Los Angeles Adjunct Faculty

Prospective Students

Corporate Partners

About GGU / Locations / Los Angeles / Los Angeles Adjunct Faculty

Bill Amon Lead Client Service Partner and Tax Advisory Partner, Deloitte Tax LLP		Bill is a client service partner in the Los Angeles office of Deloitte Tax LLP. Bill has more than 28 years of experience in corporate and international taxation service to the firm's large multi-national clients. He is the National Tax Leader for Media and Entertainment. During the past fifteen years, Bill has advised entertainment clients in international tax strategies to reduce foreign withholding tax, revenue recognition, acquisition planning accounting method, and partnership structuring. He currently serves as the US LCSP on Vivendi Universal and serves as the Global LCSP and LTP for The Walt Disney Company. Bill is also the LCSP for the Motion Picture Association of America. He is on the Board of Directors and Treasurer of the Children Affected by Aids Foundation. He was on the Board of Directors of Four Media Company, a publicly traded digital company now part of Ascent Media. He has been recognized as one of the Top Tax Advisors in North America in 1998, 1999 and 2001 by the International Tax Review and by Euromoney Magazine for years 2003-2007. Additional representative clients include: • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios • Sony Pictures Entertainment • Caesars Entertainment • DreamWorks, Animation • Mattel, Inc. • Panavision, Inc. • Warner Bros.
James Carreon Managing Director, Alvarez & Marsal Taxand, LLC		Jim Carreon is a Managing Director with Alvarez & Marsal Taxand, LLC. Mr. Carreon focuses on mergers and acquisitions transactions and general corporate tax matters. Mr. Carreon brings considerable experience in addressing complex tax issues with a particular emphasis on mergers and acquisitions, reorganizations, liquidations and spin-offs. He has advised numerous strategic and financial buyers on domestic and cross-border M&A transactions, and has provided sell-side tax services. He regularly advises technology, bio-technology and healthcare companies (including corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies and joint ventures) on the various tax aspects of formation, operation and disposition. In addition, Mr. Carreon has a deep understanding of tax matters pertaining to troubled companies, bankruptcy reorganizations, workouts and restructurings. He has advised a significant number of public and private "loss" companies (both pre- and post-bankruptcy) on the viability of their tax attributes, the effect of debt discharge income and the application of the consolidated return rules. Prior to joining A&M, Mr. Carreon most recently served as a Managing Director with the Transaction Advisory Services (Tax) practice of FTI Consulting, Inc. Mr. Carreon was also an attorney with the Transaction Tax group at Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP. In each of these roles, he primarily provided transaction tax advice to middlemarket financial and strategic buyers. Prior to that, Mr. Carreon was with the West Coast National Office of Ernst & Young LLP, where he provided tax advice on middle market M&A transactions, performed detailed tax attribute analyses for troubled companies, and acted as a dedicated technical resource for certain practice offices. Mr. Carreon earned a bachelor's degree in business administration and bachelor's degree in communications from the University of Southern California, a juris doctor from Southwestern University School of Law, and a master of laws degree (LL.M.), with honors, from Golden Gate University School of Law. Mr. Carreon is admitted to practice law in the state of California. Additionally, he is an adjunct professor at Golden Gate University with the Masters of Tax program. He is also a co-author of the BNA Tax Management Portfolio on related party transactions.
Diane Comi Diane M. Comi & Associates		Diane M. Comi has Transactional tax practice in the areas of corporate and business law - entity formation, asset transfers, reorganizations, succession planning through buy-sell arrangements, and business dispute resolution. She is the lead attorney for Diane M. Comi & Associates in San Marino, California. She has a LL.M degree in Taxation from Boston University, School of Law and she received her J.D. - Southwestern University School of Law. She has been a core adjunct at Golden Gate University since 2000.
