Lecturer Bios
Charles S. Kolstad, Esq.
Charles is a partner in the private client, tax and corporate teams at the international law firm,
Withersworldwide. Based in the firm’s New York office, he focuses his practice on international tax,
corporate and partnership matters. He assists clients in tax and corporate planning relating to the
acquisition, disposition and restructuring of businesses, corporations and partnerships both domestically
and internationally. Charles frequently advises foreign individuals moving to the U.S. on pre-immigration,
income, gift and estate tax planning opportunities. Charles also focuses his practice on the cannabis
industry/cannabusiness, crypto assets and block chain technology, and tax issues related to initial coin
offerings (ICOs), initial DEX offerings (IDOs) and initial exchange offerings (IEOs).
In addition, he advises DJs, actors and actresses, musicians, songwriters, producers, directors and
financers, both domestic and foreign, on a wide range of individual and corporate tax issues, specific to
the entertainment industry. Charles has written several articles and given many presentations on
entertainment tax issues.
He has advised over 200 clients with unreported foreign financial accounts, foreign trusts, and other
foreign investments, on the filing of FBARs and other information returns, and whether participating in the
IRS's various offshore voluntary disclosure programs is appropriate. Charles has written and lectured on
the extensive information reporting requirements for U.S. taxpayers with international business
operations.
Charles has extensive experience in representing clients during audits by the IRS or the California
Franchise Tax Board, as well as in front of the IRS Appeals Office or IRS Collection.
Charles is recognized as a “key lawyer” by The Legal 500 US in 2021 and 2020 in the area of international
tax.
Joseph J. Bambara, Esq.
Joseph J. Bambara is currently In House Counsel and a VP of technology architecture at UCNY, Inc. His e-mail address is jbambara@ucny.com. For the last 15 years, he has been acting as Counsel for small to mid-size technology firms in the metro area. Most recently, he has worked on cloud computing, social networking, mobile media and outsourcing contracts. He has done work with intellectual property especially as it pertains to mobile and enterprise software, SMS mobile marketing issues as well as trade/service marks. In addition to presentations at Lawline, he has done CLE’s on law and technology for New York County, the New York City Bar Association and National Constitution Center. Prior entrepreneurial career includes developing applications for the financial, brokerage, manufacturing, medical, and entertainment industries on the mobile and enterprise platforms.
Mr. Bambara has a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in Computer Science. He holds a Juris Doctorate in Law and is admitted to the New York State Bar. He has taught various computer courses for CCNY's School of Engineering. He is member of the New York County Lawyers Association Cyberspace Committee and an active member in the International Technology Law Association. He has authored the following books: Sun Certified Enterprise Architect for J2EE Study Guide (Exam 310-051) (McGraw-Hill, 2007), J2EE Unleashed (SAMS 2001), PowerBuilder: A Guide To Developing Client/Server Applications (McGraw-Hill, 1995), Informix: Client/Server Application Development (McGraw-Hill, 1997), Informix: Universal Data Option (McGraw-Hill, 1998), SQL Server Developer's Guide (IDG, 2000). He has taught numerous courses and given many presentations on all aspects of the law and enterprise and mobile development in cities worldwide, including Los Angeles, Vienna, Paris, Berlin, Orlando, Nashville, New York, Copenhagen, Oslo, and Stockholm.
