Litigation
Tax Controversy and Litigation
Gibson Dunn’s Tax Controversy and Litigation team is led by nationally and internationally renowned lawyers who have handled among the largest and most complex domestic and cross-border tax disputes on behalf of a wide range of clients.
The team includes former IRS and DOJ Tax Division Attorneys, and U.S. Tax Court and federal district and appellate court clerks
We represent clients at all stages of controversy and litigation, handling disputes with the IRS, state and local tax authorities, and internationally
We are repeatedly recognized for our work by major industry publications
Clients trust us with their most critical matters, including numerous multi-billion-dollar disputes
Overview
Leadership and Expertise
Gibson Dunn’s Tax Controversy and Litigation team is led by nationally and internationally renowned lawyers who have handled among the largest and most complex domestic and cross-border tax disputes on behalf of a wide range of clients. Our lawyers have served as attorneys with the former U.S. Department of Justice Tax Division, and as clerks at the U.S. Tax Court and on the federal district court, and include a Fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel. Our experience allows us to view tax controversy and litigation from all perspectives and understand the nuances required to succeed at federal, state, and local levels in the U.S., as well as before foreign tax authorities. We represent a diverse range of clients, including multinational corporations, partnerships, privately held companies, investment funds, and individuals.
Comprehensive Support
We support clients at all stages of tax controversy, from audit and administrative resolution through trial court proceedings and judicial appeals. Our litigation experience spans the U.S. Tax Court, the Court of Federal Claims, federal district courts and courts of appeal, the United States Supreme Court, various state courts and other tribunals. We also represent clients in international matters involving competent authority and directly before foreign tax authorities.
Preventive Measures and Collaboration
Our extensive experience in resolving uncertain tax positions through letter rulings and other procedures helps clients avoid or mitigate the risk of tax controversies before they arise.
Industry Diversity
Our clients come from a wide range of industries, including technology, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, consumer goods, electronic commerce, telecommunications, industrials, oil & gas, and financial services, among others.
Recognition of Excellence
Our practice and its attorneys are regularly recognized for their work in the tax controversy and litigation space by leading industry publications. Chambers USA ranks the group among the top practices in the nation for Tax: Controversy, and highlights group practitioners as leaders in their fields. The group garners national recognition from The Legal 500 U.S. as a top firm for US Taxes: Contentious, while its attorneys are recognized as “Leading Lawyers,” and as “Next Generation Partners” for the same category. World Tax, International Tax Review’s annual guide to the world’s leading tax advisory practices recognizes the group in 10 categories across six jurisdictions, including California, District of Columbia, New York, France, Hong Kong, and the UK. Members of the team are further lauded in Who’s Who Legal for Corporate Tax – Controversy, The Best Lawyers in America for Tax Law and Litigation and Controversy – Tax, in World Tax Expert’s Guide for General Corporate Tax, Tax Controversy, and Transactional Tax.
“When a client is in a fight that seems unwinnable, this is the team to call. No stone will go unturned, and they have the skills and experience to get the best result possible.”
Chambers USA, client quote
Experience
Most of our representations, including some of our largest, involve matters that are not publicly disclosed. Current or recent examples of such matters include large transfer pricing controversies for a major oil & gas company and multiple major life sciences companies; multiple large partnership controversies across industries, involving characterization, timing, and deductibility issues; ongoing State tax controversies involving property, income, and franchise tax issues; and a number of other ongoing federal tax controversies across a range of industries and issues.
Some of our public matters include:
- 3M: We represented 3M as appellate counsel in its appeal from an adverse decision of the United States Tax Court. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed the Tax Court and, in a landmark ruling, became the first appellate court to effectively invalidate a Treasury regulation under 26 U.S.C. § 482.
- Western Digital Corporation: Represented Western Digital Corporation in one of the largest docketed tax cases. The case involved transfer pricing and Subpart F issues, two docketed cases that were consolidated, and more than $3.5 billion in income adjustments plus penalties. The case settled on favorable terms shortly before trial.
- Silicon Valley Tax Directors Group: Represented the Silicon Valley Tax Directors Group as amicus curiae in In re Grand Jury, U.S. Supreme Court, Docket No. 21-1397, in a case involving the scope of attorney-client privilege in the tax context.
- Small Business & Entrepreneurship Counsel: Represented the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Counsel in filing an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in Moore v. United States. In our brief, we explained how the Court could apply the severability doctrine to ensure that, if it finds that the transition tax in Code section 965 violates a realization requirement in the 16th Amendment, other cross-border provisions enacted by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act could remain intact.
- The Coca-Cola Co.: Represented Coca-Cola in a high-profile docketed transfer pricing case involving approximately $10 billion in income adjustments. The central issue in the case involves transfer pricing, and additional issues include the eligibility to claim Foreign Tax Credits and the effect of foreign legal restrictions on the pricing of controlled transactions. The case is currently pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
- Maxim Healthcare Services: Served as trial counsel in a large employment tax case involving a subsidiary of Maxim Healthcare Services (Reflectxion Resources, Inc.) and multiple novel legal issues, including jurisdictional issues. Prevailed on motion for nine of the sixteen quarters at issue, after which the remainder of the case settled on favorable terms.
- United Therapeutics: We represented United Therapeutics Corporation in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and previously represented them in the U.S. Tax Court, in a case that raised novel issues around the intersection between the Research and Experimentation Credit (and the Alternative Simplified Method of computing that credit) and the Orphan Drug Credit.
- Rover Pipeline: We represented Rover Pipeline in an appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court challenging the property tax assessments imposed on the pipeline.
- National Association of Manufacturers: We currently represent the National Association of Manufacturers as amicus curiae in the 10th Circuit in Liberty Global, Inc. v. United States, No. 23-1410 and in the U.S. Tax Court in Patel v. Commissioner, No. 24344-17, both cases involving the proper test for “relevance” of the codified economic substance doctrine. Separately, we also represented the National Association of Manufacturers in preparing public comment letters on guidance involving “basis shifting” transactions issued by the IRS on June 17, 2024.