Stephen J. Small Joins The Wagner Law Group’s Boston Office
BOSTON, MA, UNITED STATES, February 2, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Marcia S. Wagner, the Managing Director of The Wagner Law Group, recognized as the nation’s leading ERISA and employee benefits law firm, has announced that Stephen J. Small, has joined the firm’s Boston office as Of Counsel. “I have known Steve, an outstanding attorney in his field of practice, for decades. We are truly excited that he is joining us,” says Ms. Wagner.
Stephen J. Small is recognized as the nation’s leading authority on private land protection options and strategies in which he has more than four decades of unmatched experience. He authored the Federal Tax Law of Conservation Easements, the series of Preserving Family Lands books, and The Business of Open Space: What’s Next?? As an attorney-advisor in the Office of Chief Counsel of the Internal Revenue Service, he was the initial draftsman of the federal Income Tax Regulations on Conservation Easements.
Mr. Small represents individual, corporate, and family owners of ranchland, farmland, forestland, plantations, family estates, and historic property on federal tax planning and succession planning matters for family property, including conservation and preservation easements. He also advises government agencies and nonprofit organizations on a range of land protection projects, including leveraging land acquisition dollars through tax-advantaged planning and legal planning for property owners.
Mr. Small advises and designs plans for conservation buyers, and represents individual and corporate clients in structuring bargain sales of easements and property to conservation and preservation organizations and government agencies. Mr. Small spends considerable time on addressing a variety of tax and related issues faced by donors of land and conservation easements, including planning for “bargain sales.” He also represents landowners under IRS audit in connection with conservation easement donations.
Mr. Small has advised on some of the largest land conservation cases in the country, including as adviser to the landowner in a major conservation purchase by a government agency (with a purchase price in excess of $100 million); as adviser to the prospective purchaser (state government agencies) in an offer to acquire a multi-thousand acre parcel (purchase price a multiple of $100 million); as counsel to the easement holder in the largest conservation easement transaction to date (more than 750,000 acres) in the United States; as counsel to the easement holder in one of the largest conservation purchases by a non-profit organization (purchase price in excess of $60 million); and as counsel to the donor in what is believed to be the most valuable (in dollar terms) land conservation contribution in the United States.
Mr. Small has authored numerous books and articles, and speaks extensively at events, including seminars, workshops and continuing legal education programs across the country and abroad, on a wide variety of private land protection issues. He received an LL.M. in Taxation and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, an M.S. in Journalism from Medill School of Journalism Northwestern University, and a B.A. from Yale University.
The Wagner Law Group
Now celebrating its 30th anniversary, The Wagner Law Group continues to be dedicated to the highest standards of integrity, excellence, and thought leadership, and is considered to be one of the nation’s preeminent ERISA and employee benefits law firms. With 48 attorneys in nine offices, it provides unparalleled legal advice to its clients, including large, small, and nonprofit corporations, as well as individuals and government entities nationwide and in several foreign countries. The firm’s attorneys combine many years of experience in their fields of practice and include those who are AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell and have been annually named to prestigious Chambers USA, Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers® lists. The Wagner Law Group is recognized by Best Lawyers® as a Tier 1 Best Law Firm in the areas of ERISA and employee benefits, is certified as a woman-owned and operated business by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, is listed among the largest woman-owned businesses in Massachusetts by the Boston Business Journal, and is listed by the Boston Globe among the top 100 women-led businesses in Massachusetts.
Ari Sonneberg
The Wagner Law Group
+16175328005 ext.
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