Resume

PERSONAL AND EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

Areas of practice include tax and estate planning, tax controversy, business representation and transactions.
Board Certified in Tax Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization
Board Certified in and Estate Planning & Probate, Texas Board of Legal Specialization

Born: Sherman, Texas, August 13, 1948.

Children: One daughter, age 32, Joanna Leigh Elliott, Professional musician.

Parents: Judge Ralph Elliott (59th District Court, Sherman, Texas)(deceased) and Celia Jo Elliott (deceased).

Spouse: Carol M. Barger, attorney.

Education:
Sherman, Texas public schools (graduated 1966).
Southeastern State College, Durant, Oklahoma (B.S. Accounting 1970).
Southern Methodist University School of Law (J.D. 1973).
New York University School of Law (LL.M. in Taxation 1974).

Admitted to State Bar of Texas: September 1973.

SCOPE OF LEGAL PRACTICE

Estate planning for individuals, particularly those with substantial assets or businesses, covering a wide array of estate planning techniques, including foundations, trusts, long- term, multi-generational estate planning.

Federal and state taxation, and business transaction, providing a wide range of corporate, partnership, institutional and individual clients with legal and tax counsel and representation in complex tax planning and tax controversy matters. Representing varied corporate, institutional and individual taxpayer clients before IRS and Tax Court in achieving successful resolution of a wide range of complex disputed tax issues.

U.S. Supreme Court Appearances

United States v. Rodgers, 461 U.S. 677 (1983), and the Fifth Circuit appeal, and the District Court trial. 5-4 decision in favor of United States. Case concerns foreclosure of a Federal tax lien of a deceased husband against the Texas homestead interest of a widow, who was not the taxpayer.

U.S. Court of Appeals for Fifth Circuit

Hudgins v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, No. 94-40211, 57 F.3d 1393, 95-2 U.S. Tax Cas. (CCH) & 60,202, 76 A.F.T.R.2d (P-H) 5401, (5th Cir. June 28, 1995). Reported at: 1995 U.S. App. LEXIS 27954 (5th Cir. 1995) rev’g the United States Tax Court. (No. 5506-91) (U.S. prevailed). Case concerned the effectiveness of a Section 2032A election after an attorney mistake.

Blakeman v. United States, 997 F.2d 1084; 92-2 U.S. Tax Cas. (CCH) & 50,455, 70 A.F.T.R.2d (P-H) 5366, (5th Cir. July 21, 1992). As Corrected. Withdrawn upon Grant of Rehearing July 28, 1993, Reported at: 1993 U.S. App. LEXIS 19401, cert. denied, 114 S. Ct. 687; 126 L. Ed. 2d 654; 62 U.S.L.W. 3451 (1994), aff’d in part, rev’d in part,. 750 F.Supp. 216 (N.D. Tex. 1990) (Judge John McBride) (Taxpayer prevailed). Case concerned the computation of a Texas homestead interest held by a widow in the face of a foreclosure of a Federal Tax lien arising out of an estate tax delinquency.

United States v. Rodgers, supra. (Taxpayer prevailed)

U.S. District Court

Blakeman v. United States, 750 F.Supp. 216 (N.D. Tex. 1990)(Judge John McBride), supra. (Taxpayer prevailed)

Wyly v. United States, 80-2 U.S.T.C. & 9645 (N.D. Tex. 1980)(Judge Robert Hill)(U.S. prevailed).

United States v. Rodgers, (N.D. Tex. 1978)(Judge William M. Taylor), supra. Taxpayer prevailed.

U.S. Tax Court (Selected decided cases listed; omitted settled cases)

Hudgins v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, supra. Taxpayer prevailed.

Estate of Maude Ray v. Commissioner, Tax Court Docket No. 15356-90 (in December 1991)(Chief Judge Nims). Taxpayer prevailed. Case concerned real estate valuation in an estate.

IRS National Office Rulings

Letter Ruling 8848019 (August 31, 1988)(unique ruling advising trustee regarding the manner of taxation of a creditors' trust created by a bankruptcy plan of reorganization).

BAR ASSOCIATION ACTIVITIES

State Bar of Texas:

Elliott has a substantial experience in leadership positions with the State Bar of Texas, including former Chair of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Section of Taxation.

  • Awarded Dan Price Award, Texas Bar Foundation (June 2008)(for leadership in continuing legal education and writing)
  • Former Chair of Board of Directors, State Bar of Texas (2004-2005)

0ther Activities with the State Bar of Texas:

  • Member, Standing Committee on Continuing Legal Education (present)
  • Member, Section of Real Estate, Probate and Trust Law (present)
  • Member, Section of Taxation (present) Member, Business Law Section (present)
  • Former Member, Planning Committee, Advanced Estate Planning CLE Course, Texas Bar CLE
  • Former Chair, Standing Committee on Professionalism (2006-2007)
  • Past Member, Board of Directors, State Bar of Texas (2001-2005)
  • Past Member, Executive Committee, State Bar of Texas (2002-2005)
  • Past Chair, Finance Committee, State Bar of Texas (2003-2004)
  • Past Chairman, Section of Taxation, State Bar of Texas (1995-1996)
  • Past Chairman, Continuing Education Committee, Section of Taxation (2005-2007)
  • Course Director, 2006, 1991 and 1990 Advanced Tax Law Institutes, Section of Taxation
  • Member, Tax Law Examination Committee, Texas Board of Legal Specialization Committee (1986, 1988-92, 1998)

