Federal Real Estate and Partnerships Tax Conference 2025 (Presented by NYU School of Professional Studies) [Day 2]

Paul H. Wilner is an Advisor at Grossberg Company LLP in Bethesda, Maryland, where he focuses on federal income tax matters involving troubled business workouts and complex real estate, partnership, REIT, and business transactions. He recently retired as Managing Partner and Lead Tax Partner of the firm and now serves in an advisory capacity through his professional corporation. For many years, he has served as co-chair of the NYU School of Professional Studies Federal Real Estate and Partnerships Tax Conference alongside Andrea Whiteway of EY — one of the most respected annual forums for real estate and partnership tax professionals in the country. He has served as Chair of the AICPA Partnership Technical Resource Panel, Chair of the AICPA’s annual National Real Estate Tax Conference, Chair of the NYU annual National Real Estate and Partnership Tax Conference, Chair of the Greater Washington Society of CPAs Federal Taxation Committee, and as a member of the AICPA Tax Executive Committee. Washingtonian Magazine has named him one of the top tax accountants in Washington, DC.

Principal in Ernst & Young LLP’s US National Tax Department who leads the US PPP Infrastructure Tax Practice and is Director of Leasing Tax Services, experienced in planning leasing and other asset-based structured transactions.

Robert D. Schachat is a Managing Director in BDO USA’s National Tax practice, where he focuses on all federal income tax aspects of real estate, including REIT, partnership, LLC, and S corporation formations, acquisitions, like-kind exchanges, development, leases, financings, workouts, dispositions, and liquidations. He is co-author (with Jim Lowy) of the CCH treatise Federal Taxation of Real Estate Investment Trusts — the definitive reference work on REIT taxation — and is a frequent author and speaker at real estate industry and tax conferences. He joined BDO in 2021 after 23 years in the National Tax Real Estate Group of a Big Four accounting firm and 12 years as a partner in a Manhattan law firm specializing in real estate taxation, bringing more than 40 years of total real estate tax experience to his current role. He has served as Chair of the Real Estate Committee of the ABA Section of Taxation, Vice Chair of the Tax Policy Advisory Committee of The Real Estate Roundtable, and Conference Chair of the NYU Like-Kind Exchange Tax Conference. He holds an S.B. from MIT and a J.D. and LL.M. from New York University School of Law.

Steven R. Schneider is a Partner at Hogan Lovells in Washington, DC, where he focuses on transactional and tax policy matters primarily in the areas of partnerships, limited liability companies, REITs, and energy transition. He is a nationally recognized tax lawyer with significant experience in mergers and acquisitions, private equity and real estate funds, qualified opportunity zone funds, data centers, cross-border tax, REITs, bioscience, international investors (including sovereigns), and S corporations. He started his career as a lawyer in the IRS’s national office and has had many years of national-level law firm and Big Four accounting firm experience, including prior roles at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, Baker & McKenzie, and Goulston & Storrs. He previously chaired the ABA Partnership Tax Committee and has taught a course on drafting partnership and LLC agreements at Georgetown University Law Center since 2005. He holds a B.S. in Accounting from Bryant College, a J.D. from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law, and an LL.M. in Tax from Georgetown University Law Center.

Principal in the National Tax Department of Ernst & Young LLP with substantial experience in sophisticated tax planning involving partnerships, including dispositions and acquisitions of real estate and operating businesses, complex partnership transactions, REIT tax status, corporate acquisitions and mergers.

Former chairman of the Real Estate Committee of the American Bar Association Tax Section and former vice chairman of the Tax Policy Advisory Committee of the Real Estate Roundtable, with extensive experience in partnership, REIT, and real estate tax matters.

National Real Estate Tax Technical Leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, helping clients navigate complicated tax matters with a practical business approach, particularly assisting sponsors and investors in real estate funds and advising public and private REIT clients.

Senior Vice President and Counsel at The Real Estate Roundtable, overseeing tax policy activities and coordinating industry-wide advocacy efforts in Washington focused on tax reform legislation.

Partner and leader of Global Funds Tax Advisory Services Group and Homebuilding Industry Group with over 30 years of real estate, private equity, and infrastructure industry experience serving closed and open-end funds, public REITs, and home builders.

Williams Mullen’s Richmond Managing Partner focusing on wealth transfer tax planning, business succession planning, income tax planning for individuals and businesses and fiduciary litigation, counseling high net worth individuals, middle market business owners, institutional fiduciaries, family offices and charitable entities.

Partner in the Federal Tax Services group of Washington National Tax Services practice specializing in tax accounting including accounting methods, timing of income and deductions, depreciation and amortization, capitalization issues, merger and acquisition transaction costs, tangible property repair costs, and IRS requests for accounting method changes.

Global Co-Chair of the Tax Controversy Practice at Latham & Watkins, focusing on federal and state tax controversy and litigation, successfully representing domestic and multi-national businesses, non-profits, and high global wealth individuals in disputes involving sophisticated tax matters.

Counsel at Latham & Watkins who resolves high-stakes disputes with the IRS on behalf of clients facing intractable tax controversies, pursuing strategic solutions for taxpayers including the world’s largest corporations, emerging companies, and high-net-worth individuals.