Federal

  • July 15, 2025

    Tax Court Denies Equitable Tolling To Firm In Collection Action

    A North Dakota law firm that convinced the U.S. Supreme Court three years ago that federal courts can extend equitable tolling for nonjurisdictional deadlines was not able to sway the U.S. Tax Court to extend the time for the firm to file a collection action case against the IRS, according to a bench opinion. 

  • July 15, 2025

    IRS Updates Corp. Bond Monthly Yield Curve For July

    The Internal Revenue Service updated Tuesday the corporate bond monthly yield curve used in calculations for defined benefit plans for July, as well as corresponding segment rates and other related provisions.

  • July 15, 2025

    IRS To Provide Transition Relief For Tips And OT Tax Breaks

    The IRS will provide guidance for new deductions for tips, overtime pay and car loan interest that will include transition relief for taxpayers claiming those deductions and employers subject to associated reporting requirements, according to a fact sheet released by the agency.

  • July 15, 2025

    These Firms Worked On The Top First-Half Real Estate Deals

    A&O Shearman and Stibbe are among the more than 20 law firms that scored work on the 10 largest global real estate mergers and acquisitions of the first half, a period that saw three transactions above $4 billion.

  • July 15, 2025

    IRS Issues 2026 Static Mortality Tables For Defined Plans

    The Internal Revenue Service released on Tuesday the updated static mortality tables to be used to calculate the funding target and other items for defined benefit pension plans during the 2026 calendar year.

  • July 15, 2025

    Booz Allen Urges DC Circ. To Affirm IRS Leak Sentence

    Government contractor Booz Allen Hamilton urged the D.C. Circuit to uphold the five-year prison sentence of its former employee for leaking tax returns while on a job at the IRS, saying the crime has hurt the company's reputation and subjected it to "baseless lawsuits."

  • July 15, 2025

    11th Circ. Told Tax Court Erred Nixing Easement's Values

    A Georgia partnership told the Eleventh Circuit that the U.S. Tax Court broke legal precedent by relying on a flawed valuation method that did not consider commercial mining potential when it denied a deduction tied to the conservation easement donation of a property.

  • July 15, 2025

    LA Deputies Admit Using Positions To Aid Crypto 'Godfather'

    Two Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies admitted using their official positions to harass enemies of a cryptocurrency founder who called himself "The Godfather" and failed to report $36 million in income from selling hacked Meta business accounts, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

  • July 14, 2025

    EU Law Doesn't Shield Eaton Records, US Tells 6th Circ.

    The European Union's privacy law does not protect Eaton Corp. from having to disclose employee evaluation records in a transfer pricing dispute with the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. government told the Sixth Circuit on Monday.

  • July 14, 2025

    Tax Court Tosses $62M In Bogus Land Deductions

    The U.S. Tax Court slashed about $62 million in tax deductions claimed by four partnerships for donations of conservation easements in Georgia on Monday, saying the partnerships did not provide the required appraisals and grossly overstated the value of their donations.

  • July 14, 2025

    GOP Lawmakers Back USTR Probe Into Foreign Drug Pricing

    Republican members of Congress expressed support Monday for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative's efforts against what the lawmakers referred to as anti-innovation policies abroad that, they said, require U.S. companies to take on the brunt of pharmaceutical research and development.

  • July 14, 2025

    Trump Threatens Tariffs On Russia Over Ukraine War

    President Donald Trump said Monday that Russia must end its war with Ukraine within the next 50 days or else the U.S. will levy "severe tariffs" on Russian goods entering the U.S.

  • July 14, 2025

    IRS Met Penalty Rules In Easement Cases, Tax Court Says

    The IRS met all requirements for supervisory approval of penalties it issued to two companies related to disallowed charitable contribution deductions for donated conservation easements, the U.S. Tax Court said Monday.

  • July 14, 2025

    Tax Court Finds Couple Not Divorced In Filing Status Dispute

    A Minnesota accountant and his wife who divorced through a religious ceremony were not divorced in the eyes of the law and thus can't claim the head-of-household tax filing status reserved for certain unmarried people, the U.S. Tax Court ruled.

  • July 14, 2025

    US Defends Seeking Man's Info From Apple In Swiss Tax Probe

    The U.S. government urged a California federal court to enforce an IRS summons on Apple Inc. to produce records linked to the account of a dual Swiss-Italian citizen, arguing the summons is valid under the U.S.-Switzerland tax treaty.

  • July 14, 2025

    Evidence Tainted In $20.7M Easement Loss, 11th Circ. Told

    The U.S. Tax Court improperly allowed hundreds of trial exhibits in striking a Georgia partnership's $20.7 million tax deduction for donating a conservation easement, the partnership told the Eleventh Circuit, saying the government failed to address its claims that the court broke evidence rules.

  • July 14, 2025

    Jury Says Commercial Real Estate Owner Hid $4.8M

    A jury in Washington federal court has found a commercial real estate company owner guilty on charges of concealing nearly $5 million in income from the Internal Revenue Service using a series of limited liability companies.

  • July 14, 2025

    30% US Tariffs Would Prohibit Trade, EU Commissioner Says

    President Donald Trump's weekend threat to impose a 30% tariff on goods imported from the European Union would "practically prohibit" trade, the EU's trade commissioner warned Monday.

  • July 14, 2025

    IRS Staff Cuts Imperil Gains In Wealthy Audits, TIGTA Says

    The Internal Revenue Service's small- and large-business divisions increased audits on high-income taxpayers in 2024, but that progress will likely be jeopardized by recent staffing cuts, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said in a report released Monday.

