Article of Interest

Litigating with the IRS 
By:  Alexandra Eaker Pérez

Hi, my name is Alex and I sue the Internal Revenue Service for a living. I practice in a very specialized area: defending taxpayers and resolving tax disputes. My niche is civil and criminal tax litigation and controversies. I represent taxpayers during audits, administrative appeals, and litigation before the U.S. Tax Court and criminal tax proceedings by the U.S. Department of Justice. I have always known I was cut from a different cloth and somewhere along my professional journey, I found what I love: fighting with the IRS. I thoroughly enjoyed the trial advocacy opportunities of my law school, Texas Tech. I excelled in litigation with the federal government, criminal procedure, and every tax class offered at Tech, which, luckily for me, tax classes were plentiful. This experience eventually led me to work for a seasoned tax litigator who enjoys mentoring and often litigates tax cases in federal district court and the U.S. Tax Court. 

Many attorneys are unfamiliar with the court. It was created under Art. I of the U.S. Constitution and it is one of the few where the judges “ride the circuit;” the judges of the U.S. Tax Court travel nationwide to conduct trials in various designated cities. The sitting judges, senior judges, and special trial judges hear cases in which affected parties are able to dispute tax positions taken by the commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service prior to payment of the disputed amounts.

Judges of the court serve 15-year terms by presidential appointment. The court currently has one vacancy and a pending nomination of Elizabeth Copeland. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Ms. Copeland would join Judge Juan Vasquez of San Antonio on the bench and become the fourth Texan to serve on the court. Ms. Copeland received both J.D. and B.B.A. degrees from the University of Texas. While in law school, Ms. Copeland clerked for the Supreme Court of Texas and worked as an attorney advisor to U.S. Tax Court Judge Mary Ann Cohen after law school. Previously a shareholder in Oppenheimer, Blend, Harrison & Tate, Inc., Ms. Copeland is a partner at Strasburger & Price, LLP in San Antonio. 

Most litigators avoid tax issues like the plague, while tax transactional or tax compliance attorneys tend to choose a boardroom over a courtroom. I enjoy the technical nature of the Internal Revenue Code and prefer the reactionary nature of tax litigation. Nationwide, very few attorneys seem to have the desire to understand both courtroom procedure and depreciation schedules. I consider myself fortunate to have gained the trial experience that I have, due in large part to my mentoring attorney. While most tax cases settle outside of court, within my first two years as a lawyer, I prepared and delivered cross-examination and closing arguments in a published U.S. Tax Court case. In the last five years I have worked on tax litigation cases with issues involving relief from joint and several liabilities for a married filing joint tax return, civil fraud, deducting real estate loses, international sharia trusts, pensions and profit sharing plans, and the tax implications of human egg donation. Going up against a worthy adversary only increases my professional fulfillment. I have found the attorneys with the IRS Office of Chief Counsel to be professional, courteous, and embody civility as lawyers. 

When you love what you do, being involved in your profession comes natural. Last year I participated in the Annual Delegation to Washington, D.C. This annual trip sends tax attorneys to D.C. to present a practitioner’s perspective on legislative and practical tax issues. I met with the tax staff from the House Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee, the Joint Committee on Taxation, U.S. Tax Court judges, and key governmental officials from the Internal Revenue Service Office of Chief Counsel, the Taxpayer Advocate’s Office, and the Treasury Department to share my thoughts on the practical and legal aspects of proposed treasury regulations.  

Whatever the substantive flavor of your professional passion, mentorship is a key component for every new attorney. A mentor can help you, guide you, nurture your career, and take you under his or her wing. My mentor provided me with experience and exposure it would have taken decades to learn on my own. I have been extremely fortunate to have such a fantastic mentor, and I will be grateful all my life.