Tax law is a primary focus of Newbery, Ungerer & Hickert LLP. Firm attorneys have broad and extensive training and experience in federal and state and local taxation.

Dave Newbery, a CPA as well as an attorney, began his career working in the Tax Department of Haskin & Sells (a predecessor of Deloitte, LLP) in Kansas City. In those early years, Dave spent his time doing tax consulting, research and return preparation for major Kansas City clients, and Fortune 500 companies.

Dave moved to Topeka in 1976 to become Director of Taxation for the Kansas Department of Revenue where he was in charge of tax policy and compliance for state income tax, sales and use tax, inheritance tax, motor fuel tax and the other Kansas excise taxes. As Director, Dave was the hearing officer for all tax appeals, and gained substantial experience particularly in the area of multi-state corporate income tax apportionment and allocation.

After his career as a practicing CPA and state tax administrator, Dave began practicing law in 1980 and has continued as a tax lawyer up to the present time.

B. J. Hickert spent the first 10 years of his career as a commercial trial attorney and then as a Professional Liability Section attorney with the FDIC. However, in 1995, he attained his advanced law degree (LLM) in taxation, and has maintained an active tax practice since then. BJ represents clients before the IRS, the US Tax Court, the Kansas Court of Tax Appeals and provides tax planning and consulting services for his clients.

Dave has taught tax courses at Washburn University School of Law, including Estate and Gift Taxation, Advanced Estate Planning and State and Local Taxation. Dave also taught Individual Income Taxation, Income Taxation of Corporations and Partnerships, and other tax related courses at Washburn School of Business.

B.J. has taught the Estate and Gift Tax Courses at both Washburn University and University of Kansas Law Schools for many years.

Dave, B.J. and Seamus Smith have presented numerous seminars and continuing education programs covering a variety of tax topics.

Connie Holthaus, CPA, is in charge of the firm’s Tax Compliance Department. She has over 30 years of experience preparing tax returns, providing consulting services and representing clients before the IRS and Kansas Department of Revenue.

The firm’s Tax Compliance Department augments its trust and estate practice as the firm prepares estate and gift tax returns and fiduciary income tax returns for many of the firm’s trust and estate clients. The firm’s tax compliance practice is provided as an accommodation for our clients, and is not intended to supplant or replace a client’s outside CPA firm. Newbery, Ungerer & Hickert LLP enjoys working with, and coordinating efforts with, our clients’ CPA firms, and generally provides tax compliance services only when our client does not have an outside CPA who is comfortable doing the type of work we do. On occasion, our firm receives referrals from CPA firms for complex or unique tax projects.