William M. Backstrom, Jr., a partner in the firm's Tax & Estates Practice Group in the New Orleans office, was a speaker at a Council on State Taxation ("COST") conference on Tuesday, February 26, 2013, in Washington, D.C. In his presentation titled, "Staying Out of Trouble: Effective Due Diligence for Sales/Use Taxes During the Mergers & Acquisitions Review Process," Mr. Backstrom provided due diligence tips and checklists focused on transaction tax issues, and discussed the necessary due diligence for sales/use taxes when a company is involved in a merger, acquisition, or other similar transaction.