Sideman & Bancroft LLP

Managing Partner: Jeffrey C Hallam
Executive Committee: Jeffrey C Hallam, Kelly P McCarthy and Hilary C Pierce
Number of partners: 22
Number of lawyers: 39
Languages: English, French, Italian, Spanish, Tagalog, Khmer, German, ASL

Firm Overview:
Sideman & Bancroft was founded in San Francisco in 1978 with an initial focus on business crimes defence and criminal tax and civil tax controversy. Over the years, the firm expanded its practice areas by adding complementary practices. Today, the firm is majority women-owned practising in ten practice areas that represent high net worth individuals and families as well as businesses and entrepreneurs.

Main Areas of Practice:
The private client practice group advises individuals, families and fiduciaries on their legal affairs. The practice understands that families have unique circumstances, and its clients rely on the firm as they experience successes and challenges, including the unexpected twists and turns that life often brings. It brings together lawyers with years of experience in the fields needed to provide an integrated, interdisciplinary focus on those matters that have the greatest personal impact on its clients.

Estate & Wealth Transfer Planning:
Attorneys represent individuals, spouses and families in comprehensive estate and wealth transfer planning matters. Sideman & Bancroft advises on asset and wealth preservation and protection in which the firm tailors estate and wealth transfer plans to fit each client’s goals, risk-appetite, and circumstances. Attorneys also advise on intra-family communication and relationship issues affecting planning; tax-efficient gift planning; philanthropic planning; planning for life insurance; planning for disability; creating and advising private foundations, public charities and other tax-exempt organisations; and creating all forms of charitable and non-charitable trusts, wills, family partnerships, limited liability companies and corporations, powers of attorney and other gift and estate planning vehicles. Expertise includes advising on designing succession plans for family owned businesses; advising clients on the choice of entity, structure and capitalisation of new entities; selling to create liquidity; compensating and rewarding non-family employees; advising on plane and yacht acquisition and holding entities; and advising about art and other collectibles.

Trust & Estate Administration & Controversies:
The firm represents individual and corporate trustees, executors, and other fiduciaries in handling the administration of the assets over which they have fiduciary responsibility. Expertise includes: administration of trusts and estates; federal and state income and transfer taxation of trusts, estates and beneficiaries; preparation of estate and generation-skipping transfer tax returns; managing complex financial matters; representing fiduciaries in probate court; and advising about cross-border estate matters. The firm represents fiduciaries, beneficiaries and other interested parties in all forms of controversies concerning trusts and estates. Its expertise includes privately negotiating settlements with beneficiaries, including using mediation and arbitration; representing clients in the probate court and handling will contests and other civil litigation on behalf of fiduciaries, beneficiaries and other interested parties.

Tax Planning & Controversies:
The firm advises individuals and fiduciaries regarding the minimisation of federal, state and local taxes. Its expertise includes federal and state individual income taxation; federal and state estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer taxes; state and local taxation, including sales and property taxes; tax-exempt organisations; foreign bank and accounts reporting (FBAR) requirements and California income taxes impacting trusts and estates in and out of California. The firm is nationally recognised for its expertise in resolving complex tax disputes. Many of its attorneys who handle these matters served as federal prosecutors prior to joining the firm. Expertise includes tax compliance; federal and state audits; lien, levy and collection matters; federal and state administrative proceedings; and litigating civil and criminal tax disputes in all federal and state courts.

International Tax Planning:
The international tax planning practice includes expertise on the impact of US and foreign taxation on individuals and families with connections across international borders. Its expertise includes planning to reduce taxation on cross-border investments for US and foreign clients; using income and transfer tax treaties to advantage; tax sensitive trust and estate planning for US persons with foreign assets; tax efficient estate planning for foreign and multinational families, coordinating with international counsel; and pre-US residency tax planning.

Family Law:
The firm is recognised for its skill in handling complex marital dissolution matters, and particularly its innovative and constructive problem-solving approach. The family law partner is a California Certified Family Law Specialist and specialises in high net worth marital estates involving complicated valuation and financial issues including stock options, private equity, venture funds, hedge funds and privately and publicly held businesses. The family law group handles cases involving international jurisdictional issues. They are uniquely suited to sophisticated clients. Attorneys collaborate with partners in other disciplines within the firm, taking a comprehensive approach to the complex financial and emotional issues facing clients during what can be challenging transitions. Through negotiation, mediation and, when necessary, litigation, they represent clients in family matters that often demand expertise in trust and estate planning, taxes, real estate, and complex business transactions. They also represent clients in marital agreements, including cohabitation agreements, pre-marital agreements and post-marital agreements.

Contact: Hilary C Pierce
Tel: +1 415 733 3911
Email: [email protected]

Contact: Ellen I Kahn
Tel: +1 415 733 3918
Email: [email protected]

Contact: Monica Mazzei
Tel: +1 415 733 3930
Email: [email protected]

Practice Areas
- Alternative Dispute Resolution Services
- Brand Integrity & Innovation Group
- Business
- Compliance & Corporate Governance
- Criminal Defense
- Estate Planning
- Family Law
- Intellectual Property
- Litigation & Appeals
- Tax