Financial Services and Tax

The Congress and the President have undertaken a massively ambitious program to manage the economy with the goal that the country emerge from the recession positioned to resume economic growth, care for its aging population, make the transition to a green economy, reduce income disparity, achieve comprehensive healthcare coverage and shape global financial regulation.

This large and growing executive and congressional presence in economic, tax and finance matters represents both an opportunity and a threat and requires that a sophisticated political strategy now be part of private economic undertakings.  

A core challenge in this environment is to see that government interventions are appropriately informed and thought through, and that changes to the financial regulatory and tax structures not be ones that kill private economic activity, financial innovation or the entrepreneurial spirit.

The Livingston Group has highly talented and experienced people who are proven and well positioned to provide political, strategic and lobbying value to our clients' financial services and tax needs. TLG has a growing number of clients in this, the firm's newest practice area.

Lead Partner

Bernie Robinson - served in Governor George Ryan’s cabinet, where he was responsible for the State of Illinois’ Washington, DC office.  He also served as Chief of Staff to Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA), who is currently a Democratic whip for the New England region.  Mr. Robinson has an extensive background in corporate America with a long tenure as an executive for Philip Morris USA.  As an advocate, he as represented financial services firms such as Gerson Lehrman before the federal government.

Director

Honorable John Duncan - served as President George W. Bush’s Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Legislative Affairs.  Mr. Duncan worked closely with House and Senate leaders to pass the 2001, 2002, and 2003 tax cuts.  He contributed in particular on key issues such as: terrorism risk insurance; pension overhaul reform; renewal of the Fair Credit Reporting Act; and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security.
(info@livingstongroupdc.com)

Team

Honorable Wayne Allard - is a former two-term Republican U.S. Senator and three-term Member of Congress from Colorado.  Mr. Allard served on the Senate Banking and Urban Development Committee, and the Appropriations Committee.  He worked for passage of the Government Performance and Results Act (GRPA).  He served on the Budget Committee in both the Senate and House.  Mr. Allard also served in the Colorado State Senate on the Appropriations, and Finance and Business committees.

Honorable Arnie Havens - served as General Counsel of the Department of the Treasury.  He also served as Minority Counsel and Staff Director on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and as Special Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs. Prior to his service at the Treasury Department, Mr. Havens was Senior Vice President for Government Affairs at CSX Corporation. During his tenure at CSX, the company's transportation operating units included CSX Transportation, Sea-Land Service, and American Commercial Barge Line. (Jones Walker)

Jason Chung - worked at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), an agency within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).  As a congressional liaison at CBP, his portfolio responsibilities included: border security initiatives; immigration reform policy; and cargo security programs.  Mr. Chung served in the administration of Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. of Maryland; worked for Congressman Thomas M. Davis, III (R-VA); and served on the subcommittee staff of Congressman Christopher Shays (R-CT), working on issues regarding terrorism and homeland defense.

Lionel Collins - served as chief of staff to a Louisiana Congressman, after having served as the Legislative Director and Chief of Staff to Congressman Pete Geren (D-TX) (formerly the Secretary of the Army) for five years.  He also served as the Legislative Director to Congressman Ron DeLugo (D-VI) for one year.  Before moving to the House side of Capitol Hill, Mr. Collins was a professional staff member to the Senate Banking Committee for two years, and served as a legislative assistant on Senator Russell B. Long's (D-LA) staff for five years.

William D. Crosby, Jr. - served 27 years on the staff of the House Rules Committee including his years as Chief Counsel for Committee Chairman Jerry Solomon (R-NY).

Stacie Walters Fujii - joined The Livingston Group from Congressman Vic Snyder’s (D-AR) office. She was a senior staffer for the Congressman and handled issues relating to the judiciary, banking, commerce, energy, homeland security, housing, science, Social Security, and telecommunications. 

Gregory James - is a former senior policy advisor for Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. (R-MD) and Chief of Staff for Maryland's social services agency, the Department of Human Resources.  He is experienced on a wide range of issues, including health, education, environment, adult and juvenile justice, public safety, human services, disabilities, veterans' affairs, and economic development.  Mr. James previously spent six years working in the area of telecommunications and antitrust law at Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd & Evans, P.L.L.C. and LCC International, Inc.

John Jaskot - served as a fellow on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation and later as Coast Guard liaison with the U.S. Senate.  Mr. Jaskot worked in Coast Guard headquarters and regional legal offices on a wide variety of domestic and international legal matters, including national security, marine safety and environmental protection, law enforcement, and regulatory and administrative law matters. (Jones Walker)

Chris Johnsen - has been deeply involved in numerous legislative matters affecting the maritime industry, including the Maritime Security Acts of 1996 and 2003, numerous Coast Guard authorization acts, the landmark tonnage tax legislation, the repeal of Subpart F shipping income provisions, the Jones Act, the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 (WRDA 2007), and legislation to implement numerous Free Trade Agreements.  In addition to his work with the Congress on Capitol Hill, Mr. Johnsen has developed close ties with the principal federal agencies involved with the promotion and/or regulation of the U.S. maritime industry: the Department of Transportation; the Maritime Administration (MarAd); the U.S. Coast Guard; the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC); the Export-Import Bank of the United States; the U.S. Department of Agriculture; the U.S. Trade Representative; and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. (Jones Walker)

Ruddy Ramelli - is a board-certified tax specialist as certified by the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization.  He concentrates on corporate and partnership federal income tax issues. In addition, Mr. Ramelli represents tax-exempt institutions, particularly tax-exempt health care entities.  He speaks frequently at national and state tax seminars, and is a professor of law at Tulane University Law School and an adjunct professor at the University of New Orleans.  He has served as Vice Chair of Administration of the American Bar Association's Section on Taxation and has served on the council and as Chairman of the Corporate Tax Committee of the American Bar Association's Section on Taxation; Chairman of the State Tax Section; and Chairman of the Tax Specialization Board.  Mr. Ramelli also has served as a member of the National Conference of Lawyers and Certified Public Accountants. (Jones Walker)

George P. Sigalos - handled government affairs for a top five U.S. defense contractor and represented over 500 small, medium, and large defense and other federal contractors at a prominent national trade association. Mr. Sigalos has extensive experience working with the congressional oversight committees related to defense and procurement in both the House and Senate.

Alex Trostorff - primarily engages in transactional work for corporations, partnerships, and limited liability companies, with an emphasis on international tax issues.  He also represents clients in civil and criminal tax controversies before the Internal Revenue Service.  Mr. Trostorff is a board-certified tax specialist as certified by the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization.  Mr. Trostorff previously worked in the corporate branch of the national office of the Internal Revenue Service in Washington, DC. (Jones Walker)

Representative Clients:

  • Investment Company Institute
  • MERSCorp