William S. Fein

Practices

• Personal & Succession Planning
• Corporate Transactions & Securities
• Health Care

Professional Experience

Bill is senior counsel in the firm's Private Companies and Personal and Succession Planning practice groups. His practice is focused on (1) the representation of privately held companies and their owners in estate and tax planning, business structure and operations, and the design and implementation of multi-generational transfers and succession plans; and (2) the representation of executors, trustees and beneficiaries in the administration and taxation of estates and trusts. Typical engagements include: Planning and implementing arrangements for privately held and family-owned enterprises of all sizes to facilitate the intergenerational transfer of ownership and control among related owners and appropriate business succession arrangements among unrelated owners, with favorable tax treatment and protection of owners interests; Developing and implementing wealth transfer strategies for families; Administering trusts and estates to assure effective and efficient disposition of assets with minimal disruption to family and business interests; Integrating philanthropic goals into lifetime and testamentary planning; Resolving disputes among family members and business owners relating to structure, ownership, management, and operation of family and business assets; and Planning for the protection of family members with special needs.

Bill also represents the owners of professional practices, primarily in the health care professions, in organizational, business, and regulatory matters. He advises health care providers on the application of the Medicare and Medicaid fraud and abuse, anti-kickback, and self-referral (Stark) regulations, as well as Ohio licensure and regulatory requirements, assists clients in structuring ventures that are subject to such regulatory regimes, and defends clients alleged to have violated them. He works with providers to establish appropriate business structures for their professional activities, and guides them in the development of contractual relationships among co-owners, with employees, and with hospitals and other providers.

Education

• University of Michigan, J.D., 1971
• Washington University, A.B., 1968

• Restructured rapidly growing privately-held corporation to facilitate estate planning goals of majority shareholders while protecting interests of minority shareholders and executives.
• Resolved long-lasting family dispute over administration of substantial trust assets by reformation of trust to satisfy interests of all parties and greatly reduce generation-skipping transfer tax liabilities.
• Managed the preservation and sale of a family-owned business after the death of all senior management while maintaining the business value for the benefit of heirs.
• Established successful succession plan for transition of control and ownership of family-owned business to younger generation members of differing degrees of participation in business operations.
• Developed and implemented plan to divest ownership from senior management of family-owned business in tax-favored manner without loss of operational control and economic security.