Lipson Neilson takes great pleasure in welcoming attorney Howard J. Gourwitz as Of Counsel. Mr. Gourwitz is an AV-Preeminent® Rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell.

Mr. Gourwitz specializes in tax law, personal and business planning, estate and financial planning, real estate, and sports and entertainment law. He received his B.A. from the University of Michigan; his J.D. cum laude from Wayne State University; and his LL.M in Taxation from New York University.

Since 1986, Mr. Gourwitz has been a Registered Agent with the National Hockey League Players’ Association and a member of the Sports Lawyers Association.

Since 1980, he has been a practice consultant for the Midwest Transaction Guide, a 14-volume set of books published by Matthew Bender & Company, Inc. He has also authored many articles and has participated as a speaker in many Institute of Continuing Legal Education seminars and lectured on “Conducting Effective Negotiations.”

Mr. Gourwitz is a member of the Board of Governors at Cranbrook Schools (where he also serves as Chair of the Development Committee which in 2017 achieved its most successful fundraising year on record.) In 2017, after being nominated by Cranbrook Schools, he was recognized as a “Distinguished Volunteer” by the Association of Fundraising Professionals at the National Philanthropy Day Dinner.

He is a member of the Board of Directors of the University of Michigan Band Alumni Association, The Elbel Club…The Friends of the Michigan Marching Band, the National Leadership Council for the Michigan State University College of Music, the Jewish Hospice & Chaplaincy Network, and a member of the Detroit Institute of Arts Tannahill Estate Planning Council.

Mr. Gourwitz is a Past-President of both the University of Michigan Band Alumni Association and the Michigan Jewish Sports Foundation. In 2018, he was awarded Honorary Member status by the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association in recognition of his significant contributions to the field of Instrumental Music.

He has commissioned many important additions to the Symphonic Band literature which are being performed around the world. Two important additions that were commissioned by Mr. Gourwitz are:

The first being “Asphalt Cocktail” composed by John Mackey; commissioned as a gift to Dr. Kevin L. Sedatole and the Michigan State University Wind Symphony. World premiere on March 28, 2009, at the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) National Convention, Bates Recital Hall at the University of Texas at Austin, conducted by Kevin Sedatole.

“Asphalt Cocktail” is a five-minute opener, designed to shout, from the opening measure, “We’re here.” With biting trombones, blaring trumpets, and percussion dominated by cross-rhythms and back beats, it aims to capture the grit and aggression associated with living in New York City. Picture the scariest NYC taxi ride you can imagine, with the cab skidding around turns as trucks bear down from all sides. Served on the rocks.

The second being “Lost Vegas” composed by Michael Daugherty. World premiere at the CBDNA National Conference in Seattle, Washington in 2011. This is a homage to bygone days in the city of Las Vegas.

Torn down long ago, the original neon signs, casinos and hotels of the Vegas “Strip” have been replaced by glass towers. The cozy nightclubs, where the “Rat Pack” once performed edgy material, have been replaced by large arenas, where commercialized family entertainment is now presented. This composition is a trip down memory lane to an adventurous and vibrant Vegas that once was and returns, if only for a moment, in “Lost Vegas.”

Mr. Gourwitz has also been very supportive of, and instrumental in, obtaining an I.R.S. 501(c)(3) Recognition of Tax Exemption for h2 quartet, inc., whose major purposes are “to promote the proliferation and performance of contemporary and traditional chamber music for the saxophone and foster the growth of saxophone education through the performance and practice of chamber music through educational outreach, performance and the creation of new works for the saxophone and the medium of saxophone quartet.”