Best Lawyers in District of Columbia, United States for Tax Law
Jay R. Nanavati is an accomplished litigator, a former federal tax prosecutor, and a founding partner of Kostelanetz LLP's Washington, D.C., office. He has developed an enviable record of success in persuading the government to terminate investigations of his clients and in defeating the government in court. Mr. Nanavati maintains a nationwide practice, focusing on white-collar criminal defense with an emphasis on tax-related matters. He represents individuals and entities facing investigatio...
Jamie's representations have involved the taxation of financial instruments, the timing of income and deductions, corporate reorganizations, deductions for worthless investments, the substance-over-form and economic substance doctrines, civil tax penalties, and other areas of tax law. From 2006 to 2013, Jamie was a trial attorney with the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, where he was lead counsel for the government in over 100 civil tax cases, and he received two Outstanding At...
Nicole M. Elliott is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Native American Law and Tax Law. Nicole M., who practices law in Washington, District of Columbia, has been recognized since 2022. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Nicole M. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Eric B. Sensenbrenner is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Tax Law. Eric B., who practices law in Washington, District of Columbia, has been recognized since 2020. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Eric B. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Leslie J. Schneider is a partner in Ivins, Phillips & Barker's Washington office. His practice concentrates in accounting methods, the timing of revenue and expenses, the valuation of inventories, and capital v. expense issues. Mr. Schneider is most often recognized for his three-volume treatise, Federal Income Taxation of Inventories, published by Matthew-Bender. Mr. Schneider has developed a reputation as the premier attorney in the United States in the field of tax accounting and inven...
Fred Goldberg is co-head of the firm’s Tax Group and global co-chair of the firm’s Diversity Committee. Mr. Goldberg first joined Skadden in 1986, following two years as chief counsel of the Internal Revenue Service. From 1989 until 1992, Mr. Goldberg served as commissioner of the IRS, and during 1992 he served as assistant secretary of the Treasury for Tax Policy. He returned to Skadden in December 1992. Working with his Tax Department colleagues in Skadden’s Washington, Ne...
James N. Mastracchio is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Tax Law. James N., who practices law in Washington, District of Columbia, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which James N. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Armando Gomez concentrates his practice on a broad range of tax matters. He advises clients on the structuring and financing of U.S. and international partnerships, joint ventures and other cross-border transactions. Mr. Gomez also represents clients in connection with structuring private equity investments and investments in renewable energy projects. In addition, he counsels on valuation and transfer pricing matters, at both the planning and controversy stages. Mr. Gomez represents clients ...
Ciara Baker is a partner in the firm’s Transactional Department and chair of the Tax Practice. She advises clients ranging from emerging companies to established public companies on a broad array of executive and equity compensation matters. Her experience includes equity incentive plans and awards, employment, retention, severance and change-in-control agreements, non-employee director compensation arrangements, and non-qualified deferred compensation arrangements.
William Alexander is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Tax Law. William, who practices law in Washington, District of Columbia, has been recognized since 2024. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which William is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Luisella P. (“Sella”) McBride concentrates her practice on federal tax laws and regulations related to tax-exempt financings. She has served as bond counsel for a wide variety of public finance transactions, including the issuance of tax-exempt, fixed and variable rate bonds, advance and current refundings, leases and installment purchase agreements. She advises clients on issues related to private use, reissuances, exempt facility qualification and financing, arbitrage, and couns...
J ane C. Bergner's practice encompasses a broad range of tax matters, including tax audit and controversy matters; tax collection disputes; innocent spouse issues; civil litigation at the trial and appellate levels; corporate, partnership, business and individual transactional tax planning; the representation of tax-exempt organizations; and estate, gift and wealth planning and probate. Jane is the author of Chapter 50, "Tax Court Jurisdiction, Procedure & Practice," included in the tax t...
Liz Young provides tax counsel to private and public real estate investors, private equity sponsors, real estate developers, and tax exempt organizations to finance community development projects across the U.S. What do you focus on? Transactional Tax Experience I started my legal career in the international tax department of one of the largest professional services firms in the world. There, I handled complex inbound and outbound tax planning and tax compliance for multinational clients, dom...
Elizabeth Thomas Dold’s practice focuses on the Internal Revenue Code and related compensation matters, including employment taxes and other reporting and withholding requirements. She covers all types of employee benefits, including qualified plans, IRAs, governmental plans, nonqualified deferred compensation plans, and health and welfare plans. She assists clients in all tax-related aspects of employee benefits including Internal Revenue Service (IRS) filings, compliance audits, desig...
Jeff Witt is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Tax Law. Jeff, who practices law in Washington, District of Columbia, has been recognized since 2024. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Jeff is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Susan E. Seabrook is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Tax Law. Susan E., who practices law in Washington, District of Columbia, has been recognized since 2021. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Susan E. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.