Editorial: Corporate Tax in Illinois
01 July 2008
The second edition of Who's Who Legal: Illinois identifies 23 corporate tax specialists. They hail from 11 firms in Chicago and include international tax specialists alongside domestic experts. Direct taxation practitioners feature in the list, which also includes indirect tax lawyers. Lawyers concentrating purely on transfer pricing or tax issues deriving from mergers, acquisitions and dispositions have been selected, as have general tax experts. Whatever their practice focus, they all have exceptional ability and outstanding reputations in the field.
Kirkland & Ellis LLP is the leading firm in Illinois for the tax aspects of complex business transactions and boasts five practitioners in this chapter - two more entries than any other firm. Donald Rocap is regarded by his peers as "excellent" and "a smooth operator". He gives back to the profession by speaking and writing frequently, and lectures at the University of Chicago Law School. Rocap is joined by Jeffrey Sheffield, who was identified by one source as "one of the best tax partners they have at the firm". He has experience in the tax aspects of venture capital investing and tax planning for public and closely held entities. Jack Levin has a "sterling reputation" in Chicago and has the clients to back this up - Madison Dearborn Partners, Willis Stein Partners, First Chicago and Bank of America are just some for whom he has handled private equity, venture capital, LBO, and fund formation matters. William Welke and Todd Maynes complete the listing for Kirkland & Ellis LLP and were both described to researchers as "excellent".
McDermott Will & Emery LLP also performed well with Lowell Yoder receiving praise from his competitors, who labelled him "brilliant, an outstanding international tax lawyer". Yoder co-chairs the international tax practice group and focuses on international tax planning for multinational companies. He is a keen speaker and writer and is the editor-in-chief of CCH's International Tax Journal. Thomas Borders is a former trial attorney for the Office of Chief Counsel with the Internal Revenue Service, and spent over eight years in government. His practice now focuses on federal tax controversies involving audits, administrative appeals, litigation and criminal investigations. Jared Kaplan is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and a Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefit Counsel, and also acts as general counsel of The Family Firm Institute. He is regarded as a "luminary" in the ESOP field, lecturing and writing frequently on
this topic.
Mayer Brown LLP also has three entries in this chapter, asserting itself as a major player for both domestic and international tax work. George Craven's particular focus involves tax issues pertinent to insurance companies and the tax aspects of financing, and investments internationally, especially in India. Craven was praised by his peers for his "instinct and integrity". Also extremely highly regarded is the "fantastic" Timothy Sherck, whose corporate tax practice also sees him advising lenders, investors, and debtors on tax issues in financial restructurings, including bankruptcy reorganisations. Joel Williamson is a "nationally recognised name" who is "excellent in the extreme". His tax litigation practice has seen him work on some of the largest and most high-profile cases, including the Tribune Company case and the Seagate Technology, National Semiconductor, and United Parcel Service transfer-pricing cases.
Baker & McKenzie has two "highly regarded" practitioners included in this chapter. Top of the list is Richard Lipton, who currently serves as the chair of the American College of Tax Counsel and is past chair of the Tax Section of the American Bar Association. His practice focuses on advising both US and multinational clients on federal tax issues; clients and peers alike "think very highly of him". The "excellent" Gregg Lemein comes recommended for intercompany pricing issues and completes the listings for Baker & McKenzie.
Christian Kimball is co-chair of Jenner & Block LLP's tax practice, and is "very highly regarded" by his peers for his work on federal income tax matters. He was an associate professor at Boston University School of Law, where he taught federal income tax, partnership tax, international tax policy and the taxation of financial instruments, and is currently an adjunct professor in the Chicago-Kent College of Law LLM programme. Arnold Harrison co-chairs the firm's tax practice with Kimball, also co-chairing the firm's tax controversy and real estate securities practices. A focus of Harrison's practice is real estate and business transactions, and he was deemed "excellent" by sources.
Sidley Austin LLP's tax practice includes over 50 lawyers, with two from the Chicago office making the chapter. Sharp Sorensen is co-coordinator of the firm's national tax practice, heading the group in Chicago. Sorensen was the lead outside tax counsel to First Data Corporation in its US$17 billion spin-off of Western Union, and in First Data's earlier acquisition of Concord EFS. He enjoys "great standing" in the Chicago tax community. Jay Zimbler is a Fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel and focuses on federal income tax matters. His practice also places an emphasis on contested matters, Subchapter C and the taxation of foreign-related transactions.
Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP is the final firm to boast two entries in this chapter. Louis Freeman has a particular focus on corporate acquisitions, financings, spin-offs, joint ventures and partnerships, and has served as outside tax counsel for some big-name clients, including BP America, Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers. André LeDuc has a broad practice and comes recommended for his advice to clients on the federal income taxation of bankruptcy and financial restructurings. He has acted as lead tax counsel to the debtors in the American Bank Note Corporation, Comdisco, and Safety-Kleen bankruptcies, to name but a few.
Competitors "think the world of" James Lynch from Winston & Strawn LLP. He is another Fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel and a certified public accountant. Representative clients include Allied Waste Corporation, Dynegy, Exelon, Sara Lee and Kellogg. Sheldon Banoff from Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP is "the dean of Chicago tax law", according to one source. His federal tax practice has a focus on investment, real estate, partnership and limited liability company taxation matters. Banoff is a prolific speaker and writer, having been a lecturer in Law at the University of Chicago Law School and a co-author of Illinois Limited Liability Company - Forms and Practice Manual and Limited Liability Companies and S Corporations. He has also been editor of the monthly "Shop Talk"column in the Journal of Taxation since 1985. Stephen Bowen is managing partner of Latham & Watkins' Chicago office. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel and The University of Chicago tax conference planning committee. His practice is focused on the area of federal income taxation and he is "a highly respected member of the Bar".
John Palmer from Foley & Lardner LLP is the final name to appear in this chapter. His "impressive practice" places special emphasis on corporate taxation, and partnerships and limited liability companies. He also has a reputation for his representation of Fortune 500 clients before the Internal Revenue Service.