NYU 85th Institute on Federal Taxation

Kostelanetz attorneys will speak at the 85th Institute on Federal Taxation, hosted by the NYU School of Professional Studies. The conference will take place at the New York Marriott Marquis from November 15-20, 2025, and Kostelanetz LLP is a proud Gold sponsor.

The Institute on Federal Taxation is a comprehensive six-day conference that offers practitioners the opportunity to earn over 40 hours of continuing education credits in a variety of complex tax law topics. Session topics will include current developments in tax controversy, international taxation issues, trusts and estates, executive compensation and employee benefits, ethics, and more. Virtual attendance options are also available.

Learn more about the conference and register here.

November 15, 2026, 12:45 p.m. Eastern

IRS Operations: The Path Forward

Megan L. Brackney will participate in a panel addressing the enormous challenges the IRS is currently facing, including changing priorities, rescinded funding, and hiring freezes. The panel will discuss current and anticipated IRS enforcement efforts impacting high-net- worth individuals and their closely held entities. The panelists also discuss hot topics involving estate and gift tax issues, offshore activities, various IRS compliance campaigns targeting the use of business aircraft, digital assets, syndicated conservation easements, microcaptive insurance arrangements, Employee Retention Credits (ERC), Puerto Rico Act 60,and other IRS priority enforcement initiatives.

Megan will be joined by Phillip Colasanto of Charles Russell Speechlys. Former IRS Commissioner Charles P. Rettig will moderate the session.

November 15, 2026, 2:15 p.m. Eastern

Pros, Cons, and Ethical Considerations in Using Artificial Intelligence in Your Tax Practice

Frank Agostino will moderate a panel discussion on how AI will impact tax practice, including what tools are available now and what to expect going forward. Participants will discuss what to expect from the IRS use of AI in its enforcement efforts, ethical responsibilities under Circular 230, and other issues associated with the use and/or abuse of AI in tax practice.

Frank will be joined by panelists Joseph A. Ziegler, Chief of Internal Consulting at the IRS, and Sunshine Chow, Project Manager/Technical Data Agent in the IRS Office of Fraud Enforcement.

November 19, 2026, 5:15 p.m. Eastern

Ethical Issues for Tax Practitioners: Good Tax Planning, Aggressive Tax Advice, or Criminal Tax Evasion

Bryan Skarlatos will chair a session on ethical issues for tax practitioners, including obligations under Circular 230, IRC 6694, the Statements on Standards for Tax Service, and the criminal provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. The panel will also discuss how practitioners also have to grapple the ethical, legal, and practical obligations of AI use. The panel will address questions such as: When can you tell a client it is okay to take a deduction or report income as capital gain, and does a quick AI search suffice? Do you have to audit a client’s records, or can you just rely on what the client tells you, and can you rely on a client’s AI-generated memo? What do you do when a client tells you she made a mistake on her tax return?

Bryan will be joined by Aaron Esman of Ziering & Esman.

About Megan

Megan is a tax controversy attorney with a distinguished track record of delivering exceptional results for clients facing complicated and difficult tax issues. The former chair of the American Bar Association Section of Taxation, she is also a frequent speaker and contributor to local and national conferences on taxation, ethics in tax practice, IRS penalties, and civil tax controversy.

About Bryan

Bryan focuses his practice on assisting clients with navigating tax penalties and voluntary disclosures. He provides expert testimony on tax penalties to governmental bodies and teaches courses on tax penalties at New York University School of Law, where he also created and co-chairs the NYU Tax Controversy Forum. Bryan is recognized by Super Lawyers as one of the Top 100 Lawyers in New York and Best Lawyers in America has twice named Bryan “Lawyer of the Year” for Tax Litigation in New York.

About Frank

During his four decades of practicing tax law, Frank has been the driving force behind many successful lawsuits that sought to establish fair tax enforcement principles for taxpayers. Frank has extensive courtroom experience, litigating more than 100 tax matters, several of which established important precedents for taxpayers.