Experience
Senator Bob Dole (R-KS), the 1996 Republican candidate for president, former Senate Finance Committee Chairman and Senate Majority Leader, served longer in a Senate leadership role (Minority and Majority) than any other Republican in U.S. history. Senator Dole has an enormous reservoir of knowledge and expertise—based on more than 40 years at the pinnacle of political life in Washington—that has proven to be invaluable to Alston & Bird’s clients, who have turned to him and the firm for representation in our nation’s capital.
Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) advises clients on a wide variety of critical and complex public policy issues facing contemporary business and industry interests throughout the country. During her tenure on the Hill, as one of the Finance Committee’s top-ranking Democrats, Senator Lincoln was the first woman Democratic Senator named to lead a Finance Committee Subcommittee. During her time on the Finance Committee, she went on to chair two Subcommittees and helped develop and pass legislation reducing taxes, improving health care and expanding international trade.
Representative Earl Pomeroy (D-ND) has decades of experience and records of leadership on a full range of tax issues as a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee. During his tenure in Congress, he earned a reputation as a leader that brought common sense to the debate over issues that affected our nation. His position with the Ways and Means Committee gave him influence over key policy areas, including, tax, health care and trade.
Representative Billy Tauzin (R-LA) is the first and only American to serve in the leadership of both political parties in Congress. He was named president and chief executive officer of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) in January 2005. He brings to the tax policy practice a wealth of experience in the inner workings of Congress and representing the interests of clients. As a member of Congress, he was considered “knowledgeable and eloquent” by the Almanac of America Politics and “one of the House’s savviest members” by National Journal.
Carolyn Smith is the former associate deputy chief of staff for the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation. Carolyn has extensive experience as an insider regarding the tax legislative process. During her 20-plus years on the Joint Committee staff, she was responsible for major tax, health and pension legislation, from the Tax Reform Act of 1986 through the Pension Protection Act. In addition to advising Ways and Means and Finance Committee members and staff, she also worked closely with the U.S. Department of the Treasury; the Internal Revenue Service; the House Education and Labor Committee; the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions; the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation; and the Department of Labor. Carolyn was formally recognized in 2007 by Joint Committee on Taxation Co-Chairmen Senator Max Baucus (D-MN) and Charles Rangel (D-NY) for her outstanding contribution to the formulation of the federal tax laws. In recognition of her achievements while with the Congress, she was featured in the National Journal’s 2007 Special Report on “The Hill People.”
The group is joined by numerous other former senior officials from every administration since Ronald Reagan was inaugurated in January 1981, with service in the White House, both houses of Congress, Treasury and IRS. The group is supported by tax lawyers with decades of experience across the full range of federal tax issues, including Henry Birnkrant, who is the head of the firm’s Tax Section and specializes in international and transfer pricing tax matters; Jim Croker, who has represented clients on tax matters for 30 years, focusing on international tax, REITs and real estate, and investment funds; and Edward Tannenbaum, co-chair of the Federal and International Tax Group.
Accolades
- In 2011, Chambers USA ranked us as on one of the top-tier lobbying firms in the country.
- National Public Radio ranked us “one of the top lobbying firms in D.C.” in April 2010.
- Roll Call ranked us on of the “top 20 lobbying firms in the country” in January 2010.
- National Law Journal ranked us “one of the top lobbying firms in the country” in 2009.
- We are regularly ranked among the top 10 lobbying law firms by the Center for Responsible Politics.
Bringing Value to Our Clients
Our clients grapple daily with the intricacies of the tax laws and how an ever-changing tax legislative and regulatory climate affects their business. Challenges in the tax arena come from many sides—including the regulatory and legislative—ranging from broad tax reform and deficit reduction proposals, to proposals affecting particular industries, to provisions affecting a single company. We work with our clients to take a proactive approach to tax policy issues, enabling our clients to keep ahead of and shape the policy debate and the regulatory process as it develops. Our political, policy and substantive expertise combine to provide our clients with the highest level of advice and support on federal tax policy and regulatory issues.