St. Petersburg, Florida – Yesner & Boss, one of Tampa Bay’s top law firms in the field of commercial and residential foreclosures, short sales and bankruptcies, is expanding into Manatee and Sarasota Counties. The firm has announced the addition to its legal team of Jo Ann M. Koontz, an experienced tax lawyer and a certified public accountant.

Koontz joins Yesner & Boss (www.YesnerBoss.com) from the Sarasota firm, Icard Merrill. She will expand the capacity at Yesner & Boss to chart for clients the tax implications of their real estate decisions.

Foreclosures nationwide continue at record or near-record rates with eight Florida cities in the top 20 in residential foreclosure statistics, according to RealtyTrac, a national real estate database. Foreclosures and short sales also are spreading to suburbs, which had been thought to be more stable.

The spread of mortgage troubles to the commercial sector last year played a role in a number of bank failures, the Wall Street Journal reported. Banks held $1.7-trillion in commercial mortgages and construction loans last fall, a debt load that continues under economic pressure.

“These problems will not be going away for several years, especially in the so-called ‘sand states,’” said Shawn Yesner, a partner in Yesner & Boss. “For several years we have been working with homeowners and business owners facings forclosures and bankruptcies in the Tampa Bay area. Adding Jo Ann Koontz to our legal team gives us the opportunity to expand our services into the Sarasota and Bradenton areas.”

The “sand states” include Florida, Arizona, Nevada and California.

Koontz, a graduate of Ohio Northern University, will focus on helping Yesner & Boss commercial and residential clients determine the impact of foreclosures, short sales and bankruptcies on their tax liabilities.

Koontz has represented clients for more than 10 years in a variety of real estate matters, including commercial and residential real-estate transactions, 1031 exchanges, S corporations, partnership and LLC formation and reorganizations, and in the tax implications of many business and real estate transactions.

Koontz joined Yesner & Boss in February.