HW: “You had great jobs with both Deloitte & Touche and Laventhol & Horwath and you gave them up to open your own practice; why was it so important to you to actually be in contact with people in the community?”

ATTORNEY MACE ABDULLAH: “Well, I knew in general that I always wanted my life to have purpose, and I really needed more meaning in my day to day activities than just auditing books or doing tax returns for large corporations. I wanted to meet the business owners I was working for, and be able to advise them using my diverse background to help them grow their businesses. The only way I would ever be able to do that was to start my own Practice; so, now, most of my clients are small to medium-sized businesses and their owners, professionals and highly motivated individuals and I assist them with issues on many different levels.”

HW: “Obviously that’s very satisfying to you.”

ATTY. ABDULLAH: “Very much so.”

HW: “Who planted that seed in your head of ‘giving back’?”

ATTY. ABDULLAH: “I think my parents. My father was African-American (mixed with American Indian from the Choctaw Tribe) and my mother was Scottish/British; and growing up in Toledo, Ohio, during the 1950 and 60s, that was a big thing. My mother was always fair and just with people. She always remained a loving and giving person. One core value she taught me was that ‘there is good and bad in every race of people.’”

HW: And what did you learn from your father?”

ATTY. ABDULLAH: “My father had a pioneering personality and was a very hard worker. I adopted his work ethic and I have traveled to over 20 countries in my lifetime. My father was the first African-American Cement Mason in Northwestern Ohio’s construction workers trade union, he had his own construction company, owned a cleaners and a barbershop, as well as a small apartment building. He had a 4th grade education, but always encouraged me to get an education all the while having me put in some seriously hard work with him during the summers.”

HW: “What is your main goal with the people you represent?”

ATTY. ABDULLAH: “Primarily, my goal is to safeguard the wealth of my clients and to help them pass it on to objects of their love and passion. Through the use of various Trusts, Powers of Attorney, Conduit Entities and other investment vehicles, I tie in the Estate Planning process into their Tax, Business, and Asset Protection Planning – essentially I’m doing Integrated Estate Planning.”

HW: “I know sometimes, unfortunately, there’s a lot of confusion when someone passes away and relatives start arguing about who gets what.”

ATTY. ABDULLAH: “That is definitely what you don’t want. Many people don’t understand that a Living Trust is the centerpiece of the Estate Planning process. My clients have Integrated Estate Plans, with Living Trusts as their centerpiece, other sophisticated planning devices and entities, and very clear, detailed instructions about how their Estate (including any family businesses) will be divided amongst their beneficiaries and heirs once they’re deceased. It’s not something one wants to leave to the heirs, business partners, Probate Court or the laws of intestate succession to decide.”

HW: “You’ve actually had a very long career, because if you combine your Business, Accounting, Legal and Tax experiences, you have over 30 years of business experience – you were even the CFO for a start-up technology company in Malaysia for a couple years – ‘many moons’ ago. Any plans on ever relocating again?”

ATTY. ABDULLAH: “No – I plan to finish up my professional career right here in California, but I wouldn’t mind retiring somewhere overseas, though. In fact, I maintain a vacation home in Malaysia.”

HW: “And how soon is that retirement coming?”

ATTY. ABDULLAH: “Probably as you would say, ‘Many moons’ from now.”

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