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Jack Abramoff’s rollercoaster life story might as well be a major motion picture. In fact, it is. Dubbed on the cover of Time Magazine as the “Man Who Bought Washington”, Abramoff rose to become the nation’s most successful and prominent lobbyist, before becoming enmeshed in the most harrowing political scandal since Watergate.
Abramoff started his political career at Brandeis University as head of the College Republicans. After becoming national chairman of that group, Abramoff was soon named head of President Ronald Reagan’s grassroots lobbying organization on Capitol Hill. He held that position while attending Georgetown Law Center at night, and obtained his JD in 1986. After a detour into motion picture production, Abramoff returned to the nation’s capital to build one of the most successful lobbying practices in history. His win-at-all-costs ethos eventually led to his downfall, and a lengthy term in federal prison for his role in the corrupt system which plagues our politics.
His downfall caused Abramoff to reassess his past, and the system he played so well. He has rededicated himself to trying to repair the system, and make amends for his role in it. His book Capitol Punishment is designed to alert our nation about what goes on behind the guarded doors of power in Washington, DC. Since his release from prison, Abramoff has appeared on hundreds of television and radio networks and programs, including CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox News Channel, CNN, MSNBC, “60 Minutes” and “The Colbert Report” and is working with lobbying and campaign finance reform groups to make effect positive change in the American political system.
MAIN SPEAKERS
Bill Cates is a recognized expert in using word of mouth to acquire high-level clients & customers Bill’s has been featured in Success Magazine, Entrepreneur Magazine, Money Magazine, Selling Power, and the Wall Street Journal. More than adulation from thousands of satisfied clients world wide, his skills are also recognized by his peers who in 2010 inducted him into Speakers Hall of Fame—an award so exclusive just it’s awarded to less than 5 people a year.
Ira Lipsius is a partner in the firm of Lipsius BenHaim Law, LLP. Mr Lipsius has specialized in insurance coverage issues for over three decades. Aside from consulting to numerous insurers and industry organizations, he has also served as an expert witness for the Justice Department. He has argued before 9 of the 13 Federal Courts of Appeals and has argued or tried cases before state courts in over 30 states and before U.S. District Courts in over 20 states. He regularly lectures about insurance coverage issues at the University of Connecticut Law School and over the past 20 years has lectured to over 10,000 insurance professionals. Over 100 published decisions in insurance and life settlement were argued by Mr. Lipsius
Naftali T. Leshkowitz is the founding member of Leshkowitz Law, PLLC. Naftali is an experienced practitioner in the firm’s primary practice areas. He also has significant experience representing wealthy individuals in connection with other personal matters, including real estate transactions, formation and administration of tax exempt entities, and legal and tax issues with respect to personal investments. Naftali also has extensive experience advising clients on tax, contract, and aviation law relating to the ownership and use of privately owned aircraft (entire aircraft and fractional shares).
Naftali is a member of the New York and New Jersey Bars. Previously, he was Counsel in the New York office of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP where he practiced for more than seven years (2003-2010) in the firm’s trusts and estates department. Prior to that, he was an associate in the estates and personal group of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP (1998-2003). He earned his J.D. from Fordham University School of Law (1997), where he was a member of the Fordham Law Review, and his B.S., summa cum laude, in accounting from Touro College, where he was the class valedictorian (1993). He also is a New York licensed Certified Public Accountant.
Leshkowitz Law, PLLC is a boutique law firm specializing in trusts, estates and personal planning with an emphasis on providing exemplary and timely client service. The firm’s attorneys advise on all aspects of complex estate planning, including the preparation of wills, trusts and other instruments, estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax planning, the formation and administration of family partnerships and limited liability entities, family business succession matters and charitable giving.
The firm’s attorneys also advise on and coordinate all aspects of estate and trust administration from probate through settlement of the fiduciary’s account, including post-mortem tax planning, preparation of estate tax returns and estate and trust income tax returns. Representation of clients during estate and gift tax audits, preparation of accountings, and handling judicial and informal account settlements are likewise an integral part of the practice. The firm is sensitive to and can advise on Jewish law (Halacha) related to end of life and inheritance issues where appropriate.
Jacob I. Rosenberg, co-founding partner of Bernath & Rosenberg, has over 30 years experience as a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Financial Planner and Personal Financial Specialist. He manages the firm’s financial services practice. He is a highly recognized representative of Cetera Financial Specialists and is considered to be one of their leading financial advisers.
In his role of wealth manager he works with a select group of families and assists them by clarifying their financial issues, offering insights and expertise and partnering with them as they move from one life phase to the next.
