Partners

John T. Adney

Mr. Adney received his B.A. summa cum laude from Millikin University in 1972 and his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1975. He served as a law clerk for the Trial Division of the U.S. Court of Claims in 1975-76, and then clerked for Judge Marion T. Bennett of the U.S. Court of Claims in 1976-77.

Since 1977, Mr. Adney has engaged in an insurance product taxation advisory, ruling, and audit practice, covering universal life insurance, variable life insurance, group-term life insurance, COLI, fixed and variable annuities, long-term care insurance, and business and compensatory uses of the products. During the same period, he has engaged in extensive advisory, ruling, and audit work relating to insurance company taxation. In addition, since 1980 Mr. Adney has been involved in legislative representation of insurance companies on tax matters relating to the companies and their products, including the enactment or revision of Internal Revenue Code sections 72, 101(f), 101(g), 801-818, 845, 846, 1035, 7702, 7702A, and 7702B. In 1985, he helped organize Davis & Harman, serving as the firm's first managing partner.

Mr. Adney is a member of the bars of the District of Columbia, Illinois, and the U.S. Supreme Court. He is also a member of the American Bar Association and its Section of Taxation, and is past chair of the Section's Committee on Insurance Companies. Mr. Adney is co-author of Life Insurance & Modified Endowments (Society of Actuaries 2004) and of the Annuities Answer Book (Aspen Publishers, 4th ed. 2005), and he wrote the chapter on "Using Life Insurance in Executive Compensation" in Executive Compensation (Law Journal Seminars Press, 1997). He also has authored or co-authored a number of articles on the taxation of insurance companies and products, two of which, published in the Journal of Financial Service Professionals and its predecessor, won author awards from readers of the Journal; he is now an Associate Editor of the Journal. Mr. Adney has been a frequent speaker at programs of the Insurance Tax Conference, the Society of Actuaries, the National Association for Variable Annuities, and the American Bar Association. He is Chair emeritus of the Millikin University Board of Trustees.

Jason K. Bortz

Mr. Bortz advises clients on tax, ERISA and other aspects of tax-favored retirement plans and executive compensation arrangements. His primary focus is on traditional and hybrid defined benefit plans, 401(k) plans, 403(b) programs, 457 plans, IRAs, nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements and retiree health benefits. He represents a diverse group of clients, including corporate employers, taxexempt organizations, plan service providers, financial institutions and trade associations.

Mr. Bortz is a contributing author to the 403(b) Answer Book, 6th Ed. Supp. (Aspen Publishers), Annuities Answer Book, 4th Ed. (Aspen Publishers), and Complete Guide to Nonprofit Organizations, 1st Ed. (Civic Research Institute). He has published a number of articles on benefits matters in various periodicals, including The Journal of Financial Service Professionals and The Journal of Investment Consulting. Mr. Bortz is also a frequent speaker on a variety of employee benefits topics that range from updates on pending retirement legislation to technical discussions on particular issues.

Mr. Bortz has extensive experience representing clients before the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Labor. He has worked on ruling requests, advisory opinions, prohibited transaction exemptions and controversy matters. Mr. Bortz has also written numerous comment letters on regulatory matters, has authored a number of amicus curiae briefs on employee benefits matters in the federal courts of appeal and has testified on behalf of clients at hearings before the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Labor.

Prior to joining Davis and Harman LLP, Mr. Bortz was a member of the Washington, D.C. tax firm of Caplin and Drysdale, Chartered. Before that, he was a law clerk to Judge Loken on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Mr. Bortz holds a BA from Hamilton College and a JD from Cornell Law School, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif and an editor of the Cornell Law Review. He is a member of the District of Columbia and New York bars.

Thomas A. (Tad) Davis

Mr. Davis attended the University of Florida where he received a Bachelor of Arts in 1960 and a Doctor of Jurisprudence in 1963. After serving in the army as a Strategic Intelligence Officer with the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington, D.C., Mr. Davis attended Georgetown University Law Center where in 1967 he was awarded an LL.M. in Taxation.

From 1966 until 1970, he was employed in the Office of the Chief Counsel of the Internal Revenue Service. There, he assisted in developing the IRS position in tax refund litigation, particularly in the area of life insurance taxation. In 1970, he entered private practice and in 1985, he joined with Bill Harman to form the firm of Davis & Harman.

Mr. Davis is a member of the Florida Bar, the District of Columbia Bar, and the American Bar Association. He serves on the Board of Trustees of the University of Florida Law School. He has served as a special Assistant Attorney General to the Florida legislature. Mr. Davis has published numerous tax articles and taught at ALI-ABA tax seminars. He is the author of Horse Owners and Breeders Tax Handbook, which is recognized as the leading authority on tax issues relating to the horse industry.

