Biography

                                                                                           BIOGRAPHY
                                                                            VICKI R. CRAIG, Esquire
                                                                      AWARD-WINNING WRITER

Vicki Craig, Esq. is an award-winning writer (author and poet), attorney, celebrity, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Before returning to Alabama, Ms. Craig resided in Alexandria, Virginia. She practiced law at the prestigious law firm of Leftwich & Douglas in Washington, D.C. At the law firm, Ms. Craig was an ERISA expert who served in the capacity as Head of the ERISA/Tax Department (Practice Group). She had complete autonomy regarding the legal and regulatory practice, day-to-day operations, and decision-making responsibilities. Ms. Craig devised solutions to difficult, complex, and novel legal, business, and financial issues (problems) within the constraints of existing tax, ERISA, securities, corporate, banking, insurance, and trust laws, rules, regulations, and legislative policy with respect to individual taxpayers, Fortune 500 corporations, and Wall Street financial services firms. Advised and counseled on complex tax problems relating to, but not limited to, tax aspects of insurance and investment products, tax aspects of securities issues in employee benefit plans, special tax considerations for executive compensation, and tax implications of complex contemplated employer actions relating to corporate mergers and acquisitions. She represented clients before government agencies, such as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Department of Labor (DOL), Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and others. Ms. Craig collaborated with business leaders to assess business objectives. She proposed alternative and creative approaches to achieve the goals of clients. Ms. Craig supervised attorneys and support staff. She engaged in a myriad of other high-level duties/responsibilities and conducted a Seminar in ERISA (Employee Benefits Law).

Prior to joining the law firm, Ms. Craig was a Tax Attorney with the United States Treasury Department at the National Office of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in Washington, D.C. where she ensured legal, regulatory, and administrative compliance of the federal ERISA/tax laws and legislative policy with respect to major entities, such as Wall Street financial institutions, investment firms, brokerage firms, Fortune 500 corporations, insurance companies, commercial banks, investment banks, investment management firms, institutional investors, mutual fund entities, financial services firms, partnerships, and other business and financial institutions in the employee benefit plan industry. She exercised sound judgment with respect to advising on technical tax, ERISA, securities, corporate, banking, insurance, and trust legal and policy issues and concerns submitted by individual taxpayers, Congress (Senators and House of Representatives), high-level government officials, IRS field offices, and corporate executives. Ms. Craig managed a myriad of complex tax matters relating to, but not limited to, taxability of benefits, taxability of distributions, deductibility of contributions, tax aspects of Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), tax aspects of annuities, excise taxes imposed as a result of prohibited transactions, fiduciary liability, and investment management of plan assets. She prepared reports which conveyed analytical findings and recommendations. Ms. Craig provided advice for use in litigation and Congressional hearings. She negotiated with taxpayers, general counsels, attorneys, actuaries, trustees, accountants, consultants, plan administrators, and corporate executives. She handled a myriad of other high-level responsibilities/duties and was a speaker at IRS programs.

Prior to becoming an attorney and celebrity, Ms. Craig was a Juvenile Counselor at Central Alabama Youth Services (now defunct), where she counseled juveniles with behavioral and emotional problems. She wrote daily observation reports on the behavior of each child under her supervision. She planned, organized, and supervised classroom (academic) activity, indoor (recreational) activity, and outdoor (athletic) activity.

Next, Ms. Craig was a Social Worker (with the State of Alabama) at the Department of Human Resources (previously the Department of Pensions & Security). After taking the Social Worker exam, Ms. Craig’s high score placed her in the position of being tied for number 1 on the State of Alabama Register. As a Social Worker, she managed a caseload of more than 300 clients. She contacted public schools, financial institutions, and other agencies for verification and referral purposes. She investigated welfare fraud in conjunction with the Attorney General’s Office.

Ms. Craig gives credit to her grandmother and parents for being reared in a religious environment vis-a-vis the home, school (religious academy), and church. She knows God firsthand, as He has been very active in her life for a long time. She feels very close to God, because of the cross that she has had to bear. In the seventh grade, childhood doctors stated that she would never amount to much because of her medical condition. She never lets anything not even, Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, a childhood medical condition, distract from achieving any of her goals. Adversity fuels her fire. God’s grace enables her. Faith keeps her going!