American Bar Association:

  • Member, Administrative Practice Committee, Section of Taxation (1987-present)
  • Contributing author, Low Income Taxpayer Handbook (ABA 2009 2nd edition)

Dallas Bar Association:

  • Past Member, Board of Directors, Dallas Bar Association (2002-2004)
  • Member, Editorial Committee on History of Dallas Bar Association (1999-2001)
  • Former Chair and Member, Memorial & History Committee

OTHER AWARDS

Stanley J. Scott Award, Dallas Chapter of CPAs May 2010 (for leadership in continuing education)

LEGAL SPECIALIZATION CERTIFICATIONS

Elliott holds two specializations from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization:

  1. Board Certified, Tax Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization (1983-present)
  2. Board Certified, Estate Planning and Probate Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization (1998-present)

There are only 60 lawyers in Texas who hold these two specialization certifications.

OTHER PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

  • Appeared and argued before the Supreme Court of the United States in United States v. Rodgers, 461 U.S. 677 (1983) (representing taxpayer).
  • Life Fellow, Texas Bar Foundation
  • College of State Bar of Texas (1989-present)
  • Program Chair, Dallas Chapter CPA Annual CPE Day (present)
  • Lecturer, Southern Methodist University School of Law, Federal Tax Collections (Spring 1991, Spring 1992); Partnership Taxation (Spring 1997); Closely Held Businesses (Spring 2010)
  • Senior Legal Advisory Board, Lexis-Nexis, Mead Data Central, Inc., Dayton, Ohio (1990 - 1994)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books:

  • Federal Tax Collections, Liens and Levies, Warren Gorham & Lamont, New York, New York (2d. ed. 2009).
  • Texas Taxes Annotated, West Pub. Co. (1999) (co-authored with Scott Morris)

Recent Published Articles and Presentations:

