Firm Watch
May 30, 2001
Howard Rice: Two Tax Lawyers Bring Business Planning Skills
Two lawyers from two different firms joined San Francisco's Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk & Rabkin on May 14. The pair, Ben Berk and Charlotte Ito, say they weren't acquainted before they wound up in the same place. Berk comes from the 80-lawyer San Francisco firm Lillick & Charles, and Ito from the two-man local firm Ito & Johnson.
The pair, Ben Berk and Charlotte Ito, say they weren't acquainted before they wound up in the same place. Berk comes from the 80-lawyer San Francisco firm Lillick & Charles, and Ito from the two-man local firm Ito & Johnson.
"Howard Rice provides an array of sophisticated services to some of the most important and influential people in the Bay Area. We handle work for them individually, for their investment funds and for their companies," managing partner Stuart Lipton said. "Ben and Charlotte understand the need of this type of client for responsiveness, creativity, breadth and quality."
Howard Rice has 135 lawyers in one San Francisco office.
Berk advises clients on tax and business planning, particularly for real estate and corporate ventures.
Ito, on the other hand, does estate planning, mostly for venture capitalists and others in the nosebleed section of the tax code.
"I needed the bigger platform of a firm that would provide ancillary services for my clients," Ito says.
As for the other half of her firm, Mark Johnson, he's hanging out his own shingle in San Francisco as the Law Offices of Mark Johnson. Johnson is a probate lawyer who focuses on trust and estate planning litigation and conservatorships.
Johnson and Ito started their practice nearly 10 years ago as a married couple. Unfortunately, that partnership is on the outs, also. The lawyers say they're in the process of getting an amicable divorce.
Karen Coleman
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