Stan M. Lazar

Partner

TEL: 312.726.8353
FAX: 312.726.2657
slazar@ssh-cpa.com

Stan Lazar, an attorney and CPA, is a senior consulting partner with Shepard Schwartz & Harris LLP, specializing in business planning with an emphasis on tax efficiency.  He has extensive experience working with large real estate, private investment and hedge funds, manufacturing, distribution, construction and professional services organizations.  He also has extensive knowledge and experience negotiating with institutional investors and lenders for private equity funds.  Mr. Lazar advises both owners, fund managers and executives on a variety of issues, including:

  • Analyzing the structure and tax consequences in all phases of client business transactions.
  • Structuring investment funds.
  • Structuring large and complex real estate transactions and assessing tax efficiency, including 1031 exchanges and capital restructurings.
  • Formulating and reviewing business plans to obtain financing for new business start-ups, acquisitions and joint ventures.
  • Leading due diligence for investment, acquisition or sale of businesses and real estate operations.
  • Providing consulting to family-owned businesses and transitional control to younger generations including retirement and compensation programs.
  • Providing expert testimony in complex litigation.
  • Assessing business valuation for acquisition and divestitures of operating companies.
  • Providing personal financial consulting and estate planning for business owners and high net worth individuals, including exit strategies.

Additionally, Mr. Lazar is a recognized expert witness for civil and criminal litigation involving accounting, real estate, divorce and income tax claims. He has provided consulting pertaining to the calculation of damages for lawsuits and has testified in cases before the United States Court for the Seventh Circuit as well as most Chicagoland district courts.  He has specific skills negotiating and structuring financial ventures for his clients with public institutional investors, pension funds and mezzanine debt providers.

Mr. Lazar has served on the board of directors of a major Chicago real estate developer, a Chicago-area bank, and has held director and advisory board positions for several other privately held companies.  He has authored articles for many tax and real estate publications and lectures at continuing professional education seminars covering current issues in real estate, partnership and corporate taxation. Mr. Lazar began his career at Shepard Schwartz & Harris as a college intern in 1977.

Events

Certifications

  • Certified Public Accountant
  • Licensed Attorney (Illinois)

Education

  • J.D., with distinction, The John Marshall Law School—Winner of Best Brief and Oral Argument in the National Tax Competition held in New York
  • B.S., DePaul University

Professional Activity

  • American Bar Association
  • Illinois State Bar Association
  • American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
  • Illinois CPA Society
  • Building Owners and Managers Association