As a child, she was very precocious. At age sixteen, she was fluent in French and graduated with honors (4th in her class) from high school, a parochial school (religious academy). Ms. Craig earned three degrees, one Undergraduate Degree and two Law Degrees. Less than 1% of the population has earned two law degrees. Ms. Craig earned her B.S. degree from the University of Alabama-Pre-law with concentration in Criminal Justice, Sociology, and Psychology; J.D. (first law degree) from Howard University School of Law (class rank: 6/138 top 5%); LL.M. in Taxation (second law degree) from Georgetown University Law Center"; and a Certificate in ERISA (Employee Benefits Law) from Georgetown University Law Center". Scholarships include: Law Foundation Scholarship, Merit Fellows Scholarship, and Eastern Star Scholarship.

Ms. Craig has extensive writing and speaking experience. She was certified by the IRS to teach Continuing Professional Education (CPE) courses.

Ms. Craig has written the following: (i) Patterson v. Shumate, A Victory for the ERISA Community: The U.S. Supreme Court Responds in the Affirmative to the “$64,000” Question, Are Retirement Benefits Protected in Bankruptcy? (ii) Understanding ESOPS: Their Phenomenal Effect on the Pension and Corporate Communities and the Need for Legislative Reform, (iii) Pension Legislation: A Recapitulation of Congressional Procedure, (iv) Termination of Pension Plans: The Purchase of Annuities from Insurance Companies Heavily Invested in Junk Bonds and the Reversion of Excess Plan Assets to Employers, (v) Employee Benefit Plans in the Workplace: A Strategic Approach, (vi) Depreciation: A Historical Recapitulation of the Past and a Focus on the Present, (vii) Subchapter K, (viii) Taxation of Corporations in Alabama, (ix) Anti-Competitive Agreements in the Accounting Profession, (x) A New Response to Toxicity: An Environmental Tort Theory Based on A Battery, (xi) Distributions from IRAs-Taxability of Inherited IRAs, (xii) Distributions from IRAs-Spousal Rollovers, (xiii) Tax Treatment Accorded Contributions Made by Employer to a Government Pick-Up Plan, and (xiv) Tax Treatment Accorded Contributions Made by Employer to an Annuity Pursuant to a Salary Reduction Agreement.

Professional Affiliations (current): Licensed to practice law in Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, United States Tax Court, United States Federal Claims Court, United States District Court--District of Columbia, United States Court of Appeals--District of Columbia Circuit, United States Court of Appeals--Federal Circuit, and United States Supreme Court.

Affiliations (current and former):
Additional Professional Affiliations: American Bar Association, National Bar Association, Greater Washington Area Chapter--Board of Directors, Chair, Law Day Committee, Vice-Chair, Community Outreach Committee, Coordinator, Street Law Program, Charter Member, Greater Washington Area Chapter Foundation, Federal Bar Association, American Trial Lawyers Association, District of Columbia Bar Association, Women’s Bar Association of the District of Columbia, Council for Court Excellence, Pennsylvania Bar Association, Delta Theta Phi, American Journal of Tax Policy (now defunct), and other professional organizations. Community Affiliations: Founder and Director, SETP (Shiloh English Tutorial Program), Shiloh Baptist Church English Tutorial Program (Historic Shiloh Baptist Church in Washington, D.C.); White House Volunteer Coordinator; Assistant Conference Coordinator, Family Life Center National Conference on the Family; Coordinator, Ecumenical Prayer Breakfast; Chair, Finance Committee, Shiloh Baptist Church 131st Church Anniversary Committee, Church Association for Community Services (CACS) Concert Committee; Community Leader, Management Team at Seaton Elementary School; Co-Chair, Planning Committee, Community Crusade for Children; Associate, Smithsonian Institute; Silver Star and Life Member, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.; Division Coordinator, Combined Federal Campaign (CFC); Facilitator, Legal Minds of Shiloh Wills and Probate Seminar; Career Day Speaker (elementary and high schools), House of Ruth, Ronald McDonald House; Charter Member, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), American Heart Association, Arthritis Foundation, Special Olympics Partner, American Red Cross, Alpha Kappa Alpha Educational Advancement Foundation (EAF), and other educational, cultural, civic, political, ecumenical, and philanthropic organizations. In addition to a distinguished legal career, Ms. Craig is the recipient of several awards including: Honorable Mention in the 3rd Annual Be The Star You Are! 2006 National Writing Contest for her essay, I am a survivor!, IRS Manager’s Award, IRS Performance Award, IRS Special Service Award, Outstanding Service Award, Shiloh Baptist Church, Merit Award, Seaton Elementary School, Music Award, Seaton Elementary School, Who’s Who in American Law, Who’s Who in Finance & Industry, Who’s Who of American Women, Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in the World, Alfred Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award (honoree)!,White House Appreciation, Phi Delta Kappa 1994 Lay Person of the Year Award, House of Ruth, Outstanding Young Women in America, and other awards and certificates of recognition and achievement.