  • Authored, “Reopening the Door: Disputing Tax Liability in a Collection Due Process Case,” CCH Taxes January 2011
  • Authored, “Conflicts of Interest in Tax Practice,” CCH Taxes November 2010.
  • Authored, “IRS Collection Against Trusts: Trust Language Matters,” CCH Taxes September
  • Authored, “Assessment Irregularities,” CCH Taxes July 2010 and reprinted in CCH Tax
  • Practice and Procedure September 2010.
  • Authored, “Loaning Money to a Delinquent Taxpayer,” 24 J. Taxation and Regulation of Financial Institutions, No. 1, Sept/Oct. 2010.
  • Authored, “Responding to a Federal Tax Levy: What Should a Financial Institution Do?,” 23 J. Taxation and Regulation of Financial Institutions , No. 6, July/August 2010.
  • Presented, “Navigating the Dangerous Waters of Multi-Party Representation in LLC and Partnership Deals, University of Texas School of Law 2010 Conference on Partnership and Limited Liability Companies, July 22-23, 2010, Austin, Texas.
  • Presented, “Ethics of Multi-Party Representation in a Business Formation and Termination,” Texas Bar CLE webcast, July 8, 2010 with George Coleman, Bell & Nunnally, Dallas.
  • Presented, “The Future of Law Practice,” Dallas Bar Association, Professionalism Committee, July 6, 2010, with George Coleman, Bell & Nunnally, Dallas.
  • Authored, “National Taxpayer Advocate’s 2009 Report to Congress: Important Information for the Tax Practitioner,” CCH Taxes, May 2010.
  • Authored, “Fifth Circuit Survey: Federal Taxation, 42 Texas Tech L. Rev. No. 3 (Spring 2010).
  • Authored, “Divorcing Delinquent Taxpayers: Unrecorded and Thus Unrequited,” CCH Taxes, March 2010.
  • Presented, “Ethics and Risks of Changing Law Firms,” State Bar of Texas CLE Webcast, March 2010 (with Ophelia Camina)
  • Presented, “The Future of Ethics and Law Practice in a Flat World,” State Bar of Texas CLE Webcast, March 2010 (with Ophelia Camina, Susman Godfrey, Dallas)
  • Authored, “Ethics and Liability Issues of Multiparty Representation in Tax Practice,” CCH Taxes January 2010
  • Presented, “Ethics and Risks in Multi-Party Representation,” to Dallas Chapter of CPAs, February 2010; Dallas Bar Association Section of Taxation, December 2009 (with Dan Baucum), and State Bar of Texas CLE Webcast, October 2009 (with George Coleman), and Grayson County, Texas Bar Association, July 2009.
  • Authored, “Substitutes for Return,” CCH Taxes, November 2009
  • Authored, “Levies on Fixed and Determinable Income or Property,” CCH Taxes October 2009
  • Authored, “Purchasing Property from a Delinquent Taxpayer,” CCH Taxes, September 2009.
  • Ethics & Liability of Multi-Party Representation, TexasBarCLE webcast, with George Coleman, Sept. 27, 2009, with paper.
  • Forming Professional Services Firm, with Dan Baucum, State Bar of Texas Advanced Tax Institute August 2009 and State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting June 2009.
  • Purchasing Property From a Delinquent Taxpayer, September 2009 Taxes Magazine, Vol. 87, No. 8.
  • Authored, “Fifth Circuit Survey: Federal Taxation, 41 Texas Tech L. Rev. No. 3 (Spring 2009).
  • Presented, “Forming Services Company,” State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting June 2009 (with Dan Baucum, Tina Green & George Coleman) and State Bar of Texas Advanced Tax Institute August 2009 (with Dan Baucum).
  • Authored, “Ethics and Risks in Multi-Party Representation,” CCH Taxes January 2009
  • Contributing author, Low Income Taxpayers Handbook (American Bar Association, 2009)
  • Presented, “Collection of Employment Taxes,” State Bar of Texas Advanced Tax Institute August 2008
  • Presentation, “Collection of Employment Taxes,” State Bar of Texas Advanced Tax Institute August 2008.
  • Chaired the 2008 Dallas Chapter of CPAs, Annual Free CPE Day, May 2008.
  • Presented, “Organizing Professional Services Company,” University of Texas Annual Partnership, LLC Institute, Austin, Texas May 2008 (with George Coleman).
  • Chaired and moderated webcast on “Texas Margin Tax” State Bar of Texas, August 2007.
  • Presented “Contributing Assets to a Partnership,” University of Texas Annual Partnership, LLC Institute, Austin, Texas May 2007.
  • Chaired panel discussion on “Facade and Easements Donations to Charity” to the American Bar Association, Section of Taxation, Real Estate Tax Committee, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, January 2007.
  • Co-authored and presented paper on “Estate Planning for Real Estate Owners” to the New York University School of Law Federal Tax Institute, San Diego, California November 2006.
  • Chaired panel discussion, “Estate Planning for Real Estate Owners” to the American Bar Association, Section of Taxation, Real Estate Tax Committee, Washington, D.C., May 2006.
  • Participated in panel discussion on “Collection Due Process Hearings and Offers in Compromise,” at the American Bar Association, Section of Taxation, Bankruptcy and Workout Committee, San Diego, California, January 2006.
  • Presented “Post-Mortem Estate Planning,” to the Dallas Chapter of Certified Public Accountants, Dallas, Texas, December 2005.
  • Participated in panel discussion on “IRS Expense Guidelines and Offers in Compromise,” at the American Bar Association, Section of Taxation, Bankruptcy and Workout Committee, Washington, D.C., May 2005.
  • Presented “Collection Procedures and Defenses,” Tarrant County Texas Bar Association, Estate and Gift Tax Committee, Fort Worth, Texas, May 2005.
  • Presented “Don’t Banks On It; Taxation of Contingent Legal Fees & Employment Tax Issues In 2004 Jobs Act” to Dallas Bar Association, Employment Law Section, Dallas, Texas, April 2005.
  • Chaired panel discussion, “Conservation Easements in Estate Planning,” to the American Bar Association, Section of Taxation, Real Estate Tax Committee, Boston, Massachusetts, October 2004.
  • Participated in closed circuit televised panel program, “The Tax Controversy Toolkit”, Accounting Continuing Education Network (ACPEN), August 2004.Tax Collection Issues Involving Partnerships, Journal of Asset Protection (July/August 1998)
  • “Criminal Issues Arising in Federal Tax Collection,” 73 Tax Notes 1345 (1996)

CIVIC AND OTHER

  • Past Chairman, Farmer’s Market Tax Increment Finance District, Dallas, Texas
  • Former Member, Trinity River Authority Board of Directors (1989-1995)(appointed by Governor Clements). [Executive Committee; Chairman, Administration Committee]
  • Member, Board of Directors, and Secretary, Center for Non-Profit Management, Dallas, Texas (1989-1992).
  • Past President, SMU Law School Alumni Association (1991-92).
  • Member, Board of Directors, Non-Profit Loan Center, Dallas, Texas (1990-1992).
  • Member, Board of Directors, Center for Non-Profit Management, Dallas, Texas (1988- 1992).
  • Public Member, State of Texas Depository Board (1978-1980, 1980-1982)(appointed twice by Governor Clements).
  • Chairman, Legal Advisory Committee, Dallas Citizens' Charter Revision Commission (1989).
  • Member, Economic Development Task Force for Southern Dallas (1982)(appointed by Mayor Starke Taylor).
  • Member, Leadership Dallas (1982).

LAW SCHOOL EXPERIENCE

  • Leading Articles Editor, Journal of Air Law & Commerce (volume 38-39);
  • Barristers;
  • Treasurer, Student Bar Association (1971-72);
  • Published: Comment, 38 J. Air L. & Comm. 547 (1972);
    Note, 37 J. Air L. & Comm. 465 (1971);
  • Awards: Outstanding Student Comment in Law Review (1972);
  • Other: Founded (with two others) the SMU Chapter of Delta Theta Phi
    Clerked, Office of Chief Counsel, Internal Revenue Service, Summer 1972.