  • July 11, 2025

    Courts Face Early Push To Expand Justices' Injunction Ruling

    In the two weeks since the U.S. Supreme Court curtailed federal judges' ability to issue universal injunctions, Trump administration attorneys have begun pushing to expand the decision's limits to other forms of relief used in regulatory challenges and class actions. So far, judges don't appear receptive to those efforts. 

  • July 11, 2025

    Gov't Wants Fla. Man's Assets Repatriated To Pay Tax Debt

    A Floridian who owes the federal government nearly $28 million, plus penalties and interest, must repatriate funds held in two Bahamian trusts kept in his name and that of his children, the government told a Florida federal court.

  • July 11, 2025

    The Tax Angle: Church Politics, Budget Talk, Disaster Relief

    From a look at the IRS' statement relaxing a 71-year-old ban on political endorsements by churches to talk of a second budget reconciliation bill this year and the passage of disaster tax relief legislation, here's a peek into a reporter's notebook on a few developing tax stories.

  • July 11, 2025

    US Seeks To Toss DOGE Taxpayer Data-Sharing Suit

    Unions and advocacy organizations trying to block the White House's Department of Government Efficiency from sharing taxpayer data across agencies have not shown they've suffered the sort of injuries that would allow them to sue the federal government, the U.S. government told a D.C. federal court.

  • July 11, 2025

    Trump Declares 35% Canadian Import Tariff Is Coming Aug. 1

    President Donald Trump has sent a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney indicating Canadian goods entering the U.S. outside the compliance of a regional trade agreement will face 35% tariffs beginning Aug. 1.

  • July 11, 2025

    Widow Asks 4th Circ. For Innocent Spouse Tax Relief

    An 80-year-old widow whose husband went to jail for filing false tax returns asked the Fourth Circuit to overturn a U.S. Tax Court ruling finding her liable for interest payments related to the couple's millions of dollars in tax debt.

Expert Analysis

  • Firms Must Embrace Alternative Billing Models Or Fall Behind

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    As artificial intelligence tools eliminate inefficiencies and the Big Four accounting firms enter the legal market, law firms that pivot from the entrenched billable hour model to outcomes-based pricing will see a distinct competitive advantage, says attorney William Brewer.

  • How Attorneys Can Master The Art Of On-Camera Presence

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    As attorneys are increasingly presented with on-camera opportunities, they can adapt their traditional legal skills for video contexts — such as virtual client meetings, marketing content or media interviews — by understanding the medium and making intentional adjustments, says Kerry Barrett.

  • Adapting To Private Practice: From Fed. Prosecutor To BigLaw

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    Making the jump from government to private practice is no small feat, but, based on my experience transitioning to a business-driven environment after 15 years as an assistant U.S. attorney, it can be incredibly rewarding and help you become a more versatile lawyer, says Michael Beckwith at Dickinson Wright.

  • Justices' False Statement Ruling Curbs Half-Truth Liability

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Thompson v. U.S. decision clarified that a federal statute used to prosecute false statements made to bank regulators only criminalizes outright falsehoods, narrowing prosecutors’ reach and providing defense counsel a stronger basis to challenge indictments of merely misleading statements, says Tamara de Silva at De Silva Law Offices.

  • Perfecting Security Interests In Renewable Energy Tax Credits

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    The ability to transfer renewable energy tax credits has created new opportunities for developers, investors and lenders, but it also raises important questions regarding when and how the security interests in these credits are perfected — questions that must be answered definitively to protect credit claims and transactions, says Harry Teichman at Stinson.

  • Firms Still Have Lateral Market Advantage, But Risks Persist

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    Partner and associate mobility data from the fourth quarter of 2024 shows that we’re in a new, stable era of lateral hiring where firms have the edge, but leaders should proceed cautiously, looking beyond expected revenue and compensation analyses for potential risks, say Julie Henson and Greg Hamman at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.

  • Making The Opportunity Zones Program Great At Last

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    As the opportunity zone program approaches its expiration, the Republican-led government could take specific steps to extend and improve the program, address its structural flaws, encourage broader participation and enable it to live up to its promised outcomes, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • We Must Allow Judges To Use Their Independent Judgment

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    As two recent cases show, the ability of judges to access their independent judgment crucially enables courts to exercise the discretion needed to reach the right outcome based on the unique facts within the law, says John Siffert at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

  • Preparing For Tariffs On Canadian Power In The Northeast

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    The on-again, off-again risk of import and export tariffs on energy transactions between the U.S. and Canada may have repercussions for U.S. energy stakeholders in the ISO New England and New York Independent System Operator electricity markets — but there are options that could help reduce cost impacts, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

  • Making The Case For Rest In The Legal Profession

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    For too long, a culture of overwork has plagued the legal profession, but research shows that attorneys need rest to perform optimally and sustainably, so legal organizations and individuals must implement strategies that allow for restoration, says Marissa Alert at MDA Wellness, Carol Ross-Burnett at CRB Global, and Denise Robinson at The Still Center.

  • Mitigating Tariff Risks For Healthcare In US And Canada

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    Healthcare stakeholders should take steps to evaluate the impact of cross-border tariffs, as the historically strong ties between Canada and the U.S. demonstrate the potential for real disruption and harm to the healthcare industry in both countries, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • 4 Ways Women Attorneys Can Build A Legal Legacy

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    This Women’s History Month, women attorneys should consider what small, day-to-day actions they can take to help leave a lasting impact for future generations, even if it means mentoring one person or taking 10 minutes to make a plan, says Jackie Prester, a former shareholder at Baker Donelson.

  • A Judge's Pointers For Adding Spice To Dry Legal Writing

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    U.S. District Judge Fred Biery shares a few key lessons about how to go against the grain of the legal writing tradition by adding color to bland judicial opinions, such as by telling a human story and injecting literary devices where possible.

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