Meet The Team
Michael H. Israel, MA, JD, LLM
Mr. Israel, a partner, chairs both the Firm’s State and Local Taxation Controversy Group and its Commercial Litigation Group. Prior to joining the firm, Michael was a Special Assistant Attorney General in the Office of the Illinois Attorney General for three years, where he represented the Illinois Department of Revenue in the circuit courts of Illinois and federal court. Michael dealt with complex state and local, income tax, and sales tax, litigation matters including those related to nexus, apportionment, responsible officer liability, residency, and the defense of the constitutionality of state property tax exemption statutes; as well as matters related to federal income taxation.
Prior to his employment with the Office of the Illinois Attorney General, Michael practiced in federal and state courts in the areas of commercial litigation and tax litigation. In addition to handling complex tax matters, Michael has represented clients in actions involving: claims under the Illinois false claims act, breach of contract, non-compete agreements, limited liability disputes among members, an action seeking removal of a trustee, declaratory judgment actions, “white collar” fraud investigations conducted by federal agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Criminal Division of the Internal Revenue Service, and asserted and defended claims for temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions. Michael has experience in conducting arbitrations as well as trial experience.
Michael was an adjunct professor at the John Marshall Law School and taught Advanced Federal Income Taxation in the school’s Master of Law in Taxation program from 2013 through 2019.
Education:
Northwestern University School of Law, Master of Laws in Taxation
Northwestern University School of Law, Juris Doctor
Northwestern University, Master of Arts
Northwestern University, Bachelor of Arts
Law License:
Illinois (1999)
Court Admission:
United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, member of the General Bar and the Trial Bar
Bar Associations:
Chicago Bar Association
Illinois State Bar Association
Publications
Brian Konkel Discusses “Taco Tuesday” Trademark Battle
Brian Konkel discussed the “Taco Tuesday” trademark legal battle between Taco Bell and Taco John on The Lisa Dent Show on May 17, 2023. Click on the link to listen to the recording: https://wgnradio.com/lisa-dent/can-taco-tuesday-be-trademarked/
Timothy Liam Epstein, Esq. named one of Billboard Magazine’s top music lawyers for the fourth year in a row
Please join DUGGAN BERTSCH, LLC in congratulating our partner, Timothy Liam Epstein, Esq., for being named one of Billboard Magazine’s top music lawyers for the fourth year in a row for his work on behalf of clients in the live entertainment space.
FTC Fines Digital Healthcare Company $7.8M for Sharing Personal Data of Consumers with Advertisers
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently fined digital mental healthcare provider BetterHelp $7.8 million for sharing the personal health information of millions of consumers with advertisers like Facebook, Snapchat, Criteo and Pinterest. BetterHelp is the second digital health company to be targeted this year by the FTC for its use of consumers’ health information and […]
Congratulations to our 2023 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. In addition to our numerous prior and existing award recipients, DUGGAN BERTSCH, LLC […]
FTC Proposes Rule Prohibiting Non-Compete Clauses for Workers
On January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) proposed a new rule that would prohibit non-compete provisions for workers and require employers to rescind existing non-competes. The proposed rule would apply to all employees, independent contractors, and consultants. The broad proposed rule would apply even to senior level executives and could potentially implicate agreements […]
Timothy Liam Epstein was referenced in the Pitchfork article entitled, “How the Music Community Is Fighting the Drug Overdose Epidemic” that was published on December 16, 2022
“But there are legal considerations around actually using it that depend on city and state rules. According to the Prescription Drug Abuse Policy System, a database of prescription drug laws operated by Temple University’s Beasley School of Law, in 13 states, including Virginia, Arizona, and Florida, someone who administers the medication to another person does […]
2022 Year End Newsletter
Dear Clients and Colleagues, As the fourth quarter of 2022 is drawing to a close, we recommend that you review your comprehensive wealth planning and business structures to ensure that it is consistent with your long-term objectives. While the recent mid-term election results are still not final, with a Senate run-off left in Georgia, it […]
Estate & Gift Tax Planning 2022 Review
As indicated above, the recent changes to congressional control following the mid-term elections will likely mean a stalemate in Congress for the next 2 years with respect to any meaningful tax legislation. This means that from an estate planning perspective, the increased lifetime exemptions enacted as part of TCJA will continue to be available for […]
Pass-Through Business Tax Planning 2022 Review
The relationship between individual taxpayers and their businesses continue to offer opportunity for effective tax savings, including the use in certain circumstances of C corporation structures to arbitrage tax rates, allow for greater deductions and potentially offer savings on an exit. However, much tax planning continues to focus on accessing these benefits before they sunset […]
Salt & Local Tax Planning 2022 Review
The TCJA imposed a $10,000 limitation on individual’s deduction for payment of state and local taxes in itemizing their deductions. For many high taxed states, this resulted in significant limitations on state income and property tax deductibility and resulted in an effort to find a workaround from the legislation to allow for deductibility. Most states […]