Overview
(June 2, 2021, New York) — Steptoe & Johnson LLP is pleased to announce that Larry Hill, one of the nation’s preeminent tax litigators, has joined the firm’s tax practice as a partner and co-head of its tax controversy practice. Hill further strengthens a practice that has long been known as one of the top resources for clients facing IRS audits, appeals, and tax litigation. Hill, who will be based in New York, is one of three new partners joining Steptoe’s New York office this week.
Steptoe Chair Phil West, who co-chairs the Tax Group and is a premier international tax lawyer, commented: "As the Biden administration has already moved to increase tax enforcement, with a proposal to spend $80 billion over ten years to expand IRS enforcement, the need for tax controversy litigators will significantly increase. Larry is a proven first-chair tax lawyer who will add muscle to our long-established tax controversy practice, complement our tax counseling practice, and reinforce Steptoe as a top-tier destination for domestic and international tax controversy matters."
Hill’s arrival fits well into Steptoe’s tax practice, which has been the professional home for generations of renowned tax controversy lawyers, including Jim Holden, Matt Zinn, Art Bailey, and Mark Silverman, and has more recently attracted other preeminent practitioners with tax controversy practices. In addition to West, they include Eric Solomon, Bob Rizzi, Lisa Zarlenga and Matt Frank, a recognized and respected authority on transfer pricing, who joined the firm at the end of 2020.
Hill focuses his practice on the resolution of complex domestic and cross-border civil tax disputes through the IRS administrative process and litigation. He has represented numerous major banks, other federal financial service companies, multinational corporations and high net-worth individuals in tax-related disputes. Hill, who has tried more than 20 tax cases, also represents clients in high-profile white-collar investigations and criminal cases.
Hill has led the national and global tax controversy practices at several Am Law 100 firms. Earlier in his career, he served at the IRS, where he was a trial lawyer and national tax shelter project attorney with the Office of Chief Counsel and a special assistant US attorney in Washington, DC. His career also includes service as assistant general counsel to a "Big Four" accounting firm.
Hill commented: "Steptoe is a perfect platform for my practice, because of its exceptional lawyers and tax and litigation practices. The firm’s lawyers are first-class people as well as some of the most highly sought-after and talented lawyers in the country. I am excited and humbled to be a part of an outstanding tax practice that includes lawyers who have served at Treasury as assistant secretary for tax policy, international tax counsel, and tax legislative counsel, and who represent presidential appointees through the vetting process."
Steptoe's Tax Group advises global businesses and high-net-worth individuals across all industries on their most important and complex international and domestic tax matters. The group includes former senior government officials from Treasury, the IRS, the Justice Department, and congressional tax-writing committees. Steptoe's highly regarded Tax Group has earned top rankings and recommendations from the legal directories Chambers USA and The Legal 500, among other publications.
Hill has been recognized for his skills as a federal tax controversy lawyer in both Chambers USA and The Legal 500. In the recently released 2021 edition of Chambers USA, clients praise him as a litigator "who helps develop and communicate the best possible argument."
Hill is a fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel, a former chair of the ABA Tax Section’s Court Procedure and Practice Committee, a life fellow of the American Bar Foundation, and a member of both the Wall Street Tax Association and the Tax Club.
Hill obtained his J.D. and LL.M. (Taxation) from The George Washington University Law School. He received his B.A., with highest honors, from the State University of New York at Binghamton, where he was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.
About Steptoe
In more than 100 years of practice, Steptoe has earned an international reputation for vigorous representation of clients before governmental agencies, successful advocacy in litigation and arbitration, and creative and practical advice in structuring business transactions. Steptoe has more than 500 lawyers and other professional staff across offices in Beijing, Brussels, Chicago, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington. For more information, visit www.steptoe.com.
