Federal

  • February 13, 2025

    Tax Fraud Suspect Fights Detention Over New Charges

    A man accused of operating an abusive tax shelter whose bond was revoked after a federal judge said he may have committed additional crimes while awaiting trial asked a Colorado federal court Thursday to reconsider detaining him, saying the government had long been investigating those additional allegations.

  • February 13, 2025

    Trump Reciprocal Tariff Plan Could Spur Supply 'Nightmares'

    The U.S. will explore imposing reciprocal tariffs that equal rates levied by other countries importing American products, President Donald Trump announced Thursday, a move some experts worry will lead to "compliance nightmares" and COVID-level disruptions to supply chains.

  • February 13, 2025

    US Ignores Reality In $13M Debt Deduction Spar, 9th Circ. Told

    A business owner who claims the U.S. Tax Court wrongly barred him from taking a $13 million deduction for worthless debt told the Ninth Circuit that the federal government is ignoring economic realities surrounding the tax laws at issue in the case.

  • February 13, 2025

    IRS Updates Discount Factors For Unpaid Insurance Losses

    The Internal Revenue Service released discount factors Thursday for insurance companies to use to calculate unpaid losses for 2024 and earlier accident years.

  • February 13, 2025

    Musk Must Pay Up For Illegal Access To Data, Class Suit Says

    Elon Musk should be forced to compensate taxpayers and recipients of government benefits after gaining access to federal databases housing their data, a proposed class told a D.C. federal court, saying the billionaire violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

  • February 13, 2025

    DOJ Seeks Sanctions Against Widow In FBAR Fight

    A widow defending her husband's estate against a $275,000 claim alleging he didn't disclose his Indian bank account to the Internal Revenue Service should be sanctioned for not complying with court-ordered discovery, the U.S. government told a New York federal court.

  • February 13, 2025

    Goldstein Freed As Judge Doubts Feds' Crypto Claims

    A Maryland federal magistrate judge on Thursday ordered Tom Goldstein released from jail after expressing skepticism toward federal prosecutors' claims that the SCOTUSblog publisher and U.S. Supreme Court advocate secretly made millions of dollars' worth of cryptocurrency transactions in recent days.

  • February 12, 2025

    Republican Senators Float Ending EV Tax Credits

    Republican lawmakers in the Senate on Wednesday unveiled a bill that would end electric vehicle and charging station tax credits that they dubbed "reckless."

  • February 12, 2025

    Bipartisan Bills To Update IRS Practices Pass House Panel

    The House Ways and Means Committee unanimously approved several bipartisan bills Wednesday, including legislation that would require the IRS to update its process for notifying individuals of adjustments to their tax returns and codify the National Taxpayer Advocate's ability to hire its own attorneys.

  • February 12, 2025

    Tax Court Rejects Couple's Bid To Deduct $2.1M Loss

    A California couple cannot claim tax deductions for losing $2.1 million tied to real estate and business investments in Indiana, the U.S. Tax Court said Wednesday, saying the taxpayers failed to provide evidence supporting those capital losses.

  • February 12, 2025

    IRS Issues Corp. Bond Monthly Yield Curve For Feb.

    The Internal Revenue Service published on Wednesday the corporate bond monthly yield curve for February for use in calculations for defined benefit plans, as well as corresponding segment rates and other related provisions.

  • February 12, 2025

    Fenwick Brings On IRS Trial Attorney In Seattle

    Fenwick & West LLP has added an attorney from the Internal Revenue Service's Office of Chief Counsel to its Seattle office, the firm announced.

  • February 12, 2025

    Treasury Chief Exempt From Block On DOGE's System Access

    A New York federal judge clarified that an order blocking Elon Musk and members of his Department of Government Efficiency team from accessing U.S. Treasury Department payment systems does not apply to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

  • February 12, 2025

    KPMG Taps Walmart Executive For General Counsel

    A top executive for Walmart is leaving the retail giant at the end of the month to join the leadership ranks of KPMG LLP, one of the Big Four accounting firms, as general counsel.

  • February 12, 2025

    Winthrop & Weinstine Brings In Tax Counsel Duo As Co-Chairs

    Minneapolis-based Winthrop & Weinstine PA has added tax attorneys from Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Shartsis Friese LLP to become shareholders of the firm and co-chairs of its tax practice, the firm announced Wednesday.

  • February 12, 2025

    Sidley Litigator Tapped For Treasury GC Post

    President Donald Trump has nominated Sidley Austin LLP regulatory litigation and white collar partner Brian P. Morrissey to become the U.S. Department of the Treasury's top lawyer, which would mark a return to the department where he was previously the number two lawyer.

  • February 12, 2025

    Duane Morris Leader Sees A Looming Tariff 'Tax' Debate

    With price increases for certain construction materials likely coming as a result of new tariffs from the White House, contractors may start to make a tax argument in efforts to avoid shelling out additional money for projects, one of Duane Morris LLP's construction leaders told Law360 Real Estate Authority in a recent interview.

  • February 12, 2025

    Squire Patton Brings On Polsinelli Tax Ace In Houston

    Squire Patton Boggs LLP announced Wednesday that a former Polsinelli PC shareholder has joined the tax strategy and benefits practice group in Houston, an addition that helps the firm address growing client needs.

  • February 12, 2025

    Berger Singerman Adds Carlton Fields Tax Pro In Miami

    Florida business law firm Berger Singerman has added a new partner to its business, finance and tax team in Miami from Carlton Fields.

  • February 12, 2025

    Ex-Ill. Speaker Madigan Guilty Of Bribery In Mixed Verdict

    A federal jury on Wednesday partially convicted the man who was once the most powerful politician in Illinois on federal corruption charges, finding former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan guilty of bribery conspiracy and wire fraud but deadlocking on the government's overarching racketeering charge.