Sharyn Fisk, ESQ Principal, Hochman, Salkin, Rettig, Toscher & Perez, PC		Sharyn M. Fisk specializes in civil tax and criminal tax controversy, trust and estate planning, and probate. Ms. Fisk earned her J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law-Newark and her LL.M in Taxation from New York University School of Law. She worked as an Attorney-Advisor for the Honorable Maurice B. Foley, United States Tax Court. Ms. Fisk is also a Certified Specialist, Taxation Law, The State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization. Ms. Fisk is an advisor to the Executive Committee for the Taxation Section, State Bar of California; a member of the Taxation Procedure Committee of the Taxation Section, Los Angeles County Bar Association; a member of the Standards of Tax Practice Committee of the Taxation Section, American Bar Association; Chair of the Taxation Section, Beverly Hills Bar Association; and a member of American Mensa, Ltd. Ms. Fisk coauthors a quarterly update on Important Civil Tax Controversy Developments for the ABA Section of Taxation. In addition, she coauthored Important Developments During the Year - Civil Tax Penalties, THE TAX LAWYER, Summer 2003 and Summer 2004, and Current IRS Enforcement Issues for the Coming Year, 56TH USC TAX INSTITUTE (Matthew Bender). She is the current Articles Editor of THE CALIFORNIA TAX LAWYER. Ms. Fisk Chaired the "Task Force on Registration of Unenrolled Return Preparers" for the Standards of Tax Practice Committee of the ABA Section of Taxation and has spoken before the ABA Section of Taxation on Important Civil Tax Controversy Developments and Circular 230. Ms. Fisk is an Adjunct Professor for Chapman Law School's LL.M Taxation program and for the Graduate Tax Program at Golden Gate University. Ms. Fisk is admitted to practice before the U.S. Tax Court, the U.S. District Court for the Central, Eastern and Southern Districts of California, the U.S. Court of Claims, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Brian Lynn, ESQ Hochman, Salkin, Rettig, Toscher & Perez, PC		Brian R. Lynn's practice consists primarily of representing clients in tax controversies and criminal tax investigations. He has represented taxpayers in audits, administrative appeals, and collection matters before the IRS and state tax authorities. Brian has also litigated cases before the U.S. Tax Court. Brian's recent representations include foreign-account reporting issues, promoter investigations, section 1341 claim-of-right issues, guarantee payments, and related-party stock sales. Brian defends clients in summons enforcement matters, lien and levy actions, and collections cases. He has been able to resolve IRS matters using pre-litigation administrative remedies, such as technical advice requests and private letter rulings. Brian also advises clients on attorney-client and other privilege matters, and he often provides assistance on substantive tax issues. Brian earned his J.D. from Harvard Law School and his LL.M. in Taxation from Georgetown University Law Center. He graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a Business Economics degree. Prior to attending law school, Brian practiced as a CPA with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Newport Beach, CA. Brian is active in the tax community. He currently serves as the co-chair for the Recent Developments Subcommittee of the American Bar Association's Administrative Practice Tax Committee. He has served in leadership positions with the Taxation Section of the Federal Bar Association and he is involved in the Tax Procedure and Litigation Committee of the California Bar Tax Section. Brian is a frequent panelist for professional organizations on various tax-related topics. His recent speaking engagements include: The Rise and Fall of Interest Suspension Under § 6404(g), ABA Tax Section Midyear Meeting (January 18, 2008) Important Changes in the Final Reportable Transaction Regulations, DC Bar Tax Section Program (September 6, 2007) The Economic Substance Doctrine from the Planning and Litigation Perspectives, Federal Bar Association 31st Annual Tax Law Conference (March 9, 2007) Tax Practitioner Penalties - A Primer, ABA Center for CLE (January 31, 2007) FIN 48: Accounting for Uncertain Tax Positions, DC Bar Tax Section Program (September 25, 2006) Debt Cancellation and Suspension Agreements - Tax and Reporting Issues, Debt Cancellation Coalition Annual Meeting (May 23, 2006) In addition, Brian has served as a lecturer for the Tax Penalties and Crimes course at the Georgetown University Law Center's LL.M. Program in Taxation. Brian has also authored several professional articles, including: The Practical Impact of FIN 48 - Is It Moving Abroad?, 34 J.Corp.Tax'n 34 (Nov./Dec. 2007) Blame It on Transparency, 114 TAX NOTES 945 (March 5, 2007) Tax Planning for Involuntary Conversions, 109 TAX NOTES 68 (October 3, 2005) I'll Pay, But Let's Not Call It a Fine: Code Sec. 162(f) Issues in Structuring Settlement Payments, 83 TAXES 21 (July 2005) But I Don't Sell Tax Shelters! The Expanding Reach of the Code Sec. 6700 Promoter Penalty, 82 TAXES 39 (June 2004) Brian has also been quoted in several publications regarding tax and tax-procedure matters, including the Los Angeles Times and Tax Notes.
