Kendall L. Houghton

• Representing many of the largest financial sector companies (introducing and clearing broker-dealers, mutual fund complexes, banks, etc.) as well as insurance companies defending against industry-focused multistate unclaimed property examinations conducted by contract audit firms including Kroll and Kelmar.
• Represented retail and oil and gas sector defendants in Delaware False Claims Act litigation concerning the unclaimed property treatment of unredeemed gift cards.
• Assisted numerous clients with the defense of multistate unclaimed property audits conducted by third-party audit firms, and negotiated settlements with audit-participating states.
• Co-authored an amicus brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court that suggested grounds upon which the Court eventually disposed of a state tax discrimination challenge.
• Obtained a favorable settlement for a client in litigation with the District of Columbia Office of Tax and Revenue over the proper apportionment methodology for a media/broadcasting company.

Kendall Houghton focuses her practice on state and local tax planning, tax controversies, and unclaimed property/escheat matters. She leads Alston & Bird’s tax area, serves as the firm’s Financial Partner, and previously chaired the Partners Committee. Kendall has represented clients on a multijurisdictional basis in significant tax disputes, negotiated favorable settlements with state and local jurisdictions, developed and advocated state tax policy and legislative positions that benefited client interests, and collaborated with clients to design transactional and organizational structures that have optimized direct and indirect tax burdens. Kendall also advises clients on unclaimed property/escheat compliance, voluntary disclosure initiatives, planning opportunities, single- and multistate audit defense, and litigation of state unclaimed property assessments. She previously served as general counsel to the Council On State Taxation (COST), where she filed U.S. Supreme Court briefs in over a dozen cases impacting state taxation of multistate commerce. In recognition of her contributions to the field of state taxation, COST granted Kendall the 2021 Paul Frankel Excellence in State Taxation Award.

Kendall is co-author of Bloomberg BNA’s Multistate Tax Management portfolios “Unclaimed Property” and “Drop Shipment Transactions,” and dozens of articles on current unclaimed property and tax topics. She is a guest lecturer on unclaimed property and state tax topics for the L.L.M. in taxation program at Georgetown University and a featured speaker at national state tax conferences and schools.

Bar Admissions

• District of Columbia
• California
• Georgia (Inactive)

Education

• Emory University (LL.M., 1994)
• New York University (J.D., 1989)
• Harvard College (A.B., 1986)

Memberships