Jon Grouf practices in the area of corporate and commercial law, representing publicly and privately owned domestic and foreign clients in asset and stock acquisitions and sales, corporate governance, employment and shareholders agreements, joint ventures, partnerships, distribution and agency agreements.
Mr. Grouf's practice areas also include estate and trust planning and administration; income and transfer tax structuring for inbound and outbound investments; family succession; compliance, including voluntary disclosures; and pre-immigration and expatriation planning. Such work includes the representation of clients before federal and state tax authorities to resolve domestic and international tax controversies. He also advises clients in real estate acquisitions, financing, leasing and tax-free exchange of office buildings, shopping centers and other real estate holdings.
Mr. Grouf's work has a strong international element, with a focus on U.S. and foreign, corporate, tax, trust and commercial law. His clients consist principally of high-net-worth individuals (domestic and non-U.S.) and financial institutions. He is a frequent lecturer and author of articles on these subjects.
Admitted to practice in New York and Florida, Mr. Grouf is a graduate of Harvard Law School and a graduate of New York University School of Law (LL.M., Taxation) and Yale University (B.A., cum laude).
Areas of Practice
· Corporate Law
· Tax Law
· Trusts and Estates
· Real Estate Law
Professional Activities
· International Bar Association
- Council Member, Legal Practice Division
- Liaison, Mergers and Acquisitions Committee
- Former Co-Chair, Mergers and Acquisitions Committee and North American Forum
· Florida Bar Association
· New York State Bar Association
· American Bar Association
- International Law Section
· STEP
Experience
· Duane Morris LLP
- Partner, 2007-present
· K&L Gates
- Partner, 2000-2007
· Whitman Breed Abbott & Morgan
- 1996-2000
· Townley & Updike
- 1988-1996
· "The Use of Insurance in M&A Transactions and the Letter of Intent," Latin American Forum, São Paulo, Brazil, March 2006
Honors and Awards
· AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
Selected Speaking Engagements
· Speaker, "Issues in International Trust Taxation," New York State Bar Association's 7th Annual International Estate Planning Institute, New York City, March 2011
· Speaker, "Dealing with Messy Deaths," International Wealth Transfer Practices Conference, London, March 2011
· Session Chair, "Issues in International Trust Taxation," International Estate Planning Institute, March 2011
· Panelist, "Negotiating the Deal," Latin American Regional Forum, Santiago, April 2010
· Speaker, "Estate and Income Taxation of Non-U.S. Persons" and "New Developments," New York State Bar Association's Fifth Annual International Estate Planning Institute, New York City, April 23, 2009
· Speaker, "Tax Aspects of Changing Residencies", Family Office and Wealth Preservation Conference, New York, May 2007
· Speaker, "Classification of US Entities", New York State Bar Association International Estate Planning Institute, New York, May 2007
· Panelist, "The Effectiveness of Different Offshore Asset Protection Regimes", Trust & Estates Litigation Forum, Provence, France, March 2007
· Speaker, "The Use of Insurance in M&A Transactions and the Letter of Intent," Latin American Forum, São Paulo, Brazil, March 2006
· "Planning for the International Athlete," International Bar Association International Wealth Transfer Conference, London, March 2006
· "Agency and Distribution Agreements and International Mergers and Acquisitions," Uganda Law Society, Kampala, Uganda, 2005
· "U.S. Tax Planning for the International Real Estate Developer," International Wealth Transfer Practice Conference, London, 2005
· "U.S. Family and Tax Implications for the Multijurisdictional Decedent," International Wealth Transfer Practice Conference, London, 2005
· "International Joint Ventures," International Bar Association, Auckland, New Zealand, 2004
· Keynote Speaker, "Family Succession," International Bar Association, New York, 2003
· "Societas Europeas," ABA Section of International Business Law, Brussels, Belgium, 2003
· Session Chair, "Use of Insurance in M&A Transactions," International Bar Association, San Francisco, California, 2003
· Session Chair, "Precontractual Letters of Intent," Durban, South Africa, 2002
· Presenter, "Model Shareholders Agreement," International Wealth Transfer Conference, London, 2001
· Session Chair, "Escrow Agreements in Mergers and Acquisitions," Cancun, Mexico, 2001
· Lecturer, "Management Succession for the Closely Held Cross-Border Family Business," London, 2001
· Session Chair, "Transition of Multi-National Businesses," International Bar Association, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2000
· Session Chair, "Business Trusts (Contract Fiduciaries; U.S. Business Trust; Quistclose Trust; Trust and the Off-Shore Insurance Industry)," 1999
· Session Chair, "Letters of Credit (Stopping Payment; Special Clauses; Bankruptcy; Waivers and Amendments; the UCP)," 1999
· Session Chair, "Business Trusts (Austrian Civil Law Trust; Cayman Islands Start Trust Versus the Single Purpose Trust in the Commercial Context; Trust Indentures; Trust in Structured Private Financing; Constructive Trusts)," 1998
· Session Chair, "Business Trusts (Trusts to Recover Assets; Trusts in Equipment Leasing; Voting Trusts; Asset Protection Trusts)," 1997
· Lecturer, "Asset Protection for Multinational Corporations," 1997
· Session Chair, "Letters of Credit (Primer and Case Study on Basics, Wrongful Honor, Wrongful Dishonor, Abusive Calls of Guarantees, Remedies)," 1997
· Session Chair, "Disputes Involving Trusts (Attacking the Trust Structure and Strategies and Tactics of Defense)," 1996
· Session Chair, "Escrow Agreements," 1995