  • February 12, 2025

    IRS Updates Depreciation Deductions For Certain Vehicles

    Certain vehicles placed in service in 2025 will be eligible for an additional depreciation deduction of up to $20,200 for the first tax year, the Internal Revenue Service said Wednesday.

  • February 11, 2025

    Rodney King's Former Atty Gets Prison For $7M Tax Evasion

    A Los Angeles criminal defense and civil rights attorney who once represented Rodney King was sentenced by a California federal court Tuesday to 1½ years in prison for evading $7.2 million worth of taxes on income from his law practice.

  • February 11, 2025

    Trump's Tariffs, GOP Tax Goals Pose Political Puzzle

    President Donald Trump's use of wholesale tariffs may generate trillions of dollars across a 10-year budget window, but the economic uncertainty associated with the U.S.'s aggressive trade posture could politically harm Republicans' must-have efforts to shepherd a tax bill into law this year, experts say.

  • February 11, 2025

    House Panelists Push For IRS Funding, Tech Upgrade

    The Internal Revenue Service is still underfunded and needs to prioritize using any additional funding it receives to boost its taxpayer services and technology modernization, panelists told a House Ways and Means subcommittee Tuesday.

  • February 11, 2025

    Tax Court Orders Penalties For $90M In Disallowed Deductions

    A group of four North Carolina partnerships that were denied a total of $90 million in tax deductions for donations of conservation easements must pay valuation and accuracy-related penalties under a U.S. Tax Court ruling Tuesday.

Expert Analysis

  • Recruitment Trends In Emerging Law Firm Frontiers

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    BigLaw firms are facing local recruitment challenges as they increasingly establish offices in cities outside of the major legal hubs, requiring them to weigh various strategies for attracting talent that present different risks and benefits, says Tom Hanlon at Buchanan Law.

  • What DOL Fiduciary Rule Means For Private Fund Managers

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    Attorneys at Ropes & Gray discuss how the U.S. Department of Labor's recently released final fiduciary rule, which revises the agency's 1975 regulation, could potentially cause private fund managers' current marketing practices and communications to be considered fiduciary advice, and therefore subject them to strict prohibitions.

  • Money, Money, Money: Limiting White Collar Wealth Evidence

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    As courts increasingly recognize that allowing unfettered evidence of wealth could prejudice a jury against a defendant, white collar defense counsel should consider several avenues for excluding visual evidence of a lavish lifestyle at trial, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

  • How Associates Can Build A Professional Image

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    As hybrid work arrangements become the norm in the legal industry, early-career attorneys must be proactive in building and maintaining a professional presence in both physical and digital settings, ensuring that their image aligns with their long-term career goals, say Lana Manganiello at Equinox Strategy Partners and Estelle Winsett at Estelle Winsett Professional Image Consulting.

  • Navigating New Safe Harbor For Domestic Content Tax Credits

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    The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s recent notice simplifying domestic content calculations for certain solar, onshore wind and battery storage projects, which directly acknowledges the difficulty for taxpayers in gathering data to support a domestic content analysis, should make it easier to qualify additional domestic content bonus tax credits, say attorneys at A&O Shearman.

  • Firms Must Rethink How They Train New Lawyers In AI Age

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    As law firms begin to use generative artificial intelligence to complete lower-level legal tasks, they’ll need to consider new ways to train summer associates and early-career attorneys, keeping in mind the five stages of skill acquisition, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.

  • 'Energy Communities' Update May Clarify Tax Credit Eligibility

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    A recent IRS notice that includes updated lists of locations where clean energy projects can qualify for additional tax credits — based 2023 unemployment data and placed-in-service dates — should help provide clarity regarding project eligibility that sponsors and developers need, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Always Be Closing

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    When a lawyer presents their case with the right propulsive structure throughout trial, there is little need for further argument after the close of evidence — and in fact, rehashing it all may test jurors’ patience — so attorneys should consider other strategies for closing arguments, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Litigation Inspiration: Attys Can Be Heroic Like Olympians

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    Although litigation won’t earn anyone an Olympic medal in Paris this summer, it can be worthy of the same lasting honor if attorneys exercise focused restraint — seeking both their clients’ interests and those of the court — instead of merely pursuing every advantage short of sanctionable conduct, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • Lean Into The 'Great Restoration' To Retain Legal Talent

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    As the “great resignation,” in which employees voluntarily left their jobs in droves, has largely dissipated, legal employers should now work toward the idea of a “great restoration,” adopting strategies to effectively hire, onboard and retain top legal talent, says Molly McGrath at Hiring & Empowering Solutions.

  • How Cannabis Rescheduling May Alter Paraphernalia Imports

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    The Biden administration's recent proposal to loosen federal restrictions on marijuana use raises questions about how U.S. Customs and Border Protection enforcement policies may shift when it comes to enforcing a separate federal ban on marijuana accessory imports, says R. Kevin Williams at Clark Hill.

  • NCAA Settlement May End The NIL Model As We Know It

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    The recent House v. NCAA settlement in California federal court, in which the NCAA agreed to allow schools to directly pay March Madness television revenue to their athletes, may send outside name, image and likeness collectives in-house, says Mike Ingersoll at Womble Bond.

  • Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Atop the list of ways fishing makes me a better lawyer is the relief it offers from the chronic stress of a demanding caseload, but it has also improved my listening skills and patience, and has served as an exceptional setting for building earnest relationships, says Steven DeGeorge​​​​​​​ at Robinson Bradshaw.

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