approximately 2,500 auditors, collectors, and criminal investigators. In the health care area, Mr. Comiskey served as the deputy attorney general in charge of New York's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, the largest state law enforcement unit in the nation dedicated to fighting Medicaid fraud and patient abuse, and, in a prior appointment, as director of the Bureau of Professional Medical Conduct in New York's Department of Health, where he was counsel and chief prosecutor for New York's physician disciplinary board. As a prosecutor, Mr. Comiskey held leadership positions in the attorney general's Criminal Division prosecuting fraud, corruption, and organized crime cases. He also served as chief assistant district attorney in Rensselaer County and as an assistant district attorney in the Manhattan district attorney's office. He has also been an adjunct instructor at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law on appellate advocacy and legal writing and at Brooklyn Law School on corporate criminal prosecutions. He began his legal career at the New York Court of Appeals, where he clerked for Associate Judge Hugh R. Jones.

Presentations: Mr. Comiskey is a frequent lecturer on tax enforcement and related topics. His recent presentations and panel discussions for tax professionals and business groups include "New York's Amended Whistleblower Law," New York State Bar Association State and City Tax Institute, April 2011; "Sales Tax Enforcement, New York's Efforts to Increase Sales Tax Compliance," Erie County Bar Association, June 2010; "Enforcement, Audit Policy, and Practice," New York State Business Council Conference on State Taxation, May 2010; "The NYS Yin-Yang of Increased Enforcement and the Taxpayer Advocate," New York State Bar Association State and Local Tax Institute, April 2010; "Sales Tax Audits," New York State Society of CPAs Taxation Conference, December 2009; and "Enforcement Initiatives to Curb Tax Fraud," National Conference of CPAs Tax Symposium, November 2009.

Articles/Publications: Mr. Comiskey's recently published articles include "Unreported Offshore Accounts? New Yorkers Can Avoid State Tax Penalties Through Voluntary Disclosure," NYSSCPA's Tax Stringer, May 2011; "Calling All Tax Whistleblowers - New York Wants You," with T. Noonan, State Tax Notes, January 31, 2011; "New York's New Tax Whistleblower Statute," NYSSCPA's Tax Stringer, February 2011; "No Relief in Sight for Health-Care Providers," Buffalo Law Journal, November 22, 2010; "Taking Aim at Tax Professionals Who Coach Their Clients to Cheat," State Tax Notes, January 2010; and "New Criminal Tax Laws: Taking Aim at Tax Evaders," New York State Bar Association Journal, November-December 2009. He was profiled in the November 29, 2010 issue of State Tax Notes; was interviewed in the December 3, 2010 issue of BNA's Tax Management on New York State changes for whistleblowers reporting tax evasion and in the December 10, 2010 issue of the Albany Business Review on New York State business tax audits; and is the subject of a LexisNexis podcast on New York State's tax whistleblower statute.

Admitted to Practice: New York; U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Northern Districts of New York

Education:
B.A., Manhattan College;
J.D., Fordham University School of Law

Neil D. Katz is the Managing Partner of Katz, Bernstein & Katz, LLP. A respected member of the legal profession, he is responsible for the administration of the firm’s overall practice. In addition, he serves as KBK’s lead attorney for all tax matters, corporate and tax planning and business sales and acquisitions. He also lends his assistance in many sophisticated estate planning matters.

Neil specializes in federal and state income tax issues, as well as in matters relating to corporate, partnership, estate and gift taxation. His expertise includes the strategic planning and drafting of various business agreements and complex estate plans, as well as the negotiation and representation in the acquisitions or sales of business interests. He has represented clients before all administrative levels of the Internal Revenue Service and the New York State and New York City Tax Departments as well as the U.S. Tax Court and the New York State and New York City Divisions of Tax Appeals and Tax Appeals Tribunal.

Neil spent 13 years applying both his extensive technical expertise and effective communications skills in his position as an Adjunct Professor at Hofstra University teaching in both the undergraduate accounting program and the graduate tax program. He is also frequently called upon to speak before various professional organizations including the Suffolk County Bar Association, New York State Society of CPA’s, National Conference of CPA Practitioners, Financial Planners Association, Suffolk County Estate Planning Council as well as many local and regional CPA firms.

