Legislative Seminar

Overview

The 2024 Legislative Seminar will be held in-person on Monday, December 9, 2024.

The Legislative Seminar event will be held from 12:00 Noon to 5:15 pm offering 4.5 hours of CPE and CLE credits, then afterwards join us for a "social" event through 7:00pm

Location: Four Points Sheraton - 600 Kanawha Blvd. Charleston, WV

This is FREE for members of the Society. Non-Members may attend for $50.00.

Meet with and hear updates from Leaders in our state!

Click Here to view the Agenda for this event.

Speakers Include:

Chris Lutz, with Jones Walker, Washington, D.C.

Chris is a highly experienced state and local tax professional who provides sophisticated counsel to regional, national, and international businesses on the full spectrum of state and local income, sales and use, and related taxes. Equal parts advisor and problem-solver, he works with companies across the country to develop effective tax strategies and resolve disputes heard before state courts and administrative tribunals. Chris has represented clients from the state of Washington to Washington, DC, and in dozens of jurisdictions in between.

Chris’ clients include publicly traded Fortune 500 corporations as well as midsize, privately held businesses, emerging growth companies, and startups with interests, investments, and operations in numerous industries, including financial services, insurance, technology, telecommunications, bio-pharmaceuticals, retail, automotive, energy, and more. He works with owners, executives, and in-house tax departments at every step in the corporate life cycle, from business formation and early-stage financing to mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and other major transactions.

A firm believer that tax controversy and tax compliance work go hand in hand, Chris draws on his successes in court and in hearings before tax authorities to develop practical, proactive solutions that help clients achieve their core business objectives.

Chris speaks and writes frequently on state and local tax issues. He has delivered presentations before the Council on State Taxation (where he began his career as a legal fellow), the Georgetown University Institute on State and Local Taxation, the Paul J. Hartman State Tax Forum, the Tax Executives Institute, and the Institute for Professionals in Taxation (for which he served as chair of the State Income Tax Section Planning Committee of the Annual Conference and is a current member of the Sales and Tax Symposium Planning Committee).

Among other publications, Chris has written articles published in Bloomberg BNA, State Tax Notes, National Litigation Consultants’ Review, and The Journal of Multistate Taxation and Incentives.

Fred Nicely, Council on State Taxation (COST), Washington, D.C.

Fred Nicely is Senior Tax Counsel for the Council On State Taxation. Fred’s role as Senior Tax Counsel at COST extends to all aspects of the COST mission statement: “to preserve and promote equitable and nondiscriminatory state and local taxation of multijurisdictional business entities.” Before joining COST, Fred served in the Ohio Department of Taxation for four years as Deputy Tax Commissioner over Legal and for the prior seven years as the Department’s Chief Counsel. Fred’s responsibilities at the Department included testifying before legislative committees, participating as an alternative delegate for Ohio at Streamlined Sales Tax Project meetings, and reviewing legal documents issued by the Department, including deciding the merits of filing an appeal. He is a frequent speaker and author on Ohio’s tax system and on multistate tax issues generally. Fred also has extensive experience in public utility tax law, having served as an administrator of the Department’s public utility tax division. Fred’s undergraduate degree in psychology (with a concentration in accounting) is from the Ohio State University. He obtained his MBA and JD from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio.

Jean Luc Guerrier, Senior Enforcement Officer, Department of Treasury and FINCEN, Washington, DC.

Jean Luc Guerrier, is a Senior Enforcement Officer with the Department of Treasury and FINCEN. Bio to come.

Richie Heath with Bowles Rice, LLP, Charleston, WV

Richard "Richie" Heath, Jr. concentrates his practice in the area of government relations and serves as leader of the firm's Government Relations team. Richie's practice also includes work in the hospitality, gaming and tourism industry, industrial hemp and medical cannabis fields, as well as the state's burgeoning renewable energy industry. Prior to joining the firm, he was Chief Legal Counsel and Chief of Staff for West Virginia Senate Presidents Mitch B. Carmichael and William P. Cole. He also served as a Deputy Attorney General to West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey.
Richie's experience in public policy, government relations and executive management is extensive. From legislative drafting and in-depth legal analysis to research and communications, his background in the public, private and non-profit sectors provide the ability to offer clients measured, insightful results. In addition, Richie has significant practice in the areas of economic development, constitutional law and civil justice reform, and he regularly assists on campaign finance and election law matters.
Richie's practice also includes work in the hospitality, gaming and tourism industry as well as the state's burgeoning industrial hemp and medical cannabis field. He is the primary author of State of Affairs, the official blog of the Bowles Rice Government Relations team.
A 2002 graduate of the Wake Forest University School of Law, Richie was selected a National Member of the Order of the Barristers, an honorary organization limited to graduating law students and practicing lawyers who demonstrate exceptional skill in trial advocacy, oral advocacy and brief writing. He earned his bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, in political science from Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia.

Credits: 5.0 CPE Hours
Field: Specialized Knowledge (5)
Prerequisites: None
Knowledge Level: Basic; designed for all CPAs and staff

Overview

Prerequisites

Preparation

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