James M. Delaplane, Jr.

From 1998 to 2002, Mr. Delaplane was Vice President, Retirement Policy for the American Benefits Council (ABC), which is the national association representing the employee benefits interests of major U.S. employers. At ABC, Mr. Delaplane oversaw the development of Council policy concerning retirement, equity compensation and investment issues and served as chief lobbyist and media spokesperson on those issues. He now serves as Special Counsel to ABC and has testified before Congress on its behalf. In October 2002, Business Insurance named Mr. Delaplane one of "35 Rising Stars" in the commercial insurance and benefits management industry.

Mr. Delaplane was legislative counsel to U.S. Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-North Dakota) from 1996 to 1998, and was the chief staff person on retirement, health and related tax matters. In October 1998, Pensions & Investments recognized Mr. Delaplane as one of the "25 People to Watch" in the pension and investment community - the only federal government official among those named.

Prior to his work on Capitol Hill, Mr. Delaplane was in private law practice in Washington, D.C. In July 1997, he was part of the transition team for the incoming Executive Director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

In 1995, Mr. Delaplane earned his J.D., cum laude, from the Harvard Law School, where he was an Editor of the Journal on Legislation. Mr. Delaplane received his B.A., cum laude, from Harvard University in 1989.

Mr. Delaplane is a member of the District of Columbia and Pennsylvania Bar Associations. He is a frequent speaker on retirement policy matters and is often quoted in the Washington Post, New York Times and Wall Street Journal. Mr. Delaplane has appeared on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Special Report with Brit Hume, and CNBC.

Mark E. Griffin

Mr. Griffin received his B.A., magna cum laude, from Hamilton College in 1981 and his J.D., cum laude, from Syracuse University in 1984. He was awarded an LL.M. in Taxation from Georgetown University Law Center in 1988. Mr. Griffin served as Attorney-Advisor to Special Trial Judge Hu S. Vandervort, Jr. of the U.S. Tax Court from 1986-1988.

Mr. Griffin represents life insurance companies on a wide variety of Federal income tax issues associated with annuities and life insurance contracts. He speaks and writes frequently on the Federal income taxation of insurance products and is a contributing author to the Annuities Answer Book (Panel Publishers, 3d ed. 2000).

Mr. Griffin is a member of the bars of the District of Columbia and New York. He is a member of the American Bar Association Section of Taxation and is a member and officer of the Federal Bar Association Section of Taxation.

Randolf H. Hardock

From 1993 to 1995, Mr. Hardock served as the Benefits Tax Counsel in the Office of Tax Policy at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, where he was responsible for all tax issues involving retirement savings and executive compensation, health insurance, Social Security, Medicare, and unemployment insurance. While at Treasury, he worked closely with officials in the White House, OMB, IRS, PBGC, and the Departments of Labor and HHS. Mr. Hardock represented the Treasury in testimony before congressional committees and led Treasury efforts on the design of the 1995 National Performance Review's report Simplifying Pensions. He also served as a member of the White House Task Force on National Health Care Reform, coordinating the efforts of the team of Office of Tax Policy attorneys and economists. Secretary of the Treasury Robert E. Rubin presented him with the Treasury Department's Meritorious Service Award.

From 1986 to 1993, Mr. Hardock was Tax Counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, serving as an advisor to Chairman Lloyd Bentsen on a wide variety of issues. Prior to entering public service, Mr. Hardock practiced law in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Hardock is a nationally known speaker and author on political, retirement, and health issues and is frequently quoted in national and trade publications. The Washington Post Magazine named him as a "Best Lawyer" in both the fields of government relations law and employee benefits law. Institutional Investor magazine picked him as one of "the next generation of financial leaders" and Corporate Counsel magazine has designated him as one of the best employee benefits lawyers in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Hardock received his B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of Rochester in 1978. In 1981, he earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania where he was an editor of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif.

Mr. Hardock is a member of the District of Columbia Bar. He has served on the American Bar Association Task Force on Law Reform and is a member of the ABA Section of Taxation and the ABA Section of Real Property, Probate and Trust Law. He also is an Employee Benefit Research Institute Fellow and a Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel.

William B. Harman, Jr.

Mr. Harman holds an A.B. from The College of William and Mary, a J.D. from the Marshall-Wythe School of Law, College of William and Mary, and an LL.M. (Taxation) from Georgetown University Law Center.

From 1958 to 1961, Mr. Harman was with the Office of Tax Legislative Counsel, U.S. Department of Treasury, and the Office of the Chief Counsel, Legislation and Regulations Division, Internal Revenue Service. During this period, he was actively involved in the legislation that became the Life Insurance Company Income Tax Act of 1959. He also headed the group of attorneys that developed the regulations under the 1959 Act.

