Meet Frank

Frank Cureton is a certified specialist in Taxation Law. He represents taxable entities and tax-exempt organizations in planning acquisitions, financing structures, mergers, spin-offs and dispositions. His experience includes structuring transactions with real estate investment trusts (REITs), complex financing structures and venture capital firms. He is a co-author of Bloomberg (BNA) Tax Management Portfolio No. 482-2nd Tax Issues of Educational Organizations.

Frank also advises clients with regard to the federal tax rules that impact the issuance of tax-exempt bonds and works closely with our firm's Public Finance team.

Frank has considerable experience in assisting developers, government agencies and investors in structuring low-income housing credit, historic rehabilitation credit, textile mill credit and other state and federal tax credit projects.

He regularly represents clients before state and local tax agencies and the Internal Revenue Service in audits, collection matters and obtaining tax exemptions and advance approvals of transactions. Frank also represents business entities and government agencies in tax controversies before the state and federal courts.

His practice also includes estate planning and individual tax planning, particularly for owners of family businesses professional practices as they plan to transition ownership to others. 

Representative matters in which Frank has been involved include:

• •  Representation of developer in the rehabilitation of a 19^th century factory in syndicating over $10 million of state and federal rehabilitation credits and South Carolina textile mill credits
• •  Successful representation of landowners in conservation easement audits by the Internal Revenue Service
• •  Assisting an institution in obtaining substantial property tax exemptions following implementation of a complex financing structure
• •  Representing landowner to obtain property tax refund in South Carolina Administrative Law Court
• •  Representing business owner in the disposition of substantial service business
• •  Representing LLC owner of commercial building in planning disposition of building to REIT
• •  Representing exempt organization in planning acquisition of business assets

• New York University, LL.M., Taxation, 1991
• Duke University, J.D., 1987
• Clemson University, B.S., 1984

• South Carolina, 1987

• Best Lawyers® 2025 Tax Law “Lawyer of the Year” Columbia
• The Best Lawyers in America© Tax Law (2005-2025) and Trusts and Estates (2008-2025)
• Best Lawyers® 2019 Trusts and Estates “Lawyer of the Year” Columbia
• Best Lawyers® 2017 Tax Law “Lawyer of the Year” Columbia
• South Carolina Super Lawyers® Tax Law (2008-2014)
• Columbia Business Monthly "Legal Elite of the Midlands" Tax and Estate Planning Law (2020-2024)
• Recipient of Harry J. Rudick Memorial Award for Distinction in the Graduate Tax Program at NYU

• South Carolina Bar
• American Bar Association
• Richland County Public Library Foundation, former Chair

• "Tax Provisions in the CARES Act,” HSB Blog, April 1, 2020
• “Opportunity Zones - Understanding the Operational Requirements,” HSB 2019 Corporate Law for Accountants Seminar Series
• "New 20% Deduction for Pass-Through Income," HSB Blog, February 27, 2018
• "Avoiding Disaster: Time to Dust off Your Operating Agreements," HSB 2017 Corporate Law for Accountants Seminar Series
• "New IRS Audit Rules to Impact Partnerships (LLCs) in 2018," HSB Blog, December 19, 2017
• "Choice of Entity Considerations," HSB 2012 Corporate Law for Accountants Seminar Series