Bio

Louis Schatz served as chair of Shipman’s Tax and Employee Benefits Practice Group for more than 20 years and, from 2007 to 2017, served on the firm’s Management Committee. A past chair of the Tax Section of the Connecticut Bar Association, Lou draws on his decades of experience in federal and Connecticut tax matters to help clients understand the real-world impact of complex tax laws and regulations, make effective tax-planning decisions, and resolve disputes with tax authorities. In addition to being a tax-specific counsel, Lou serves as a trusted, primary relationship partner for many of his clients. He has developed strong relationships within the accounting community and has a deep understanding of the connection between business performance and tax strategy. Lou uses these insights to help clients identify and assess potential opportunities and challenges and engage appropriate counsel and other advisors to address a broad range of legal, financial and business issues. Lou advises clients from across the spectrum — including high-net-worth individuals, family-owned and privately held businesses, and national and multinational, companies. He has particular experience representing closely-held businesses organized as limited liability companies, partnerships and S corporations; real estate joint ventures; and taxpayers involved in federal and Connecticut tax controversies. In recognition of his experience and legal acumen, he has been appointed to several State of Connecticut tax panels, advisory boards and special committees tasked with reviewing and providing recommendations on a range of state tax laws. Lou was a primary organizer of the firm’s Opportunity Zones team, a multidisciplinary group that advises clients on the federal program that provides incentives to invest in economically distressed urban and rural communities. In this regard, Lou counsels clients — including institutional investors, developers, banks, private equity and venture capital firms, fund sponsors, private investors, family offices and nonprofits — from across the country on opportunity zone matters both within and without the State of Connecticut. Committed to educating business leaders as well as the next generation of legal and tax professionals, Lou is a frequent lecturer on Federal and Connecticut tax, partnership and limited liability company issues. For many years, he has provided annual updates on Connecticut tax developments to accountants practicing in New York and New Jersey. His recent lectures include presentations to the Connecticut Bar Association, the Connecticut Society of CPAs, the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, the National Conference of CPA Practitioners, the New York State Society of CPAs, the Long Island Tax Practitioner Symposium, the National Business Institute, the University of Connecticut Income Tax School, the New England Tax Institute and the Foundation for Accounting Education in New York City. He is frequently asked to author articles about state and local tax developments, such as the Tax Notes article entitled "Big Changes Coming to Connecticut's Passthrough Entity Tax" which was published in 2023. Lou is widely published; among numerous articles, book chapters and commentaries, he authored the latest edition of Connecticut Limited Liability Act: Forms and Practice Manual, the leading treatise in Connecticut on limited liability companies.