

Eliot L. Kaplan
- Phoenix
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For more than 30 years, Eliot has served as a trusted advisor to clients on corporate and tax matters.
Eliot Kaplan assists clients with many types of negotiated transactions including mergers and acquisitions, private equity transactions, partnerships, limited liability companies, joint ventures, programmatic joint ventures, and private placements. He also advises clients and their directors, managers, and officers on entity planning and structuring, entity formation and dissolution, board management, corporate governance, fiduciary duty matters, operating entity legal issues, commercial transactions, fund formation, and business reorganizations and restructurings. Clients seek Eliot’s guidance on minimizing the potential and related tax liabilities triggered by complex transactions and entity structures.
Eliot’s clients operate in many industries including real estate, healthcare, hospitality and leisure, recreation, homebuilding, construction, packaging, consumer goods, manufacturing, and franchising. They benefit from the experience Eliot gained in his former position as a lawyer in the national office of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS). While in private practice, he was appointed to and served on the IRS Advisory Council, which advises the IRS commissioner and other IRS officials on tax policy and administration issues.
Areas of focus
Education & Credentials
Education
- Georgetown University, LL.M., Taxation, with distinction, 1993
- Arizona State University, J.D., 1989
- The University of Arizona, B.S., 1986
Bar and Court Admissions
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Arizona
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District of Columbia
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Missouri
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Kansas
Professional Recognition
Ranked by Chambers USA, as "America's Leading Lawyers" for Corporate: Mergers and Acquisitions, 2018-2024; Tax, 2020-2024
American College of Tax Counsel, Fellow
Named a "Leading Lawyer in Arizona" by The Business Journal: Phoenix
Named a “Top Lawyer” in Arizona by Ranking Arizona by Arizona Business Magazine
Named one of Arizona’s Finest Lawyers
Listed as a "Super Lawyer" by Southwest Super Lawyers, 2017-2024
Impact
Professional Leadership
- American Bar Association
- Business Law Section
Corporate Law Committee, Alumni Member
- Tax Section
Real Estate Committee, Former Chair; Current Member
Sponsorship Committee, Former Member
Partnership & LLC's Committee - State Bar of Arizona
- Tax Council
Past Chair, Past Vice-Chair, Past Treasure
Tax Law Advisory Commission, Current Member
- Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council
Large Business and International Committee, Past Chair - Phoenix Tax Workshop, Advisory Board Member
Community Involvement
- Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Desert Southwest Chapter, Former Board President and Nominating Committee Chair; Liaison, Board Stewardship
- Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix, Former Board Member
Former Chair, Business & Professional Groups and Federation 2.0 Agencies and Partnerships - Southwest Human Development Corporation, Board of Directors, Former President
- Greater Phoenix Economic Council, GPEC Next Leadership Council, Board Member