In addition to these professional activities, Neil is a primary lecturer and contributor to the development of the Katz Tax Seminars, LLC; a well recognized, widely attended continuing education program registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy as a sponsor of continuing education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors.

In 2001, Neil was named as one of Long Island’s “40 Rising Stars Under 40” by the Long Island Business News.

Neil has co-authored a number of articles that have appeared in various professional publications, including: the CPA Journal, the Nassau Lawyer, the Suffolk Lawyer and the NYS Bar Association Elder Law Attorney.

Neil resides in Dix Hills, New York with his wife and their two daughters.

Robert Katz is the Senior Partner and founding member of Katz, Bernstein & Katz, LLP. Well recognized and respected for his in-depth taxation expertise, he is responsible for the supervision of KBK’s estate planning activities and development of highly sophisticated estate plans. He is also directly involved in many large income tax planning and corporate matters including shareholder agreements and business sales.

Mr. Katz has specialized in all facets of taxation as it relates to income (i.e., partnerships, corporations and individuals), estate and gift taxation, as well as estate and trust planning. In this latter area, his skills are applied from plan development and assessment through to the expert drafting of all necessary documents for plan implementation. Mr. Katz, formerly a conferee for the Internal Revenue Service, is also a skilled advocate on behalf of his clients in their representation of various tax matters before the IRS and NYS.

As a full-time member of Hofstra University’s faculty, Mr. Katz has earned the designation as the Hofstra University Chaykin Distinguished Teaching Professor of Taxation and was the 1979 recipient of the Hofstra University Distinguished Teacher Award as voted by the graduating students. In 2002, he received the distinction as being named an Honorary Alumnus of Hofstra University. In 2006, Mr. Katz was named the Director of the University’s Graduate Tax Programs, a position that he held until 2009.

Also to his credit is the development of the Katz Tax Seminars, LLC; a well recognized, widely-attended continuing education program registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy as a sponsor of continuing education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors.

Bob has co-authored a number of articles that have appeared in various professional publications, including: the CPA Journal, the Nassau Lawyer, the Suffolk Lawyer and the NYS Bar Association Elder Law Attorney.

Robert resides in Plainview, New York with his wife.

Mark S. Klein is a partner in the Tax Department of Hodgson Russ LLP where his practice is concentrated in New York State and City tax matters. He is admitted to practice law in New York, Florida, and before the United States Supreme Court. He has over 25 years of experience with federal, multistate, state, and local taxation and may be best known for his public speaking on tax topics. Mr. Klein splits his time between the Firm's Buffalo and New York City offices. He has written numerous books, articles, and treatises on the subject of multistate taxation. He is the editor of New York Tax Highlights, the contributing editor of CCH's Guidebook to New York Taxes; and co-author of ABA Sales & Use Tax Desk Book, CCH's New York Sales and Use Tax Answer Book, CCH's New York Residency and Allocation Audit Handbook, and the New York State Bar Association’s Contesting New York Tax Assessments. He is also a contributor to CCH's New York Tax Analysis and a member of The CPA Journal Editorial Review Board.

Honors/Awards: Listed, The Best Lawyers in America (Tax Law); Who's Who in American Law. Mr. Klein can be reached at mklein@hodgsonruss.com or 716.848.1439.

Beanna is an Enrolled Agent in private practice as Whitlock Tax Service, LLC located in Reno, NV.

A tax law instructor for more than 30 years with emphasis on Limited Liability Company and Ethics and Professional Conduct presentations. Beanna has taught tax professionals across the country and is an adjunct professor for Auburn University. She is a faculty member of the National Center for Professional Education. She is the Executive Director of the ncpefellowship, a web based organization providing educational resources and practice management tools at www.ncpefellowship.com.

She has testified before Congress, Treasury and the IRS Oversight Board. She has served on the IRS Information Reporting Program Advisory Council as well as the IRS Commissioner’s Advisory Committee (CAG). She served as the IRS Director of National Public Liaison for Commissioner Mark Everson and is a recipient of the Commissioner’s Award for Excellence of Service.

She has been honored by Accounting Today as one of the 100 Most Influential in Accounting for an unprecedented 7 years.

Known for her fierce defense of the tax professional community, Beanna is frequently consulted by accounting and tax publications regarding issues concerning the tax professional community.