Meet The Team
Geoff Stauffer is an experienced tax attorney and CPA with over 9 years of experience advising high net worth individuals, families, and business owners on sophisticated tax planning and wealth preservation strategies.
As a Senior Associate in the Duggan Bertsch Tax Group, Geoff serves as a trusted advisor to clients on a wide spectrum of tax matters, with a particular focus on the tax implications of wealth transfer, business succession planning, and investment structuring. He regularly counsels clients on income and estate tax mitigation strategies, leveraging his extensive experience with vehicles such as trusts, family limited partnerships, qualified small business stock (QSBS) planning, and tax-advantaged real estate investments.
Throughout his career, Geoff has advised large private equity and hedge funds as well as public and private companies on the tax aspects of high-stakes mergers, acquisitions, debt financing, recapitalizations and capital markets transactions. He brings this big-picture perspective to bear in helping clients navigate the complex tax issues that arise in major business deals and wealth transfer events.
Geoff’s experience includes practicing tax law for over 8 years at several of the nation’s leading law firms in New York and San Diego. In these roles, he advised clients in many areas of taxation including partnership taxation, corporate transactions, tax-exempt organizations, state and local tax, and international tax matters.
In addition to his experience in legal practice, Geoff has also assisted family offices with tax and governance matters relating to complex cross-border holdings and transactions. He takes a business-minded approach, and has been able to be a single point of contact for the full scope of a client’s tax advisory needs.
Prior to entering private practice, Geoff earned his Juris Doctor from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, where he was a Senior Editor of the Journal of International Law and Business. He also completed his Master of Business Taxation from the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business, where he was admitted to the Beta Gamma Sigma business honors fraternity. Geoff holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration, with a concentration in Accounting, from California State University Fullerton.
Geoff is licensed to practice law in California, New York and New Jersey. He is also a Certified Public Accountant in California. His professional memberships include the San Diego County Bar Association and the California Society of CPAs.
With his unique skillset as an attorney and accountant, Geoff takes a holistic and proactive approach to help clients preserve and grow their wealth while minimizing tax liabilities. Clients rely on his deep technical knowledge, diverse experience and practical judgment to create tax-optimized solutions for their most important business and personal financial matters.
Publications
Congratulations to our 2025 Super Lawyers and Rising Stars!
The Illinois Super Lawyers and Rising Stars is an honor reserved for those lawyers who exhibit excellence in practice. Only 5% of attorneys in Illinois receive this distinction. Attorneys are selected through a patented selection process involving nominations, research, and peer reviews.
2024 DUGGAN BERTSCH Year End Newsletter
Dear Clients and Colleagues, As the tax year 2024 is closely coming to an end, we suggest that all our clients and colleagues consider potential year-end planning opportunities with respect to their investments, business holdings, and their overall individual wealth status with an eye towards tax planning strategies that may be available for both their […]
Timothy Liam Epstein was referenced in the WBEZ Chicago article entitled, “Pitchfork announced more VIP tiers for its 2024 festival. The internet booed.”
Timothy Liam Epstein was referenced in the WBEZ Chicago article entitled, “Pitchfork announced more VIP tiers for its 2024 festival. The internet booed” on March 19. 2024. “A shift in attitude among younger concertgoers may be stoking the demand for VIP pricing. Tim Epstein, a sports and entertainment attorney at Chicago’s Duggan Bertsch who represents […]
Congratulations to our 2024 Super Lawyers and Rising Stars!
The Illinois Super Lawyers and Rising Stars is an honor reserved for those lawyers who exhibit excellence in practice. Only 5% of attorneys in Illinois receive this distinction. Attorneys are selected through a patented selection process involving nominations, research, and peer reviews.
Timothy Liam Epstein was featured in the Illinois College of Law Alumni Newsletter
Entrepreneurial spirit propels Epstein '04 to top of sports and entertainment field
Corporate Transparency Act – Mandatory Reporting Requirements Expected to Impact Millions of Business Entities
Background: Congress enacted the Corporate Transparency Act (the “CTA”) on January 1, 2021, to help prevent and combat money laundering, terrorist financing, organized crime, and other illicit activity. Effective January 1, 2024, the CTA will require most existing and newly formed corporate entities in the U.S. to file reports with the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes […]
Recent U.S. Supreme Court Case Impacts Trust Taxation
The U.S. Supreme Court recently issued its opinion on North Carolina Department of Revenue v. The Kimberley Rice Kaestner 1992 Family Trust, which addressed “….the limits of a State’s power to tax a trust.” This is the first time in decades the Supreme Court has addressed this issue, and its decision could have significant implications for […]
State and Local Tax Reminder about State Income Tax Residency
At DUGGAN BERTSCH, LLC, we are often asked by clients to explain the process by which a taxpayer can establish a “new” state residency for income tax purposes. Sometimes we are asked to explain the impact of moving to a new state altogether or about the impact of remaining in your current state of residence while […]