Proskauer’s 29th Annual Trick or Treat Seminar was held virtually on Thursday, October 31 and discussed timely topics and best practices specifically tailored to the not-for-profit community.

The seminar discussed:

  • The Evolving Workplace: Recent Developments in DEI
  • The Current Landscape of Popular Charitable Giving Tax Strategies for 2024 and Beyond
  • Compensation and Benefits Developments

Amanda Nussbaum welcomed everyone and introduced the presenters.

Here are some key points from each presentation:

Rachel Fischer discussed current legal issues related to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in the workplace.  She first covered recent Supreme Court decisions that have affected how courts and litigants have viewed DEI in the context of employment law.  She then discussed trends in “reverse discrimination” cases in which non-minority litigants have challenged diversity initiatives as discriminatory or otherwise relied on information relating to diversity in pursuing their claims.  Rachel described some of the top areas that employers have focused on in evaluating their own diversity initiatives, including affinity groups, diversity-based quotas and goals, tying compensation to diversity efforts, and supplier diversity challenges.  She also discussed some of the questions that employers might focus on during DEI self-evaluations.

Christiana Lazo discussed the opportunity that the “great wealth transfer,” the anticipated transfer of trillions of dollars in wealth from the Silent Generation and Baby Boomers, presents for charities.  She emphasized donors’ increasing focus on coupling philanthropy with tax efficiencies.  Three of the tax provisions that were introduced with the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and that will sunset 12/31/2025, absent any other legislation, all could affect donors’ appetites for charitable giving: increased estate and gift exemptions, decreased top marginal income tax rate and increased charitable income deduction AGI limitations for certain donations.  Christiana discussed how the economic environment, and specifically the increasing interest rate environment, has re-introduced charitable remainder trusts to the charitable giving toolbox for clients, especially those with highly appreciated assets.   Donors are using philanthropy to maximize tax efficiencies, but also as a training ground for “next gen” education in anticipation of that great wealth transfer. 

Katrina McCann provided an update on employee benefits.  She provided an update in litigation trends and risk mitigation methods, focusing in particular on uncertainty in a post-Chevron world. She addressed new guidance on application of the long-term part-time rule to Code Section 403(b) plans subject to the “universal availability” rules.  She also reviewed the practical implications of the new HIPAA rules with respect to reproductive health care and the new final regulations on mental health parity and its required analyses. 

Photo of Amanda H. Nussbaum Amanda H. Nussbaum

Amanda H. Nussbaum is the chair of the Firm’s Tax Department as well as a member of the Private Funds Group. Her practice concentrates on planning for and the structuring of domestic and international private investment funds, including venture capital, buyout, real estate…

Amanda H. Nussbaum is the chair of the Firm’s Tax Department as well as a member of the Private Funds Group. Her practice concentrates on planning for and the structuring of domestic and international private investment funds, including venture capital, buyout, real estate and hedge funds, as well as advising those funds on investment activities and operational issues. She also represents many types of investors, including tax-exempt and non-U.S. investors, with their investments in private investment funds. Business partners through our clients’ biggest challenges, Amanda is a part of the Firm’s cross-disciplinary, cross-jurisdictional Coronavirus Response Team helping to shape the guidance and next steps for clients impacted by the pandemic.

Amanda has significant experience structuring taxable and tax-free mergers and acquisitions, real estate transactions and stock and debt offerings. She also counsels both sports teams and sports leagues with a broad range of tax issues.

In addition, Amanda advises not-for-profit clients on matters such as applying for and maintaining exemption from federal income tax, minimizing unrelated business taxable income, structuring joint ventures and partnerships with taxable entities and using exempt and for-profit subsidiaries.

Amanda has co-authored with Howard Lefkowitz and Steven Devaney the New York Limited Liability Company Forms and Practice Manual, which is published by Data Trace Publishing Co.

Photo of Rachel Fischer Rachel Fischer

Rachel S. Fischer is a senior counsel in the Labor & Employment Law Department.

Rachel represents employers in all types of employment-related disputes, including defending clients against claims of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful discharge, whistleblowing, breach of contract, and in wage and hour…

Rachel S. Fischer is a senior counsel in the Labor & Employment Law Department.

