Harter Secrest & Emery LLP, a full-service business law firm with offices throughout New York, is pleased to announce that Diana R. Clarkson, a senior associate in the firm’s Tax and Trust & Estates practice groups, has been selected as a 2019 Forty Under 40 honoree by the Rochester Business Journal.
Forty Under 40 recognizes 40 men and women, under the age of 40, who have achieved professional success and who have also made significant civic contributions to the community. A panel of judges consisting of previous winners from various professions select the Forty Under 40 honorees. In choosing the winners, judges look for candidates who excel both professionally and who are actively involved in and giving back to the community.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Forty Under 40, and 1,000 outstanding professionals have been honored over the years.
“Our Forty Under 40 honorees are the future leaders of Rochester. These individuals are not only achieving success in their careers but giving back in meaningful ways to the Rochester community,” said Suzanne Fischer-Huettner, group publisher of the Rochester Business Journal. “Nominations from community members, co-workers, board members and friends described the incredible impact each of our winners is having on Rochester. Only the best of the best could be recognized. We applaud this year’s honorees.”
A graduate of Princeton University and The College of William and Mary School of Law, Clarkson represents individuals and business owners in a variety of federal and state tax, business succession and wealth transfer and estate planning matters. Her experience includes analyzing, structuring, and drafting documents for mergers and acquisitions, private equity transactions, tax-free spin-offs, and debt restructurings. She counsels clients on entity formation and business structure implementation with a focus on limited liability companies, helps clients analyze and correct employment tax issues, and represents clients in the negotiation of audits with local, state, and federal tax authorities. In addition, Clarkson represents individuals, families, and closely-held business owners in implementing estate planning strategies through entity reorganizations, shareholders agreements, wills and trusts.
Clarkson is an active community volunteer, serving as the board chair for the American Red Cross Greater Rochester Chapter, where she was recently honored at the annual Fire and Ice Gala with the Jane Fairchild Freund Volunteer Leadership Award. She is a board member and Audit Committee Chair for Allendale Columbia School, where she also serves as an attorney coach for the Mock Trial team. She has been a long-term volunteer at Volunteer Legal Services Project’s Family Law Clinic and is also active with the Princeton Club of Rochester, the American Bar Association, and the Allendale Columbia School Alumni Association. She has been honored for her professional accomplishment, community service, and strong commitment to the legal profession by The Daily Record with the 2018 Excellence in Law “Up and Coming” Attorney award and she has been selected to the Upstate New York Super Lawyers Rising Stars list for the past two years for her work in tax law.
The Forty Under 40 awards will be presented at a luncheon November 12, 2019 at noon at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center, 123 E. Main St. in Rochester. Winners will be profiled in a magazine that will be inserted into the November 15 issue of the Rochester Business Journal.
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