Texas Tax Section

Texas Tax Legends

“The Tax Legends Interviews may be the most complete chronicle anywhere of the practice and events of the federal tax law in the United States over the last 50+ years.” –Lawrence B. Gibbs.

Steve Akers Interview - 11/06/2017

Steve Akers

Steve Akers of Dallas was interviewed at a luncheon meeting of the Dallas Bar Association Tax Section about his life and pioneering career. Steve is one of the outstanding tax lawyers of our time and certainly a widely followed and leading expositor of estate and gift taxation. His research papers and presentations are perhaps the most penetrating and rigorous analytical works focusing on estate and gift taxation outside of academia. Steve works today with Bessemer Trust, a leading private trust company. Steve's career started at Jenkens & Gilchrist, where he started in the estate planning practice group. In the mid-1990 period, Steve moved to Ernst & Young at a time when the idea of a leading tax lawyer moving from a law firm to a national CPA firm was innovative. Some years later, Steve was recruited by Bessemer Trust when they were establishing their presence in Dallas. While many lawyers have worked for trust companies, Steve's prominence as a tax lawyer made his move to Bessemer noteworthy and unique.