William K. Norman Partner, Ord & Norman		William K. Norman is a Partner of the California tax law firm of Ord & Norman. Mr. Norman is a Certified Specialist in Taxation Law (State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization). He is admitted to practice in the states of California and Wyoming. He serves as Chair of his firm's Private Client and Closely Held Business Structures Department. He is also a senior member of the firm's Tax Litigation Services Group. He has been practicing tax law for more than 30 years including experience as tax staff of a big four accounting firm and tax manager of a major corporation. In his current practice, he focuses on the counseling of clients in business transactions, cross border trade and investments, and personal wealth transfer planning. Many of his client engagements involve sophisticated choice of entity issues (including use of LLC's and statutory trusts) and the development of complex restructuring plans. His clients include privately held companies and high net worth individuals. Mr. Norman received an A.B. degree in Economics from the University of California at Berkeley in 1962, a J.D. degree from the University of California in 1965 and an LL.M. (in Taxation) degree from New York University in 1970. He also attended the Graduate School of Business of University of California at Berkeley and the Stern Graduate School of Business of New York University. He is the co-editor of a three volume work published by the American Bar Association entitled Practical International Estate Planning. He is the co-developer of materials for the CEB courses on asset protection planning for estate planners. For over 26 years, he has lectured on international taxation subjects at Golden Gate University. He has developed course materials for six courses taught in the Graduate Tax Program at Golden Gate University including courses entitled respectively "Transfer Pricing" and "International Estate Planning". He developed and taught an international taxation course for the Advanced Professional Program at the University of Southern California. He developed courses on "Going International," "Foreign Investment in the United States" and "Current Uses of Limited Liability Companies" for the California CPA Foundation. For 30 years, he has regularly taught taxation courses for continuing education seminars sponsored by California State University at Los Angeles. He regularly chairs business and tax planning seminars on family owned business succession planning and family asset protection for the Beverly Hills Bar Association. He has been a seminar lecturer at several annual tax institutes sponsored by the University of Southern California. He has spoken at several annual institutes sponsored by the New York University. He has been a moderator or speaker at tax and estate planning programs sponsored by the Practicing Law Institute, California Continuing Education of the Bar ("CEB"), California chapters of the Tax Executives Institute, Estate Planning Councils in Southern California, State Bar of California, Beverly Hills Bar Association, Los Angeles County Bar Association, CPA Discussion Groups in Southern California, California CPA Foundation, American Bar Association and International Bar Association. He is a Member of the U.S. Branch of the International Fiscal Association (past Member of Council), past Chair of the International Private Client Planning Committee (International Estate Planning) of the International Law and Practice Section of the American Bar Association and past Chair and Founder of the Committee on Closely Held and Growing Businesses of the International Bar Association. He also is a member of the Board of Advisors of the Council of International Tax Education (CITE) and advisor to the Council on International Tax Education. He is a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association (past Chair of the Taxation Section and International Law Section) and California State Bar Association Taxation Section (past Vice Chair and Chair of the Tax Law Advisory Commission to the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization). Mr. Norman is the 2008 recipient of the Dana Latham Memorial Award, presented by the Los Angeles County Bar Association's Taxation Section in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the community and the legal profession in the field of taxation.
Kirk Paxson Area Counsel Pacific Coast, Internal Revenue Service		Kirk Paxson is the Area Counsel Pacific Coast with the Office of Chief Counsel, Internal Revenue Service Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division (TEGE). He supervises a group of attorneys responsible for advising the IRS TEGE Division in the areas of Employee Plans (including Executive Compensation Issues), Exempt Organizations, Employee v. Independent Contractor Issues, Tax Exempt Bonds, and Federal, State and Local Government issues. Since joining Chief Counsel in 1995, Mr. Paxson has taught numerous Continuing Professional Education courses to IRS lawyers and accountants. In addition to his position with Chief Counsel, Mr. Paxson has been the Director of Golden Gate University's School of Taxation for Southern California since 2001. He also has been an Adjunct Professor for Golden Gate University's School of Taxation since September 1997. He teaches Tax Research and Decision Making, and Federal Tax Procedure at the Los Angeles Campus and Federal Tax Procedure at the San Francisco main Campus. In 2001 Mr. Paxson received Golden Gate's Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Award for teaching. Prior to joining Golden Gate University's School of Taxation, Mr. Paxson was an Adjunct Professor of Law for Golden Gate University's LL.M. (Tax) program in San Francisco. There, he taught Comparative Tax Systems and Tax Research and Decision Making. Mr. Paxson has an LL.M. (Taxation) from Golden Gate University School of Law, a J.D. from Seattle University School of Law, and a B.A. from Stanford University.
