Gene Chianelli is a tax, business, and estates attorney with more than twenty years of experience providing quality representation to businesses of all sizes and helping individuals prepare a secure future for their families through estate and trust planning. A primary focus of Gene’s practice is advising high-net-worth individuals with domestic and international interests in estate, tax and gift planning to meet their goals today for security for the future.
A Pennsylvania native, Gene has lived in North Carolina for seventeen years. In addition to advising public and private businesses of all sizes on state and federal tax planning and compliance matters, and helping individuals navigate estate planning and taxation issues through his estates and trusts practice, Gene has served as Finance Counsel to the Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives. Gene has also been an adjunct professor in Campbell University’s Master of Trust and Wealth Management program for over a decade, teaching a course on Federal income taxation to graduate students. He also served as Chair of the Tax Section of the North Carolina Bar Association in 2014 and 2015, and continues to serve as a member of the Section’s council.
Estate planning can be an emotional process for most people, but it is an essential part of preparing for you and your loved one’s future. Gene understands how sensitive the topic can be and has spent decades working with people on these sometimes difficult issues. Gene helps his clients identify their actual needs and navigate through a broad range of estate planning and wealth transfer opportunities that best meet their goals.
In this tax practice, from complex controversy matters to negotiated agreements, Gene has years of experience working tirelessly to get the best results for his clients.
Representative Cases
- Represented a non-profit organization in securing North Carolina property tax exemption for its low-to-moderate income housing property.
- Represented a major public utility in tax litigation against the North Carolina Department of Revenue with over $30 million at stake.
- Lead tax attorney on a tax-free split-off of an operating division from a $3 billion diversified international company.
- Represented a major professional services provider as co-lead counsel in all phases of $3 million North Carolina tax litigation.
- Lead tax counsel for a diversified international company in the reorganization of its real estate entity structure.
- Lead North Carolina counsel for client participating in rehabilitation of historic mill complex into mixed-use property.
- Represented a privately-held pharmaceutical services company in a $60 million leveraged buy-out
Education and Membership
Gene earned his B.S. in Political Science from James Madison University in 1993. In 1996, he earned his J.D., cum laude, from Saint Louis University and went on to earn his LL.M in Tax from Washington University in St. Louis the following year.
- North Carolina Bar Association – Tax Section Council, Member, 2006-present;Chair, Continuing Legal Education Committee, 2008-2011, 2012-2013; Secretary, 2011-2012; Treasurer, 2012-2013; Vice Chair, 2013-2014; Chair, 2014-2015; Chair, Nominating Committee, 2015-2016.
