Dale B. Cazes is a Partner and Founding Member of Cazes, Looby & Jarvis, PLLC.  Mr. Cazes earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Management and a minor in Economics (1994) from the University of Florida (Warrington College of Business Administration), his Juris Doctorate degree (1998) from Oklahoma City University School of Law, and his Master of Laws degree (LL.M.) in Taxation (1999) from the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law.

Mr. Cazes is primarily a tax, estate planning, corporate, real estate, and litigation attorney who represents individuals, privately-held businesses, and public companies in the areas of business and tax planning, tax controversy and litigation, complex business transactions and litigation, family wealth and estate planning, real estate transactions and finance, and local, state and federal taxation.

Mr. Cazes's experience includes structuring complex business entities and tax-exempt organizations, completing stock and asset acquisitions and divestitures and real estate transactions and development, working on complex mergers and acquisitions, advising clients as to the best structure in which to hold existing assets, and the effects of tax planning with limited partnerships, corporations, and limited liability companies.  Mr. Cazes also has extensive experience representing both individuals and businesses in tax disputes with the Internal Revenue Service and the Oklahoma Tax Commission, as well as before the United States Tax Court.

A portion of Mr. Cazes's practice is also dedicated to family wealth and estate planning, including the drafting of wills, revocable, life insurance, and children’s trusts, advance health care directives, and durable powers of attorney, and has included the utilization of a number of sophisticated wealth transfer tax planning strategies, including sales to grantor trusts, private annuity transactions, and valuation discount planning.  Mr. Cazes also works with individuals and fiduciaries on the management and settlement of trusts and estates, including probate administration, guardianships, and the preparation of federal and state estate tax returns.

Prior to forming Cazes, Looby & Jarvis, PLLC, Mr. Cazes was employed as a tax, estate planning,  and corporate attorney by Green, Brown & Stark, P.C. (now Dimick, Green, Brown & Stark, P.C.) from July 1998 through June 1999 while attending the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law to obtain his LL.M. in Taxation, and then Phillips, McFall, McCaffrey, McVay & Murrah, P.C. (now Phillips Murrah) in that firm's Tax, Business, and Transactional Departments, and he was a member of that firm’s Tax, Estate Planning, Real Estate, and Corporate Law practice groups, from July 1999 through April 2006.  Subsequent to his employment with Phillips McFall, Mr. Cazes was employed by Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services, Inc., one of the largest property and casualty insurance brokers in the world, as an insurance broker and risk management consultant, from May 2006 through December 2008.

Representative Experience

» Serving as counsel to start-up entities providing tax and business advice regarding entity selection, and developing business succession plans
» Providing counsel to buyers and sellers in asset sales and purchases, stock sales and purchases, and other merger and acquisition transactions, including tax-free reorganizations
» Representing clients in the acquisition, divestiture, development, and financing of real estate
» Counseling clients in company reorganizations and restructurings, including spin-offs, split-offs, and split-ups
» Structuring and implementing tax-deferred (Section 1031) exchanges of aircraft, heavy equipment, oil and gas properties, and real estate
» Structuring transactions to quality for state and federal tax incentives, including various state and federal tax credits
» Implementing various planning techniques to minimize wealth transfer taxes, including the use of  lifetime gifts and charitable trusts
» Working with individuals and fiduciaries on the management and settlement of trusts and estates, including probate administration, guardianships, and the preparation of federal and state estate tax returns
» Structuring asset ownership to accomplish state and federal tax objectives, valuation discount planning, asset protection, and asset management goals
» Resolving shareholder and employee disputes, and handling other corporate governance issues
» Representing clients in adversarial proceedings with the Internal Revenue Service through appeals procedures and Tax Court petition filings, as well as proceedings before the Oklahoma Tax Commission
» Representing clients in administrative aspects of federal tax law, including obtaining private letter rulings