Overview
Steptoe partner J. Walker Johnson was quoted throughout a Bloomberg BNA article titled “Documents Shared With Bank Consortium Were Privileged.” The article, published November 11, discusses the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit decision in Schaeffler v. United States to protect tax advice communication and documents regarding complex transactions from IRS audit and summons.
Mr. Johnson states: “The Second Circuit’s rejection of the district court’s holding that work product protection was unavailable, based on the assumption that Schaeffler would have sought the same tax advice even if litigation was not anticipated, is clearly correct. The district court’s rationale would deny work product protection to tax analyses in all transactions, indefensibly punishing taxpayers seeking to comply with the tax law.”
The full article can be read at Bloomberg BNA (subscription required).