Michael E. Silverman

Mike is a business attorney and Chair of the Firm’s Tax Group.  He advises clients in negotiating, structuring and documenting mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, and with respect to tax and transition planning and exit planning matters.  Mike assists owners of closely-held businesses with developing and implementing transition plans and exit plans for their companies.  Mike also has significant experience in representing individuals and businesses in federal, state and local tax audits.

Representative Transactions

• Representation of a developer in acquiring, developing, financing and operating a 130,000 square foot hotel and conference center
• Representation of a group of employees in a management buy-out of a mass spectrometer technology business division of a publicly-traded U.S. company
• Representation of a U.S. affiliate of a German conglomerate in an auction-based acquisition of the flooring adhesives division of a publicly-traded U.S. company
• Representation of numerous tax-exempt organizations
• Representation of numerous universities and institutions in their investments in private equity funds
• Representation of numerous clients in mergers, acquisitions and dispositions involving both private and publicly-traded companies
• Representation of numerous clients in all phases of entity formation, financing, obtaining capital, employment and noncompetition agreements, incentive compensation plans, shareholder and partnership agreements, long-range business planning, acquisition techniques, and exit strategies

Representative Publications

• Co-author, “Transfer Pricing: IRS Denies Request for Grace Period to Complete Transfer Pricing Documentation,” Cohen & Grigsby Review (Spring 2004)
• Co-author, “Transfer Pricing: The IRS Proposed Regulations on Controlled Services and Intangibles Transactions,” Cohen & Grigsby Review (Winter 2003)
• Author, “The Time is Now to Avoid IRS Penalties,” Cohen & Grigsby Review (Spring 2003)
• Author, “Protocol to U.S.-Canadian Income Tax Treaty Resolves Conflicts in Death Tax Systems,” Cohen & Grigsby Review (Fall/Winter 1999)
• Co-author, “Navigating the Rules on Imports,” Cohen & Grigsby Review (Spring 1997)
• Co-author, “Changes in U.S. Tax Laws Impact Foreign Companies with U.S. Interests,” Machinery and Materials (April 1995)
• Author, “Court Rules on Depreciation of Customer-Based Intangible Assets,” Allegheny Business News (June 1993)

Representative Presentations

• Co-presenter, “Legal Considerations for Closely-Held Businesses,” continuing professional education seminar sponsored by Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Eberly College of Business and Information Technology and First Commonwealth Bank, Indiana, PA (May 26, 2004)

Memberships

• Member, Pennsylvania Bar Association
• Member, Pittsburgh Tax Club
• Member, Association for Corporate Growth
• Member, Allegheny Tax Society
• Member, District of Columbia Bar Association
• Vice President, Pittsburgh Chapter of the Johns Hopkins Alumni Association
• Member, Board of Directors of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

Honors and Awards

• Chosen by Philadelphia Magazine as a "Pennsylvania Super Lawyer" (2006, 2009, 2010 and 2011)