Rachel represents employers in all types of employment-related disputes, including defending clients against claims of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful discharge, whistleblowing, breach of contract, and in wage and hour matters. She represents employers in federal and state courts, arbitration tribunals, and before administrative agencies, and has litigated both single plaintiff and class action lawsuits. As an experienced trial lawyer, Rachel has successfully litigated numerous cases from complaint through jury verdict or arbitral award.

Rachel represents employers across a wide variety of industries, including banking and finance, law firms, media and entertainment, sports, and higher education.

Rachel also counsels clients on a broad range of employment law matters, including investigations, employee terminations and discipline, and employment policies and procedures.

Photo of Christiana Lazo Christiana Lazo

Christiana Lazo is a partner in the Private Client Services Department. Christi’s practice focuses on representing ultra-high net worth individuals, their family offices and closely held businesses in developing and implementing sophisticated domestic and international tax and estate plans.

Christi regularly works with…

Christiana Lazo is a partner in the Private Client Services Department. Christi’s practice focuses on representing ultra-high net worth individuals, their family offices and closely held businesses in developing and implementing sophisticated domestic and international tax and estate plans.

Christi regularly works with principals of private equity and venture capital funds on their estate planning. She also has significant experience counseling global clients on inbound and outbound planning, particularly advising family members in multiple jurisdictions on wealth transfers and on tax-efficient investment and business ownership structures.

Christi is ranked by Chambers High Net Worth in the Private Wealth Law category, with interviewees noting “She is super knowledgeable and very approachable. She has a very sharp and incisive mind but is also very good with clients.” Christi is also listed in Best Lawyers, Private Client Global Elite Directory and Spear’s Legal and Tax & Offshore. Most recently, she was shortlisted in CityWealth’s 2024 Powerwomen awards.

Christi is an adjunct professor at the New York University School of Law Masters in Taxation program and a frequent speaker and author on estate planning topics.

Photo of Katrina McCann Katrina McCann

Katrina E. McCann is a senior counsel in the Tax Department and a member of the Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group.

Katrina advises a diverse group of clients on a broad spectrum of employee benefits matters, including:

  • counseling clients with respect to

Katrina E. McCann is a senior counsel in the Tax Department and a member of the Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group.

Katrina advises a diverse group of clients on a broad spectrum of employee benefits matters, including:

  • counseling clients with respect to the design, drafting, implementation and ongoing qualification of their qualified plans in both the single and multi-employer context, including profit sharing, money purchase, 401(k), ESOP, and defined benefit plans;
  • providing counsel on the establishment, administration and continued legal compliance of health & welfare plans and programs;
  • advising tax-exempt organizations regarding their 403(b) plans and 457 arrangements;
  • creating and advising on non-qualified plans, including deferred compensation and supplemental employee retirement plans;
  • providing technical and practical advice on compliance with ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code, the Affordable Care Act, COBRA, HIPAA, and other laws affecting employee benefit plans, as well as issues concerning plan administration, qualification requirements, correction of plan document failures, fiduciary issues and prohibited transaction issues;
  • routinely working with clients and their service providers, advising on the RFP process, reviewing provider arrangements and collaborating to develop effective and compliant disclosures, government reporting forms and participant communications;
  • analyzing the employee benefits and executive compensation issues in connection with corporate transactions, advising on withdrawal liability matters and structuring benefit plans following a transaction and providing counsel with respect to all aspects of benefit plan mergers; and
  • advising both employers and senior executives in connection with various executive compensation matters, including the negotiation and drafting of equity plans and awards, employment agreements, severance agreements and other compensation arrangements.

Katrina is a member and former co-chair of Proskauer Women’s Alliance Steering Committee and serves on the Firm’s Reproductive Rights Steering Committee. She is also a Board member of Playwrights Horizons, an off-Broadway theater dedicated to the development of contemporary American playwrights and the production of innovative new work, and a Board member of the Axe-Houghton Foundation.

Prior to joining Proskauer, Katrina served as Special Assistant to the Mayor’s Office of Pension and Investments and was Special Assistant Corporation Counsel, Pensions Division, New York City Law Department. While in law school, Katrina was the Robert M. LaFollette/Keenan Peck Legal Fellow, serving in the offices of Senator Herb Kohl & the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary.