Christopher A. Gordon | Carpani and Gordon P.A. | Estate Planning Attorney | Transactional Business Lawyer | Leawood, KS

Attorneys. Advocates. Trusted Advisors.

Chris Gordon and Melissa Carpani provide a full range of services in business law, tax law and estate planning. Please review our bios below to learn more about us. We appreciate and look forward to the opportunity of working with our clients.

Christopher A. Gordon

Christopher A. Gordon is a founding member of Carpani and Gordon, P.A., and has been in practice since graduating from law school in 1994. Chris has an undergraduate degree in accounting from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and is a graduate of Washburn University School of Law. While in law school, Chris was a staff member of the Washburn Law Journal and currently continues to write for the Johnson County BarLetter as a regular contributor. Chris holds the highest possible rating granted by Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory as an AV rated attorney.

Before attending law school, Chris worked as an accountant, spending three years of practice in individual and corporate income tax and accounting and one year practicing cost accounting for a multinational corporation. He then spent 17 years with the firm of Schlagel, Gordon & Kinzer, LLC. In 2010, he formed Carpani and Gordon, P.A. with his current partner to create a firm more focused on the corporate and tax practice.

Drawing on a business and legal background, Chris assists clients in a variety of areas of transactional law, particularly estate planning, business and tax law. The interplay between these areas of law has proven valuable to many closely held business and tax clients.

Chris has an extensive practice in representing business clients, both small and large, in many aspects of the entity selection process, including formation, operation, expansion, merger, acquisition and liquidation of varied corporate and partnership entities. Chris has substantial experience in tax planning and tax controversy work, and frequently represents clients involved in tax disputes with the Internal Revenue Service, the Kansas and Missouri Departments of Revenue and other state taxing authorities. Chris rounds out his practice by offering various estate planning services, including drafting wills and trusts, estate administration, preparing related tax returns, and estate, trust and probate administration services.

Areas of Practice:

• Contracts
• Corporations and Business Organizations
• Tax Law; Tax Planning
• Estate Planning; Probate
• Guardianship; Conservatorship
• Real Estate

Bar Admissions:

• Kansas, 1994
• Missouri, 2009
• U.S. District Court District of Kansas, 1994

Education:

• Washburn University, Topeka, Kansas, J.D.
• University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, Missouri, B.S. in Accounting

Published Cases & Articles:

• City of DeSoto v. Consolidated Rural Water Dist. No. 6, 23 Kan. App. 2d 407 (Kan. Ct. App. 1997)
• Co-Author, “Pennies on the Dollar” Tax Relief, Not As Simple as the Ads Say
  Johnson County BarLetter, Volume 25, Number 1 (Spring 2011).
• Co-Author, To Lien or Not to Lien, There Isn’t Really A Question
  Johnson County BarLetter, Volume 25, Number 2 (Summer 2011).
• Co-Author, IRS Form 4180 Interviews for Trust Fund Penalties: A Major Domino in Nondischargeable Personal Tax Liability
  Johnson County BarLetter, Volume 25, Number 3 (Fall 2011).

Honors and Awards:

• Martindale Hubbell Rating, AV, 10 Years: 2001-2011
• KC Magazine’s Super Lawyer & Rising Stars Section Top Young Attorneys, 2008

Professional Associations & Memberships:

• Kansas Bar Association
• Johnson County Bar Association
• Washburn Law Alumni Association

Melissa C. Carpani

Melissa C. Carpani is a founding member of Carpani and Gordon, P.A. A graduate of the University of Kansas and Loyola University Chicago School of Law, she has been practicing law since graduating from Loyola in 2004. Melissa clerked for Schlagel Gordon & Kinzer, LLC in her final year of law school, joined that firm as an associate in 2004 and was made a member in 2007. In 2010, she joined Chris Gordon in forming Carpani and Gordon, P.A. to create a firm with more emphasis on corporate and tax practice.
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