Crystal Howard

Crystal Howard’s practice resides at the intersection of business transactions and tax efficiency. Regularly counseling clients on a wide range of business and tax matters, she helps clients navigate complex commercial transactions and related tax planning.

Crystal represents business owners and their companies, serving as their outside general counsel, M&A attorney, and tax advisor. Her practice is focused on health and wellness companies, where she advises founders and leadership teams on entity structuring, mergers and acquisitions, regulatory compliance, and proactive tax planning. By building compliant, scalable frameworks tailored to the unique demands of the wellness industry, she helps clients minimize risk, maximize operational flexibility, and grow in a sustainable, tax-efficient manner.

Using a collaborative approach, Crystal becomes her clients’ trusted advisor so that, together, they can structure business plans that minimize tax and generate growth. With vast experience drafting complex business agreements and comprehensive knowledge of federal and state tax laws, she regularly helps her clients design and implement efficient tax structures that utilize both tax partnerships and corporations and advises clients on sophisticated business transactions, including entity formations and dissolutions, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, reorganizations, and incentive compensation awards.

Crystal also handles tax controversy matters before the Internal Revenue Service and state and local taxing authorities.

Crystal previously served as in-house counsel for a nonprofit organization, experience which she applies to counsel nonprofits and tax-exempt organizations on a variety of legal and tax issues, including obtaining and maintaining tax-exempt status.

University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Law (LLM)

University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Law (J.D.), cum laude

William Jewell College (B.A.)