Bousquet Holstein PLLC is pleased to announce that attorneys Erika H. Hooker, Catherine Ray Mannion, and Aaron C. Records have been elected Members of the firm.
Erika H. Hooker joined the firm in 2019 and is part of the firm’s Trusts and Estates and Agriculture Practice Groups.
Hooker represents clients statewide on a broad range of estate planning matters, including comprehensive estate plans, wills, trusts, and estate and gift tax planning for family wealth preservation. She also advises on estate administration, providing tailored post-death administration services and planning for loved ones with special needs.
In her agricultural practice, Hooker draws on her deep understanding of the farming community to assist family farms with succession planning, Medicaid planning to protect farm assets, the formation of new entities, business document review, and farm mergers and acquisitions. She has served as lead counsel in negotiations involving multi-million-dollar farm sales and renewable energy leases and provides strategic guidance on intergenerational transfer and farm ownership transitions.
Hooker received her Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from Syracuse University College of Law, where she was a member of the Travis H.D. Lewin Advocacy Honor Society and the Justinian Honor Society. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Communications and International Agriculture and Rural Development from Cornell University. Hooker also served as a Peace Corps Agriculture Extension Agent in Senegal prior to attending law school.
Her professional recognitions include selection as a Super Lawyers Upstate New York Rising Star and inclusion in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America for Trusts and Estates
Catherine Ray Mannion joined the firm in 2021 and is part of the firm’s Trusts and Estates Practice Group, serving clients from the firm’s Syracuse and Ithaca offices.
Mannion advises individuals and families throughout every stage of estate planning, including the preparation of simple and complex wills, irrevocable and revocable trusts, and high-net-worth tax planning. She also provides guidance to trustees and executors to ensure smooth transitions of assets during trust and estate administration.
In addition to her trusts and estates work, Mannion contributes her tax experience to the firm’s ERISA legal field, assisting clients with qualified domestic relations orders and helping small businesses address IRS compliance matters related to employer-sponsored retirement plans.
Prior to joining the firm, Mannion worked with high-net-worth clients on estate planning and supported small business owners on employee benefits and retirement plan compliance matters.
Mannion received her Juris Doctor from Syracuse University College of Law, where she focused her studies on estate planning, estate administration, and federal tax law, and earned recognition such as the CALI Excellence for the Future Award in Estate Planning. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Virginia Tech.
Aaron C. Records joined the firm in 2021 and is part of the firm’s Brownfields Practice Group.
Aaron advises clients and their accountants on a range of tax and business matters related to brownfield redevelopment, including preparing and filing tax credit claims through the New York State Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) and defending those claims through desk audits and full examinations by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.
He works closely with brownfield redevelopment professionals, such as environmental counsel, engineers, and accounting teams, to help maximize available tax incentives. In addition to brownfield tax credits, Aaron has assisted clients with loan closings, drafting operating agreements, and reviewing other federal tax incentives, including investment and production tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act. Aaron also regularly volunteers with the renter’s rights clinic for the Volunteer Lawyers Project of Central New York.
Aaron received his Juris Doctor from Syracuse University College of Law, where he served on the Pro Bono Advisory Board, contributed to the Syrian Accountability Project, and was Editor-in-Chief of Impunity Watch and the Journal of Global Rights and Organizations. He earned a Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, in Philosophy and Creative Writing from Colby-Sawyer College, where he was a Wesson Honors Scholar and a member of the Alpha Chi National Honor Society. Aaron also studied abroad as a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholar at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, and previously worked as a tax associate in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ New York City office.