Profile: John J Coalson Jr

Corporate Tax

Biography: Corporate Tax

John L Coalson Jr, a partner in Alston & Bird's state and local tax group, focuses on counselling and planning, as well as dispute and litigation work, in the areas of state and local tax, and unclaimed property. His extensive experience ranges from the more common areas of income, sales and use, and property taxes to less common areas such as business licence taxes, gross receipts and gross premiums taxes, real estate transfer and recording taxes and intangible property taxes. In the area of unclaimed and abandoned property, Mr Coalson has represented more than a dozen national companies in multi-state audits and voluntary disclosures. He has advised more than 30 companies in the structuring of their gift certificate, gift card and merchandise credit operations. He has also represented clients in negotiations - and provided legal opinions - in the purchases and sales of businesses, reorganisations, evaluation of potential exposures and establishment of appropriate reserves and compliance projects.

Mr Coalson is a fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel and past chair and continuing member of the executive committee of the National Association of State Bar Tax Sections. He serves as a trustee and member of the advisory board of the Paul Hartman Memorial Institute on State and Local Taxation in Nashville and the advisory board for the NYU Institute on State and Local Taxation.

Mr Coalson received his BBA in Accounting, with highest distinction, in 1974 from Emory University, and his JD, summa cum laude, in 1977 from the University of Georgia, where he served as executive editor of Georgia Law Review and was a member of the Order of the Coif.