On October 19-21 in Nashville, Tennessee, tax partner, Bill Backstrom, will speak at the 2005 Paul J. Hartman State & Local Tax Forum, one of the fastest growing and most prestigious national state and local tax programs. The program is presented annually by the Vanderbilt University School of Law in conjunction with the Paul J. Hartman State and Local Tax Forum, Inc. Mr. Backstrom is presenting three topics: "Sales and Use Taxes – Transactional Planning – Mergers, Acquisitions, Divestitures," "Southeast Roundtable- Hot Topics of State and Local Tax in Respective Jurisdictions," and "Tax Traps for the Unwary." The Forum provides industry and practitioners the opportunity to participate in a quality forum exploring significant national developments and trends in state and local taxation. The Forum features nationally-recognized speakers with the knowledge, expertise and communication skills to impart current developments as well as the practical solutions and planning opportunities in structuring and reporting state and local tax transactions. Mr. Backstrom is a member of the Advisory Board for the Forum.