From 1962 until 1978, he was associated with the American Council of Life Insurers (Executive Vice President, Government Relations, 1976-1978) and its several predecessors (the American Life Insurance Association and the American Life Convention in various legal positions). Mr. Harman was actively involved in all Federal taxation issues involving the life insurance industry where he addressed both company and policyholder issues. He was a partner from 1978 to 1985 with the Washington office of Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan in charge of the firm's insurance practice. In 1985, he joined with Tad Davis to form the firm of Davis & Harman.

Mr. Harman is a member of the Virginia and District of Columbia bars and the American Bar Association (Section of Taxation), the American Law Institute, and the Association of Life Insurance Counsel. He is a member of the National Academy of Social Insurance, and he serves on its Board of Directors and as its Secretary.

Bryan W. Keene

Prior to joining Davis & Harman in 1999, Mr. Keene received a B.S. from the University of Florida in 1994. He received a J.D., cum laude, from the University of Florida in 1998. While at the University of Florida, Mr. Keene was a senior editor of the Florida Law Review.

Mr. Keene is co-author of several articles including: "The Taxes on Starlight: A Case for the Repeal of Sections 809, 815, and 1503(c) of the Internal Revenue Code," in 20 Insurance Tax Review 31 (2001), and "The Impact of Financial Services Reform on State Insurance Regulation," in the Journal of Financial Service Professionals (November 2000).

Mr. Keene is a member of the bars of the District of Columbia and Florida.

Kent A. Mason

Mr. Mason served as a Legislation-Attorney for the Joint Committee on Taxation, U.S. Congress, and as an Attorney-Advisor in the Office of Tax Policy of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. While with the government, Mr. Mason focused on the taxation of retirement plans, health plans, and other employee benefits.

Mr. Mason received his J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was an editor of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif. Following his graduation from law school, he served as a Law Clerk to Judge Phyllis A. Kravitch, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Mr. Mason received his B.A., magna cum laude, from Amherst College in 1976.

Mr. Mason is a member of the District of Columbia and Georgia Bar Associations and he was elected to the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel. He is a frequent speaker and author on employee benefits issues, and has testified on several occasions at IRS regulatory hearings. His speech and article topics, like his practice, cover the full range of issues, including legislative updates, analysis of new regulations, plan design alternatives, new compliance issues, and correction methodologies.

Joseph F. McKeever, III

Mr. McKeever graduated with a B.A. in history from George Washington University in 1972. He obtained his law degree (with high honors) from George Washington University in 1978, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif. During 1978-79, he served as law clerk to Trial Judge Harry Wood at the United States Court of Claims, and during 1979-80, he was law clerk to former Chief Judge Wilson Cowen of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Mr. McKeever's practice focuses on the Federal income taxation of life insurance company products, principally annuities and life insurance contracts. Among other clients, he represents the Committee of Annuity Insurers, a coalition of 33 of the largest issuers of annuity contracts.

Mr. McKeever has served as Chairman of NAVA and of the ABA Tax Section, Committee on Insurance Companies. He currently serves on the Boards of the Chicago Insurance Tax Conference and the Insurance Tax Review, as well as the Advisory Committee of the FBA Insurance Tax Seminar. Mr. McKeever is a co-editor and contributing author of the Annuities Answer Book (Panel Publishing).

Mr. McKeever speaks regularly on topics related to the taxation of life insurance company products, and has made many presentations at NAVA meetings, the Federal Bar Association's Insurance Tax Seminar, the Stanford Life Insurance Taxation Workshop, the Practicing Law Institute, ALI-ABA conferences, and the Chicago Insurance Tax Conference.

He lives in the District of Columbia with his wife, Janice McKeever, two semi-trained dogs, and two very independent cats, all of whom are passionate Red Sox fans.

Barbara A. Pate

From 1995 to 2005, Ms. Pate served as the Tax Counsel and Legislative Director to U.S. Representative Rob Portman (R-Ohio). During her tenure with Congressman Portman, Ms. Pate played a central role in the development and enactment of a series of bipartisan pension bills Representative Portman authored with U.S. Representative Ben Cardin (D-Maryland), including all major retirement bills enacted in recent years. In addition, she was the key advisor on tax matters to Representative Portman, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee and House Republican Leadership. Ms. Pate served as Co-chairman Portman's congressional liaison to the Commission on Restructuring the Internal Revenue Service, and helped develop and enact landmark legislation increasing taxpayers' rights and ensuring IRS oversight and accountability.

