John Cytron

Phone: 312-704-7244 (direct)
Phone: 312-782-5050 (main)
Fax: 773-360-7393

Email: jcytron@bnf-law.com

Departments: Chairperson – Taxation / Pension & Employee Benefits

John grew up in Ladue, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. He attended Yale University where he received his B.A. in political science and economics summa cum laude in 1972. John was selected for Phi Beta Kappa after the end of his junior year. In college John was an associate editor of the Yale Scientific Magazine and has retained his interest in both the social sciences as well as the traditional sciences such as physics, astronomy and engineering.

In 1972 John received his J.D. from Harvard Law School cum laude specializing in tax and corporate law.

John became associated with the Firm in 1981 and a shareholder thereafter. Since joining the firm he has specialized in tax matters and corporate advice, particularly sophisticated tax planning for individuals and business entities, mergers and acquisitions, and advising on qualified employee benefit plans including pension, profit sharing and 401(k) retirement plans, and preparing and advising on deferred compensation plans and health and welfare plans. More time is being spent on mergers, acquisitions and recapitalizations of corporations than previously, which provides for more challenging and interesting work. Especially recapitalizations for family owned corporations can provide a means for additional estate planning for an entrepreneur with a successful business which he or she wants to keep in the family.

Recently John has added estate planning, particularly preparing wills and trusts and the occasional federal estate tax return, to his repertoire. Recent interesting issues include harmonizing American and Japanese law and requisite trust and will documents for a Japanese couple resident in the US. It has been an interesting change of pace after 45 years in the practice of law.

John enjoys spending his free time involved in his railroad hobbies and athletics and is continuing his love of the Western USA and National Parks by planning additional hiking adventures in the Grand Canyon, Yosemite and returning to Glacier National Park in the near future. John believes that there is nothing quite like the wide-open spaces in the day, with the occasional Grizzly Bear (hopefully on a distant mountain side) or a Ram protecting his harem and thinking whether he should butt you off the trail. The nighttime   sky is itself spectacular with its wide-open vistas as the Milky Way spreads across the sky.