Firm Newsletter | October 2026

Dear Clients and Friends:

We hope you are enjoying your start to the Fall season! We write to update you on recent activities at FRB.

FRB was thrilled to celebrate Dana Walsh Sivak at the Long Island Business News 2026 Top 50 Women in Business Awards! The award recognizes leading women across Long Island for their professional accomplishments, mentorship, and community involvement. Dana's recognition reflects the impact of her leadership at FRB, her work in elder law, her dedication to mentoring, and her service to the broader community. Congratulations to Dana and to all of this year’s honorees on this well-deserved honor! Check out more photos from the event here.

From left to right: Jeffrey W. Berkman, Marissa Rivera, Kenneth Falcon, Adrienne Pasquale, Dana Walsh Sivak, Moish Peltz, Sarah Katz, Allen Abraham, David Simon, Michael Keelen, and the Walsh Sivak family.

FRB Partner and General Counsel James Black recently spoke at an international conference in Warsaw, Poland commemorating the 40th anniversary of Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal. Jim's presentation, “The Lamp That Never Dims,” traced the development of natural law from Classical Greece and Rome through modern constitutional systems, with particular attention to Poland’s constitutional history. Read more about Jim's remarks and the conference here.

Lastly, we are pleased to announce the appointment of Elizabeth Schlissel as Deputy General Counsel and Daniel Gershman as Assistant General Counsel. The appointments are part of the formal establishment of the firm’s Office of General Counsel (OGC), a milestone reflecting FRB’s continued growth and investment in its internal infrastructure. Learn more about these appointments and the OGC here.

 

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Register for Future Ready: Managing Through Disruption

 

 

 

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Register for Upcoming Webinars

 

Webinar: From Schedule I to Schedule III: Cannabis Rescheduling, Medical Expansion, and Regulatory Risk

• Join FRB's Andrew Cooper as he examines what rescheduling means for medical use, research, enforcement risk, and the ongoing clash between federal and state cannabis law.
• Learn more and register here.

 

Webinar: Air Rights: Owning a Piece of the Sky in New York City

• Join FRB Partner Michael Landsman on Thursday, October 29, at 10:00 AM ET as he discusses the legal and practical considerations surrounding air rights and development in New York City.
• Learn more and register here.

 

Webinar: IRA Trust Planning After SECURE 2.0: Coordinating Retirement Assets, Trusts, and Beneficiary Designations

• Join FRB Partner Angela Stockbridge on Thursday, October 29, at 3:00 PM ET as she explores how conduit and accumulation trusts, the 10-year rule, and beneficiary designations work together.
• Learn more and register here.

 

Webinar: The Advanced Tax Strategy Series (1.0 CLE/CPE/CFP CE/IRS CE Credit Per Session)

• Join FRB Partner and Taxation Co-Chair Matthew Foreman for The Advanced Tax Strategy Series, a continuation of a six-part webinar program beginning Tuesday, November 3, at 1:00 PM ET, designed for professionals seeking deeper insights into sophisticated tax planning.
• Learn more and register here.

 

Webinar: RMD Remediation for CPAs: Correcting Missed Distributions for Clients and Plans (1.0 CLE/CPE Credit)

• Join FRB Partner Angela Stockbridge on Thursday, November 12, from 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM ET as she examines how the excise tax works, how to report a shortfall on Form 5329, and when the IRS will waive the tax for reasonable error.
• Learn more and register here.

 

Webinar: Qualified Opportunity Zone Investing: Modified QOZ Rules for New Investments, Reporting Requirements, Gain Deferral

• Join FRB Vice Managing Partner Matthew Rappaport on Friday, November 13, at 1:00 PM ET as he provides tax counsel and advisers a detailed analysis of qualified opportunity zone (QOZ) investing and tax planning strategies post-OBBBA and in light of recent IRS guidance.
• Learn more and register here.

 

Webinar: Real Estate Tax Due Diligence in Business Transactions (Up to 3.6 CLE/CPE Credits)

• Join FRB Vice Managing Partner Matthew Rappaport and Taxation Associate Sam Brady on Tuesday, December 22, from 11:00 AM - 2:15 PM ET as they walk you through reviewing deal documents and financials, spotting entity structure pitfalls, depreciation and basis traps, passive activity exposure, and cross-border withholding gaps.
• Learn more and register here.

