Practice Areas

Named among America’s best Lawyers by Forbes Magazine

We are broad-based tax lawyers with extensive experience across a wide array of state taxes (sales, income, gross receipts and property), federal taxes (income, excise, estate and gift), and international taxes (United States and foreign taxes, on both inbound and outbound transactions). We plan for and around these taxes. We dispute them in administrative proceedings. We litigate them in court.

Yet despite this enormous breadth of experience, we are particularly known for our work in certain specialized areas of the tax law. We are generally noted as “preeminent authorities” on the taxation of damage awards and settlement payments. We advise plaintiffs, defendants, lawyers and even judges on tax issues in litigation, and this remains one of the most active areas of our practice. Robert W. Wood is the author of the seminal book in this area, Taxation of Damage Awards and Settlement Payments (5th Ed. Tax Institute © 2021), as well as hundreds of related articles. We are also well-known for our active mergers and acquisitions practice, focusing not only on tax issues, but also on the negotiation, documentation and legal mechanics of getting the deal done.

We also have an active tax controversy practice, protesting and appealing assessments and notices of deficiency, and even litigating tax cases. Most tax controversies are resolved in administrative audits and appeals. This is true across a panoply of taxes, whether state, federal or local, sales tax, property tax, income or franchise tax, excise tax, and even foreign taxes. We handle a large volume of federal tax controversies. And, with the increasing importance of state and local taxes, we regularly handle controversies and litigation in such matters as well, in California, New York and other states, as well as the United Kingdom. Though most cases are resolved without trial, we are not afraid to go to trial or even appellate courts.

Search our archive of related articles