Ms. Craig’s greatest reward in the practice of law--

She helped to administer and shape the policy of the employee benefits industry relative to the investment products of Wall Street entities which affected the lives of millions of Americans.

During her employment as a Tax Attorney with the federal government at the United States Treasury Department--National Office of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in Washington, D.C., Ms. Craig served under three Presidents, President Ronald Wilson Reagan, President George Herbert Walker Bush, and President William Jefferson Clinton. As White House Volunteer Coordinator, Ms. Craig had the distinct honor on June 7, 1994 to sit in the President’s Box at the Kennedy Center during performances by the National Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Craig has also had the distinct honor of receiving a special tour of the White House, i.e., a tour of areas not open to the public--the West Wing, the Oval Office, the Cabinet Meeting Room, the Roosevelt Room, the Press Room, the Diplomatic Entrance/Exit, and the Vice President’s Office. On April 4, 1994, Ms. Craig was invited to the White House Easter Egg Roll which she incorporated as part of the SETP (noted above) enrichment activity for the third grade classes at Seaton Elementary School.

Vicki R. Craig, Esq. (B.S., J.D., LL.M.) is detail-oriented; industrious, diligent, and extremely hard working; very thorough, meticulous, and conscientious; and unusually self-disciplined and self-motivated. Ms. Craig earned her second law degree (LL.M. in Taxation) in one year and a half at Georgetown University Law Center". The program is a three year program." Such determination underscores her journey to succeed via obstacles/hardships. As noted above, she never lets anything distract from achieving any of her goals.

Ms. Craig has several ideas for future books. Sequels are planned for the Letters to God series. She also plans to write her autobiography (with film rights).

Ms. Craig was cast in two movies. Her interests include writing, reading, poetry, chess, Scrabble, music, acting (acting roles as an attorney), business, and philanthropy. Ms. Craig is the Founder of Letters to God Enterprises (LGE), LLC, an intellectual property company and Letters to God Metamorphosis Foundation (LGMF), a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, a private foundation (a private grant awarding foundation).

Ms. Craig is indeed an exemplary Role Model. She is an extremely talented and gifted individual who is a leader and trailblazer.

For any inquiries regarding your letter, contact us.

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To learn more about Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, visit: http://www.arthritis.org.

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Vicki R. Craig is a graduate of three universities. Read about them.
Read about The University of Alabama, http://www.ua.edu.
Read about Howard University, http://www.howard.edu and Howard University School of Law, http://www.law.howard.edu.
Read about Georgetown University, http://www.georgetown.edu and "Georgetown University Law Center", http://www.law.georgetown.edu.

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Ms. Craig is a member of historic Green Street Missionary Baptist Church (Green Street Baptist Church) in historic Selma, Alabama. As a child, "[d]uring the turbulent 1960's, Green Street Baptist Church was not only [Ms. Craig's] place of worship ... [and] [a]lthough Green Street Baptist Church was not the site of [many] Mass Meetings, it was a place of comfort for the Marchers who had come to Selma to help secure voting rights. The doors of the church were opened for food service and sleeping ... . [Q]uilts ... used as pallets (make-shift beds) to aid in the sleeping comfort of the Marchers who accepted refuge at the church ... were freely given to the marchers by Mrs. Clara Mitchel, Ms. Craig's beloved grandmother and made by Mrs. Mitchell's beloved mother, [Ms. Craig's beloved great-grandmother] ... ."

The Selma Times Journal Sunday, November 19, 2000

For more information about Ms. Craig's beloved grandmother's and mother's role in the Civil Rights Movement in historic Selma, Alabama, see Poetry page.

Green Street Baptist Church "is listed on the Alabama Register of Historic Places and was approved to be listed in the proposed United States Department of the Interior's National Register of Historic Sites new Historic District and on the National Civil Rights Trail". Read about historic Green Street Baptist Church, http://www.greenstreetchurch.net.

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While working in Washington, D.C., Ms. Craig was a very active member of historic Shiloh Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. Read about historic Shiloh Baptist Church, http://www.shilohbaptist.org.

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Ms. Craig is a Silver Star and Life Member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. For information about Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., click: http://www.aka1908.com.

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