Prior to working with Representative Portman, Ms. Pate served as Tax Counsel, Legislative Director, and Chief of Staff to Representative J.J. Pickle (D-Texas) advising him on successful legislative initiatives to encourage research and development, provide capital through dividend reinvestment, and promote retirement savings. Her portfolio also included extensive work on tax-exempt bonds, charitable organizations and energy taxes. Ms. Pate served as Chairman Pickle's liaison to the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight.

Ms. Pate graduated with high honors from the University of Texas at Austin in 1975 and received her J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in 1978.

Ms. Pate is a member of the District of Columbia and Texas Bar Associations. She is a founding member and former co-chair of the Tax Coalition, a forum for professionals involved in federal tax policymaking. Ms. Pate is a member and former officer of the Texas State Society.

Barbara N. Seymon-Hirsch

Ms. Seymon-Hirsch received a B.A. from Vassar College in 1974. She earned her J.D. from California Western School of Law in 1977 and her LL.M. in Taxation from Georgetown University Law Center in 1978.

From 1988 to 1995, Ms. Seymon-Hirsch was an Assistant Tax Counsel for Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in New York City. At MetLife, her responsibilities included issues affecting section 403(b) plans, and Federal and state tax compliance issues such as tax withholding, reporting, and record keeping affecting pension plans and insurance products, including section 403(b) annuities, individual retirement annuities, nonqualified annuities, and life insurance contracts.

From 1982 to 1988, Ms. Seymon-Hirsch was an Associate Counsel at TIAA-CREF in New York City where her responsibilities included interpreting and assisting in the implementation of Federal and state tax withholding and reporting requirements affecting insurance products. Prior to joining TIAA-CREF in 1982, Ms. Seymon-Hirsch was with the Internal Revenue Service in Washington, D.C. While at the IRS, she represented the Offices of the IRS Commissioner and the Assistant Commissioner (Employee Plans and Exempt Organizations) during Congressional consideration of various legislative proposals.

Ms. Seymon-Hirsch is a member of the District of Columbia and New York bars. She is a member of the Committee on Employee Benefits of the Tax Section of the American Bar Association and served as a member of the IRS Information Reporting Program Advisory Committee ("IRPAC") for 1994 and 1995. She has also been appointed, and currently serves as, a member of IRPAC for 2002 and 2003. She contributes to, and is a co-editor of, both the 403(b) Answer Book (Panel Publishers, 5th ed. 2000) and the Annuities Answer Book (Panel Publishers, 3d ed. 2000).

Craig R. Springfield

Mr. Springfield frequently speaks and writes on these topics, and articles he authored or coauthored include: "Proposed Model Closing Agreements for Life Insurance Contract Failures: Comments Requested," Taxing Times (May 2007); "Age Defined: IRS Issues Final Regulations on 'Attained Age' Under Section 7702," Taxing Times (May 2007); "New Rules and Opportunities for Long-Term Care Insurance Combination Products," Taxing Times (May 2007); "More on Reasonable Mortality: IRS Issues Notice 2006-95, Taxing Times (Feb. 2007); "Private Rulings Regarding 'Cash Surrender Value' Under Section 7702," Taxing Times (Sept. 2006); "Good Reasons for Removing Tax Uncertainty for LTC-Annuity Combos," National Underwriter: Life & Health (May 15, 2006); "New Proposed Regulations on 'Attained Age' Under IRC Section 7702," Taxing Times (Sept. 2005); "Affordable Long-Term Care Coverage: The Tale of 'Combination' Products," Journal of Financial Service Professionals (July 2005); "Rev. Rul. 2005-6: Guidance on QABs Under IRC Sections 7702 and 7702A," Insurance Tax Review (April 2005); "Notice 2004-61: Guidance on Mortality Under IRC Section 7702," Product Matters! (March 2005); "The New Tax Rules Governing Long-Term Care Insurance," Journal of the American Society of CLU and ChFC (Sept. 1997, Nov. 1997, and Jan. 1998).

Mr. Springfield received his B.S.B.A., magna cum laude, in 1985, and M.S. in Accounting in 1987 from the University of Central Florida. In 1990, he earned his J.D., with honors, from the University of Florida, and in 1991 he received an L.L.M. in Taxation from New York University. Mr. Springfield is a member of the Florida and District of Columbia bars and the American Bar Association Section of Taxation. He currently is secretary of the Insurance Companies committee of the ABA's Section of Taxation.

Daniela Stoia

Ms. Stoia received her B.A., with High Honors, from Michigan State University in 1994. She received a J.D. from Vanderbilt University in 1998. She is co-author of the article "Rev. Proc. 99-27: Some Relief for the Heartburn of Inadvertent MECs," published in The Insurance Tax Review 283 (Aug. 1999).

Ms. Stoia is a member of the American Bar Association (Tax Section), and the bars of the District of Columbia and Maryland.