Jim Magner is an attorney with The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America’s Business Resource Center for Advanced Markets. Prior to joining Guardian, Jim was General Counsel for a national broker dealer/brokerage general agency. Jim previously worked as an Attorney-Advisor in the IRS’s Office of Chief Counsel, in Washington, DC. While with the Office of Chief Counsel, Jim wrote private and public rulings on estate, gift, GST and charitable remainder trust issues. Jim’s articles have appeared in such publications as Estate Planning, Tax Notes, the Journal of Financial Service Professionals and Steve Leimberg's Estate Planning & Retirement Planning newsletters. Jim has co-authored a number of books on estate and insurance planning topics, including Estate and Personal Financial Planning and Tools & Techniques of Life Settlement Planning.
Kate Saracene heads the Health and Welfare Employee Benefits team of Nixon Peabody—a top-ranked law firm by everyone from Dow-Jones, to Reuters to US News & World Report. She is responsible for assisting employers, insurance brokers, third-party administrators, and multiple employer arrangements with all aspects of benefit plan compliance. Based on her knowledge, experience & client base, she has also become the “go to” person for both national & local business journalists, in need of a quote or insight that captures the core of an issue. In addition she’s a regular—and well-received presenter to regional and national audiences.
KATE ULRICH SARACENE
Mr. Ben-Jacob is a Partner in the Private Clients Department of Kaye Scholer—one of the largest and oldest law firms in the US. His practice, which is based in the NY office focuses on counseling high net-worth individuals, their families, family offices and closely held business on an array of US-based and cross-border wealth planning and preservation matters.
He is also responsible for advising both US & global clients and corporate fiduciaries with a host of strategic planning issues including trust and probate, intergenerational wealth preservation planning, including estate tax, gift tax, GST tax, charitable planning and prenuptial agreements—with a particular focus on providing these services for the principals of private equity and hedge funds, Mr. Ben-Jacob’s groundbreaking work in Wealth Management was also recognized by Chambers USA –the legal profession’s #1 industry guide.
N. MARK HOROWITZ
N. Mark Horowitz is a Principal and Senior Investment Advisor in the New York office of Bernstein Global Wealth Management, and is responsible for advising high–net-worth families, endowments, foundations,
not-for-profits and institutions. Mark has served as an adjunct professor at NYU in Behavioral Economics and Finance Theory. His specialty is working with clients to develop truly “bespoke” investment strategies & solutions designed to help them retain, protect & grow their assets
for the long term.
A member of the Pennsylvania Bar, Chris is an Assistant Professor of Taxation with course responsibility for Huebner School 321 Income Taxation and Irwin Graduate School 817 Personal Tax Planning. Chris also teaches the online editions of GS 839 Planning for Philanthropic Impact, GS 849 Charitable Giving Applications and Planning, and GS 859 Gift Planning in a Nonprofit Context.Prior to his arrival at The American College, Chris enjoyed a seventeen-year career as a senior development professional and executive. During his tenure as Senior Associate Vice President and Acting Senior Vice President of Institutional Advancement, Drexel University was a five-time achiever of Philanthropy 400 status awarded to the most productive development programs in the United States. As Vice President of Development for The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Chris led the completion of its highly successful endowment campaign creating one of the largest endowed funds for a performing arts organization. Most recently, Chris served as Director of Planned Giving for the Princeton HealthCare System Foundation during its Design for Healing campaign, one of the largest ever for a community hospital system.A magna cum laude graduate of Cornell University, Chris earned his J.D. and LL.M (Taxation) from Villanova Law School. Chris holds an appointment at Villanova Law as an adjunct professor of tax law where he co-teaches the course in charitable gift planning in its Master of Laws in Taxation program.Chris is married to Lann Salyard Woehrle, MD, a member of the medical staff at Pennsylvania Hospital. In addition to his wife’s philanthropy in support of pancreatic cancer research, Chris has endowed a named scholarship at his prep school and supported a bricks and mortar campaign each at the major gift level.
ESQ Partner
Principal, Senior Investment Advisor
MICHAEL BEN-JACOB
Partner
CHRIS
WOEHRLE
Professor
JAME
MAGNER
ESQ Partner
JACOB I.
ROSENBERG
CPA/PFS,
CFP Partner
NAFTALI T. LESHKOWITZ
ESQ Partner
IRA
LIPSIUS
ESQ Partner
BILL
CATES
Referral Coach
JACK
ABRAMOFF
Key Note Speaker
Founded by Amy Poheler of Saturday Night Live, this critically acclaimed comedy and improvisational theater group has been home to talents who went on to hit series like 30 Rock, Veep, SNL, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Late Night With Seth Meyers and countless others shows and movies Recognizing that both “Improv” and “Industry” are both “unscripted”—
and therefore require its members to address the unexpected “on the fly”, UCB launched a corporate training division which shows professionals from all walks of life how to put the “art of Improv” to work for them. While this type of presentation will be a first for CSB/Envision attendees, they’ll be in impressive company as UCB’s corporate training clients include AXA, BNP Paribas, Deloitte, E&Y, KPMG, McKinsey, NYU Stern, PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Proskauer among others.
UPRIGHT
CITIZENS
BRIGADE
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