E-mail:
Jack Balkin: jackbalkin at yahoo.com
Bruce Ackerman bruce.ackerman at yale.edu
Ian Ayres ian.ayres at yale.edu
Corey Brettschneider corey_brettschneider at brown.edu
Mary Dudziak mary.l.dudziak at emory.edu
Joey Fishkin joey.fishkin at gmail.com
Heather Gerken heather.gerken at yale.edu
Abbe Gluck abbe.gluck at yale.edu
Mark Graber mgraber at law.umaryland.edu
Stephen Griffin sgriffin at tulane.edu
Jonathan Hafetz jonathan.hafetz at shu.edu
Jeremy Kessler jkessler at law.columbia.edu
Andrew Koppelman akoppelman at law.northwestern.edu
Marty Lederman msl46 at law.georgetown.edu
Sanford Levinson slevinson at law.utexas.edu
David Luban david.luban at gmail.com
Gerard Magliocca gmaglioc at iupui.edu
Jason Mazzone mazzonej at illinois.edu
Linda McClain lmcclain at bu.edu
John Mikhail mikhail at law.georgetown.edu
Frank Pasquale pasquale.frank at gmail.com
Nate Persily npersily at gmail.com
Michael Stokes Paulsen michaelstokespaulsen at gmail.com
Deborah Pearlstein dpearlst at yu.edu
Rick Pildes rick.pildes at nyu.edu
David Pozen dpozen at law.columbia.edu
Richard Primus raprimus at umich.edu
K. Sabeel Rahmansabeel.rahman at brooklaw.edu
Alice Ristroph alice.ristroph at shu.edu
Neil Siegel siegel at law.duke.edu
David Super david.super at law.georgetown.edu
Brian Tamanaha btamanaha at wulaw.wustl.edu
Nelson Tebbe nelson.tebbe at brooklaw.edu
Mark Tushnet mtushnet at law.harvard.edu
Adam Winkler winkler at ucla.edu
Lawyers Charged with Criminal Conspiracy for Legal Opinions
Brian Tamanaha
The Department of Justice recently indicted a number of tax lawyers for issuing fraudulent legal opinions designed to shield clients from criminal prosecution.
In order to encourage clients to participate in the shelters, and to shield the clients from substantial penalties that could be imposed if the IRS disallowed the claimed tax benefits, the [lawyer] defendants conspired to provide J&G's clients with opinion letters which claimed the tax shelter losses or deductions would "more likely than not" survive IRS challenge. The defendants knew those opinions were based on false and fraudulent statements, and omitted material facts. By helping their clients obtain false and fraudulent opinion letters, with the understanding and intent that those opinion letters would be presented to the IRS if and when the clients were audited, the defendants sought to undermine the ability of the IRS to ascertain the clients' tax liabilities and determine whether penalties should be imposed.
"Predictably, the lawyers expressed disappointment at the indictments, claiming that they had rendered good faith interpretations of the law."
That claim of "good faith" might be tested by tax savings and the legal fees generated by these tax shelter opinions, in addition to the documents "gag" requirements imposed by tax shelter attorneys on their clients to limit replication of such opinions by other coattail riding attorneys.
This is the level of conspiracy that would be necessary to gain a ham sandwich indictment against Yoo and Bybee.
Even this particular ham sandwich indictment has a nasty aroma about it. Identifying ways to reduce the tax liability of clients is the entire purpose of tax attorneys. The indictment appears to be damn thin in describing how the legal opinions were wrong as a matter of law. Given how indeterminate tax law can be, this is unsurprising. The indictment instead sounds like Justice is making it a crime to render a legal opinion that reduces taxes paid to the IRS.
When our resident LLB* invades one of my legal specialty turfs with this:
"The indictment instead sounds like Justice is making it a crime to render a legal opinion that reduces taxes paid to the IRS."
it must be pointed that he doesn't know tax law from Shinola. Strict standards have long been in place regarding tax shelter opinions that cost the fisc dearly and thus increase deficits. The Beatles' "Gimmee Shelter" was not about taxes.
By the Bybee, the "sangwich" would include Bradbury, a "BYB" on wry [sic].
Unless Jagger/Richards wrote "Gimme Shelter" for the Beatles, I believe Shaq is conspiring with the surviving Beatles to increase their royalties. Call DOJ. Damn kids with their rock n' roll.
The Rolling Stones knocked over the shelter I erroneously gave to the Beatles, leaving me behind clinging like moss all alone now on the lee side, homeless, clientless. Alas, the memory is the second thing to go.
ان شركتنا افضل شركة كشف تسربات المياه بالرياض هى الحل الذى امامك فى حالة وجود تسربات لديك بالجدران والاسقف والارضيات حيث نعد من اكبر الشركات المتخصصه فى هذا المجال حيث نقوم باستخدام احدث التقنيات المستخدمة فى الكشف الدقيق عن التسربات من خلال اكفأ الكوادر البشرية والمهندسين المختصين بذلك وبأرخص التكاليف , فاتصل بنا لتتخلص نهائيا من تسربات المياه لديك من افضل شركة كشف تسربات بالرياض .
اذا كنت من اصحاب فواتير المياه المبالغ فيها و لم تعرف عن سبب الارتفاع فى سعر الفاتوره بهذا الشكل فانه عليك الاتصال بشركة كشف تسربات المياه بالرياض والتى تساعدك فى معرفة السبب والذى قد يكون ثقب صغير فى خطوط التغذيه او خطوط الصرف الصحى والتى قد ينتج عنها ارتفاع الفاتورة والعديد من الاضرار المادية الخاصة بالبناء الخاص بك , فاتصل بشركتنا لتقوم بتحديد وكشف مكان التسربات ومعالجته واصلاحه على اكمل وجه وبأرخص الاسعار واقل التكاليف.
اذا قررت التعاقد مع شركتنا لكشف تسربات المياه بالرياض فانت بالتأكيد ستتمتع بأفضل الخدمات بالاعتماد على افضل الاجهزه الالكترونيه وبدون تكسيروذلك من خلال الاعتماد على عماله مدربه وماهره فى عمليه كشف تسربات المياه بدقة وحرفيه عاليه وبأرخص الاسعار الموجوده فى السعودية على الاطلاق فاتصلو بنا