B.A., cum laude, Philosophy, Yale University, 2007.

J.D., Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, Columbia Law School, 2010.

Tax L.L.M., New York University School of Law, 2013.

Law Clerk, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, 2013.

Licensed in the State of Connecticut and the State of New York.

Steven Z. Gu was born in Shanghai, China.  He immigrated to the United States in 1997, just before he turned thirteen.  After attending Glen A. Wilson High School in Hacienda Heights, California, Steven gained an opportunity to study at Yale College.

While an undergraduate at Yale College, Steven studied chemistry and history before meeting his mentors in the Yale Philosophy Department.  He attributes much of his analytical and reasoning abilities to the authors he studied during this period.

At Columbia Law School, Steven studied from leading scholars in international financial regulation and bankruptcy.  He became enamored of the taxation of financial derivatives during this period and would later enroll in New York University School of Law’s Tax L.L.M. program to gain expertise in international taxation and tax policy.

During law school, Steven helped an Afghan refugee apply for asylum in the United States and obtained a waiver for prior conviction and criminal background from the Department of Homeland Security.  He also volunteered with the Restaurant Workers of New York to assist immigrant workers in the collection of unpaid wages.

Steven’s first job out of law school was with the Stamford, CT, law firm of Finn Dixon & Herling LLP, where he was a corporate associate assisting in the sale and acquisition of companies by private investment funds.  He later became involved, through partner mentors, in the issuance of Connecticut municipal bonds and a First Amendment litigation concerning protesters on the New Haven Green.

Steven then clerked for the Honorable William S. Duffey Jr. of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, where he drafted opinions on habeas corpus, prisoner’s rights, trademark infringement, contract disputes, employment discrimination, and civil rights.

After surveying the legal field, Steven decided to open his own law practice.  He hopes to serve the legal needs of individuals and small business owners.  He believes that his life experience and breadth of legal knowledge can especially benefit clients from immigrant and minority communities.

In his spare time, Steven likes to ballroom dance.  He fell in love with the hobby in college and was a competitive ballroom dancer for ten years.