Ethan McDonald

Practices

• Tax

Biography

Ethan focuses his practice on tax planning and corporate structuring for founders, closely held businesses, and their advisors. His practice centers on designing and implementing business and tax planning strategies that align with an owner’s goals and hold up under scrutiny with an emphasis on practical guidance that can be executed in the real world.

Ethan advises clients at key inflection points in the life of a business, including entity formation and conversions, restructurings and reorganizations, mergers and acquisitions, growth-stage structuring, and exit planning. He works closely with CPAs, in-house teams, and deal counsel to ensure that legal structures align with business realities and to anticipate downstream tax consequences before they become costly surprises.

Before entering private practice, Ethan began his career at KPMG LLP, one of the Big 4 public accounting firms, where he focused on the federal tax consequences of buy-side acquisitions for private equity and investment management clients. He then transitioned into private practice as a tax attorney, advising on corporate and partnership matters including mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, business succession planning, and the formation and governance of closely held entities before joining the firm in his current role.

Ethan’s approach is straightforward: understand the business first, then apply the tax and corporate rules with precision. Many of the issues he advises on sit at the intersection of law, finance, governance, and timing, and he takes pride in translating technical concepts into a plan that decision-makers can actually execute.

Ethan earned his LL.M. in Taxation from the University of Florida Levin College of Law and his J.D. from the University of Oregon School of Law, where he served as a Staff Editor of the Oregon Law Review. He holds a B.A. in Economics from Brigham Young University, which strengthens the analytical and financial foundation he brings to his corporate and tax planning work. He is admitted to practice in Texas.

Outside of work, Ethan enjoys spending time with his family, following sports, staying active, and exploring how AI and automation are reshaping professional services.