Bio

Christopher Freeman practice is focused on a wide range of transactional tax, executive compensation, tax controversy, and retirement plan design and compliance matters. A substantial part of Chris’s practice involves advising privately-held corporate and pass-through entities and their owners with respect to complicated tax and employee benefits matters arising throughout the business lifecycle, including preparation for and execution of significant corporate transactions. Chris is active in the Firm’s transactional practices and is frequently involved in creating and analyzing transactional structures that maximize tax efficiency for parties to such transactions. Complementary to his transactional tax practice, Chris regularly works with employers and executive groups on their unique executive compensation arrangements including equity arrangements and “profits interest” awards, non-qualified deferred compensation plans, change in control arrangements, and related matters under Sections 280G and 409A. He has worked with management teams in connection with executive compensation matters arising in private-equity buyouts and other transactional contexts. Chris represents sponsors of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) in implementing and administering ESOPs, including advising sponsors and selling shareholders in acquisition transactions between the company, selling shareholders and the ESOP. Further, Chris represents employers in the design and implementation of qualified retirement plans, including defined benefit plans (both traditional and cash-balance designs), focusing specifically on the use of qualified plans as tax planning tools for owner and executive groups of privately-held entities. As a routine part of his practice, Chris guides clients through tax-related examinations, appeals, and litigation with various federal, state, and local governmental agencies including litigation in the United States Tax Court. At Katz Teller, Chris is a shareholder, an elected member of the firm’s Board of Directors, and is a member of the firm’s benefits, retirement plan, and finance committees.