Top Law Schools

I would assume most BigLaw firms have tax lawyers, but are there any large, well-paying firms that specialize in tax law?

http://www.capdale.com/

I'm sure there are more out there too. Boutiques exist in most every field, but they can be hard to hunt down because they tend to fall below the radar of vault, chambers, etc.

http://www.robertsandholland.com/

dont be fooled by their website. i am told they do pay market

There's tax law forum at http://www.taxtalent.com that features moderation by tax recruiters and members of tax firms, both accounting and law. It's somewhat skewed toward Big Law and the Big 4 accounting firms but the people who post there are genuinely friendly and will answer any reasonable question. I think that you would find your time well spent there.

Keep in mind that an LL.M.(tax) from one of the three top schools (NYU, Georgetown, and U. Florida) on top of a T14 J.D. is becoming almost a pre-requisite for a Big Law tax associate position. These programs are hideously expensive. There are plenty of other places to do tax that are, if not less demanding at least less exacting credential-wise. For that kind of work, you should entertain passing the C.P.A. exam as soon as possible.

BeautifulSW wrote: Keep in mind that an LL.M.(tax) from one of the three top schools (NYU, Georgetown, and U. Florida) on top of a T14 J.D. is becoming almost a pre-requisite for a Big Law tax associate position. These programs are hideously expensive. There are plenty of other places to do tax that are, if not less demanding at least less exacting credential-wise. For that kind of work, you should entertain passing the C.P.A. exam as soon as possible.

Not even close.

Most big firms bring associates into their tax practices in the same way that they bring associates into their other practices--through their summer programs. An LLM is virtually never a prerequisite. Most of the LLMs you find at big firms acquired the credential while working and did so without spending a cent of their own money.

As to the OP, there are no "big" firms that primarily practice tax law. Caplin and Miller Chevalier are the largest of the firms that focus on tax, and both have fewer than 100 attorneys. Neither pay market, but both are said to be great places to work and offer relatively generous compensation.

That said, Ivins Phillips and Roberts & Holland offer better compensation for fewer hours, though they tend to be quite selective.

edcrane wrote:As to the OP, there are no "big" firms that primarily practice tax law. Caplin and Miller Chevalier are the largest of the firms that focus on tax, and both have fewer than 100 attorneys. Neither pay market, but both are said to be great places to work and offer relatively generous compensation.

That said, Ivins Phillips and Roberts & Holland offer better compensation for fewer hours, though they tend to be quite selective.

So if I have an interest in working primarily in tax law after law school if I don't come from a T14 school, would it maximize my chances at employment by having a CPA license?

merc280 wrote:

edcrane wrote:As to the OP, there are no "big" firms that primarily practice tax law. Caplin and Miller Chevalier are the largest of the firms that focus on tax, and both have fewer than 100 attorneys. Neither pay market, but both are said to be great places to work and offer relatively generous compensation.

That said, Ivins Phillips and Roberts & Holland offer better compensation for fewer hours, though they tend to be quite selective.

So if I have an interest in working primarily in tax law after law school if I don't come from a T14 school, would it maximize my chances at employment by having a CPA license?

Not for most law firms. One tax partner at a firm I worked for over the summer went as far as to say that CPAs are usually bad at practicing tax law. On the other hand an LLM and (to a lesser extent) a CPA can help you get a tax law job at a big 4 accounting firm.

If I were you, I'd gun for really high grades and try to get a SA position at a fairly unselective big firm that has a large tax practice (e.g., Baker McKenzie).

edcrane wrote:

merc280 wrote:

edcrane wrote:As to the OP, there are no "big" firms that primarily practice tax law. Caplin and Miller Chevalier are the largest of the firms that focus on tax, and both have fewer than 100 attorneys. Neither pay market, but both are said to be great places to work and offer relatively generous compensation.

That said, Ivins Phillips and Roberts & Holland offer better compensation for fewer hours, though they tend to be quite selective.

So if I have an interest in working primarily in tax law after law school if I don't come from a T14 school, would it maximize my chances at employment by having a CPA license?

Not for most law firms. One tax partner at a firm I worked for over the summer went as far as to say that CPAs are usually bad at practicing tax law. On the other hand an LLM and (to a lesser extent) a CPA can help you get a tax law job at a big 4 accounting firm.

If I were you, I'd gun for really high grades and try to get a SA position at a fairly unselective big firm that has a large tax practice (e.g., Baker McKenzie).

so getting my CPA degree before i start law school would be somewhat beneficial for the future if i do end up in the corporate-tax law field?

merc280 wrote: so getting my CPA degree before i start law school would be somewhat beneficial for the future if i do end up in the corporate-tax law field?

I'm not sure how you inferred that from his post? In any event, everything that I have heard (I've e-mailed plenty of professors who maintain tax law blogs on the subject) tilts towards a disregard for the CPA credentials in practicing tax law. The big 4 firms, as edcrane mentioned, may give some weight to the credentials and I know some small town tax lawyers that like their candidates to have CPAs -- but elsewhere a CPA is probably viewed as slightly superior to passing your driving test and attaining a license.

If you really want to have the CPA added to your name, then it probably doesn't hurt. I just think your time may be better spent elsewhere.

Do a NALP employer search and restrict the practice area to Tax to get an idea of firm offices that have tax practices. Tax is done at a lot of full-service firms, but may be a very small part of the firm's operations.

CPA is important for Big 4, not for biglaw. I've gotten a lot of advice from tax attorneys that the LLM is really important, both for the knowledge it gives you and for the hiring edge it offers. But only one of them worked in biglaw recently, and he was a career-changer. A large number of LLMs seem to be career-changers.

Tax-talent has a recruiter focus, so it emphasizes the LLM, I guess because it's a useful indicator of knowledge in recruiting. My cousin is in legal recruiting and he told me last week that the LLM is basically expected to do tax law. I don't know how relevant this advice is for biglaw specifically.