Tax

Focused on both integrity and innovation, Orrick’s tax practice covers all aspects of United States federal, state, and international tax planning and litigation.

Our tax team includes nationally prominent lawyers in the United States who are former chairs of the American Bar Association Section of Taxation and the National Association of Bond Lawyers. Two of our partners, in particular, are listed in all editions – spanning 20 years – of Best Lawyers in America. Our lawyers are noted in other professional guides, such as Global Counsel 3000, The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers, The International Who’s Who of Corporate Tax Lawyers, Mondaq’s Guide to the World’s Leading Tax Advisers, Euromoney Asia Pacific Law, and Tax Experts.

Our public finance tax lawyers are the largest collection of professionals in the United States, superintending financings in 44 states.

Our tax litigation lawyers are recognized for their exceptional track record, including landmark victories in the movie industry participations case and in sustaining offshore captive insurance companies.

Our private wealth practice lawyers arrange the affairs of large, privately held enterprises and estates, ranging from wealth transfer and multi-generational planning to corporate recapitalizations, and the counseling of hundreds of charitable foundations and trusts.

Our work in 2005 included the representation of:

• Municipality of Anchorage, Alaska (United States). The Municipality of Anchorage as tax litigation counsel in a bond audit appealing an earlier adverse determination. The Appeals Office of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reversed the earlier IRS field office ruling, which determined that the $150 million of bonds used to finance the acquisition of a natural gas field were taxable. This is the first known instance where the IRS made a complete concession after a proposed adverse determination.
• Goldman, Sachs & Co. (United States). Goldman Sachs in connection with the $1.65 billion tax-exempt financing of its world headquarters. The building is planned as 1.7 million square feet of office and operational space and is regarded by many as a cornerstone to the post-September 11 redevelopment of downtown Manhattan.