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Harry J. Skefos
Director and Shareholder

Phone (901) 522-9000
Fax (901) 527-3746
 hskefos@martintate.com

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Harry Skefos is a native Memphian and a member of the law firm of Martin, Tate, Morrow & Marston, P.C. After graduating from Central High School (Memphis), he received his B.S. Degree (Economics, with honors) from the University of Pennsylvania in 1973. He received his M.S. Degree (Accounting) from The Wharton School of Business in 1973 and his J.D. Degree from The National Law Center, George Washington University, in 1976. Mr. Skefos received his license to practice law from the Supreme Court of Tennessee on October 20, 1976. After graduating law school and prior to commencing his practice with the firm in November, 1979, Mr. Skefos served as Chairman and C.E.O. for the family business which his father had founded in 1955 and which his brother continues today.

Having handled matters in many areas of civil practice, Mr. Skefos currently concentrates his practice in the areas of Business/Tax, including Tax Incentives and Trusts and Estates. His business law practice has included alternative dispute resolution and the representation of creditors and debtors in Bankruptcy Court proceedings; his tax practice, involving both federal and state tax issues, includes tax planning for all types of federal and state taxes, as well as representation of audited taxpayers before the IRS, the Tennessee Department of Revenue, the Shelby County Assessor of Property and in the Courts.

In the area of state and local taxation, including sales, use, franchise, excise, gift and inheritance taxes, a substantial amount of Mr. Skefos' time and effort is devoted to representing clients with respect to property tax matters. In this connection, Mr. Skefos often represents clients before the Local and the State Boards of Equalization with respect to property tax appeals for both real and tangible personal property, and before local Industrial Development Boards in order to obtain property tax abatements for new and/or expanding industry.

Accordingly, a significant portion of Mr. Skefos' law practice is devoted to obtaining Payment In Lieu of (property) Tax ("PILOT") incentives for his clients. During the past several years the firm has presented over one hundred fifty (150) PILOT Applications, obtaining millions of dollars of property tax savings for its clients and involving projects which have created over 22,000 new jobs and involved a total capital investment of over $2 billion. In connection with work on such projects, significant other tax savings and incentives from the State of Tennessee are often identified and obtained.

Mr. Skefos' Trusts and Estates practice involves the full range of services generally categorized as estate planning, estate and trust administration and conservatorship proceedings. In connection with his practice, Mr. Skefos frequently deals with questions of valuation, including the valuation of closely held business interests and the valuation of real property.

Mr. Skefos is admitted to practice in all Tennessee Courts, the U.S. District Court, Western District of Tennessee and the U.S. Tax Court, and has been appointed several times to serve as Guardian Ad Litem and/or a Special Master. Mr. Skefos is a member of the Memphis, Tennessee and American (member, taxation section) Bar Associations; and he has for many years provided his services on a pro bono basis to his church (the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church), where he served several years as a member of the Board of Trustees and General Counsel, to the Memphis Regional Chamber of Commerce, where he has lectured on the subject of state and local taxation, and to the Mayor's Office of Economic and Resource Development, where he frequently is asked to advise companies considering locating in Memphis and Shelby County as regards issues of state and local taxation.

Mr. Skefos plays trombone in two local bands - the Swingtime Explosion Orchestra and the Bartlett Community Concert Band. He is married to Catherine Hetos Skefos. They have two children, a daughter 28 years of age who recently graduated Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, and is now serving her residency requirement (Emergency Medicine) at the Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, N.C., and a son 24 years of age, who recently graduated from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas and is currently attending medical school at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. Mrs. Skefos also attended the University of Pennsylvania, and upon obtaining her undergraduate and graduate degrees there, was selected by Warren E. Burger, Chief Justice, to be the first Curator of the United States Supreme Court. Upon moving to Memphis with her husband, Mrs. Skefos obtained her J.D. Degree and established herself in the local trial courts as an able litigator. She, along with her husband, enjoys traveling, the theater and tennis, whenever their schedules permit.

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