 

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Check Out Our Latest Podcasts

 

 

How Tax Works - Ep. 63:

The Taxation of Influencers and Content Creators

• In episode 63 of How Tax Works, Matthew Foreman discusses what’s taxable (and when), what’s deductible (and what proof you need), and whether you can deduct the cost of trying to catch a pass from former Montreal Expos farmhand Tom Brady (Sami v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo. 2026-69).
• Listen to the episode here.

 

 

Block & Order #59:
Blockchain, Banks & the Real Road to Adoption with Maghnus Mareneck, Cosmos Labs

• Kyle Lawrence and Moish Peltz sit down with Maghnus Mareneck, Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Cosmos Labs, to discuss how blockchain is moving beyond speculation to practical use in banking. They dive into stablecoins, why banks are finally paying attention, and how Cosmos is building the infrastructure for finance’s next chapter.
• Watch the episode here.

 

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Check Out Our Past Webinars

 

Webinar: Deep Bench Briefings Recap: But ChatGPT Said I Was Right: Responding to Workplace Complaints in the Age of AI

• Elizabeth Schlissel and Carly Galluzzo explore how AI has not created new workplace claims, but it has changed how complaints arrive and how serious they sound, and why facts, not formatting, should drive your response.
• Watch here.

 

Webinar: New York Trusts Guide (Up to 7.2 CLE/CPE Credits)

• Matthew Rappaport explores how different trust structures can be used to address unique estate planning, asset protection, tax, and family planning goals.
• Watch here.

 

Webinar: QSBS Is the Hottest Tax Break in America: Qualifying Clients Before They Sell (2.0 CLE Credits)

• Matthew Rappaport and Matthew Foreman explore how to maximize the Section 1202 QSBS exclusion while avoiding the common pitfalls that can cause clients to lose this valuable tax benefit.
• Watch here.

 

Webinar: 7 Deadly Sins of Contract Negotiations (Up to 1.2 CLE Credits)

• Mark Grossman explores the seven common pitfalls that can derail contract negotiations, from inadequate due diligence and payment terms to problematic boilerplate, negotiating tactics, non-competes, and indemnification provisions.
• Watch here.

 

Webinar: Beyond the Paycheck: Tax-Smart Compensation Planning for Closely Held and Family Businesses

• Angela Stockbridge explores practical strategies to help business owners maximize tax benefits while supporting long-term business goals.
• Watch here.

 

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Check Out Our Latest Insights & News

 

New Premium Tax Credit Proposed Regulations: What Group Health Plan Sponsors Need to Know

Angela Stockbridge explores what plan sponsors should do now that PTC regulations would end the cap on repaying excess advance payments and require Exchanges to verify other coverage. Read more.

 

Eleventh Circuit Drops Its ERISA Exhaustion Requirement for Fiduciary Breach Claims: What Plan Sponsors Need to Know about Bolton v. Inland Fresh Seafood Corp. of Am., Inc.

Angela Stockbridge breaks down the requirement that plan participants exhaust administrative remedies before suing, which means faster access to court and more litigation exposure for plan sponsors. Read more.

 

Before You Sign: Three Hidden Pitfalls in Your Physician Employment Contract

Christopher Williams and Elizabeth Schlissel explain three provisions that can have lasting effects on a physician’s career and what to consider before signing. Read more.

 

Mandatory, Suggested, and Optional: Understanding and Negotiating Government Contract Flowdown Clauses

Daniel Gershman and Dennis Lind break down mandatory, suggested, and optional flowdowns, highlighting opportunities to negotiate scope, costs, and compliance obligations. Read more.

 

NYC DOF Extends Pied-à-Terre Tax Exemption Deadline

Matthew Foreman and Joelle Vilinsky explain the extended deadline, why many owners received notices even though the tax may not apply to them, and the steps to take. Read more.

 

Required Minimum Distributions: What You Need to Know Before December 31

Angela Stockbridge explains who must take a required minimum distribution, the first-year double-RMD trap, and the 10-year rule for inherited accounts in her latest blog article. Read more.

 

Plan Language and Process: Two Recent Court Decisions Employers and Plan Administrators Need to Know About

Angela Stockbridge breaks down what Phillips v. Boilermaker-Blacksmith and Macpeak v. Unum mean for employers and plan administrators, from discretionary authority limits to the denial-letter mistakes that can wipe out your limitations defense. Read more.