Charles Rettig, ESQ Partner, Hochman, Salkin, Rettig, Toscher & Perez, PC		Chuck Rettig has been quoted with respect to tax-related matters by the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, Forbes, Tax Analysts-Tax Notes, the BNA Daily Tax Report and other national periodicals. As stated in the Chambers USA Guide, "According to peers, Charles Rettig of small tax controversy boutique Hochman Salkin Rettig Toscher & Perez is 'phenomenal, just phenomenal.' He has a 'tremendous reputation' for his work which is primarily tax controversial." For 2008 Chambers USA Guide added "Charles Rettig of California's Hochman Salkin Rettig Toscher & Perez is regarded by market sources as a 'brilliant and gifted lawyer'" who "enjoys a superb reputation and benefits from 'great presence .' " "Fantastic controversy tax lawyer" Charles Rettig is "knowledgeable and very intelligent." He is a Certified Specialist in both Taxation Law and Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law, by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. Mr. Rettig is a member of the IRS Advisory Council (IRSAC); the Advisory Board of the California Franchise Tax Board; the Institute Chair for the UCLA Extension Annual Tax Controversy Institute; a Planning Committee Member for the USC School of Law 50th Annual Institute on Federal Taxation (Institute Chair for the Subcommittee on Ethics, Compliance and Enforcement); a Planning Committee Member and the "Tax Controversies" Chair for the 68th NYU Institute on Federal Taxation and a Member of the Board of Trustees for the California CPA Education Foundation. He was selected as both a Top 100 Super Lawyer (Los Angeles County) by Los Angeles Magazine / Southern California Super Lawyers Magazine in 2005 and a Top Tax Super Lawyer (Los Angeles County), Los Angeles Magazine / Southern California Super Lawyers Magazine in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. He was selected as one of the "Top 50 IRS Representation Practitioners for 2008" by CPA Magazine. Chuck Rettig is a Past-Chair of the Taxation Sections for the State Bar of California and the Beverly Hills Bar Association. He is a recipient of the 2003-2004 Presidents Award for Outstanding Contributions to CPA's in Hawaii (from the Hawaii Society of CPA's); the 2003 V. Judson Klein Award for Outstanding Achievements in Taxation (from the Taxation Section of the State Bar of California) and the 1998 IRS District Director's Award (Los Angeles). He was the 2000 Conference Speaker of the Year for the California CPA Education Foundation; the 2003 Commencement Speaker for the Graduate School of Taxation at Golden Gate University; and the 2002 Instructor of the Year for the Graduate School of Taxation at Golden Gate University. He specializes in federal and state tax controversy matters and in tax, business, and estate planning. Chuck Rettig is on the National Board of Advisors for the Graduate Tax Program (LL.M. in Taxation) at New York University School of Law and the Board of Advisors for the CCH Journal of Tax Practice and Procedure. He is on the ABA Taxation Section Committee on Appointments to the U.S. Tax Court; the Standards of Tax Practice Committee; and is the Vice-Chair of the Committee on Civil and Criminal Tax Penalties (past Subcommittee Chair re Important Civil Developments). Chuck Rettig is a member of the Board of Regents and an Elected Fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel; a Member of the Association of Tax Counsel (Los Angeles); a Life Member of the American Tax Policy Institute; a Member of the Federal Bar Association; a Member of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims Bar Association; and is a Bar Liaison to the Los Angeles Chapter of the CSCPA Society Committee on Taxation. Mr. Rettig is an Associate Member of the Hawaii Society of CPA's Tax Committee; is on the Board of Trustees and the Faculty of Lecturers for the California CPA Education Foundation and is a frequent author and lecturer on tax-related issues. Mr. Rettig is also on the Advisory Board and an Adjunct Professor at the Graduate School of Taxation, Golden Gate University, in Los Angeles. Mr. Rettig is a co-author of "Tax Crimes", Bureau of National Affairs-Tax Management, Publication 636, and recently authored a treatise on "Surviving an Audit" which is part of the CCH 19-Volume State and Local Tax Library. Chuck Rettig is a member of the State Bar of California; the State Bar of Arizona (Inactive); the State Bar of Hawaii; the United States Tax Court; the United States Court of Federal Claims; the United States Courts of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit and the Fifth Circuit; the United States District Courts for the Eastern District of California, the Central District of California, the Southern District of California, the Northern District of California, the District of Arizona and the District of Hawaii. He is a Member of the Los Angeles World Affairs Council, an Executive Member of Town Hall Los Angeles, the Honolulu Zoo Association and a Board Member for Crespi Carmelite High School in Encino, CA.
Stuart Simon
Stanley Smiley Senior Vice President, Advance Markets, ING Advisors Network		Stan distinguished himself early on as a Dean's List honoree and Law Review Associate Editor while earning a Juris Doctorate degree from St. John's University School of Law in New York. He earned a Bachelor's degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He is licensed to practice law in New York and California and is admitted to the United States Tax Court. He is a member of the Real Property, Probate and Trusts Section and the Taxation Section of the American Bar Association. He also maintains memberships in the Los Angeles and San Francisco Bar Associations. Stan held attorney positions within the office of Chief Counsel of the Internal Revenue Service in New Jersey and California. A former partner of a Los Angeles-based law firm, he served as counsel for small and multi-billion qualified pension and welfare benefit plans, private trusts and foundations. He was a part-time instructor at the University of Maryland and has been an adjunct professor for Golden Gate University's Masters of Taxation Program. He has also served as Senior Vice President and Head of Advanced Markets of the ING Advisors Network. He has been a frequent platform speaker in his areas of expertise. Rounding out his impressive history, he had the opportunity to serve as a Judge Advocate in the U.S. Air Force and as a featured lecturer and commentator for various legal subjects on the Armed Forces Radio Network.