News & Publications Archive

Attorneys with the national law firm Chamberlain Hrdlicka have been selected to the Thomson Reuters 2019 Texas Super Lawyers list. Each year, no more than five percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor.

Six attorneys with national law firm Chamberlain Hrdlicka have been named to the 2019 Texas Rising Stars by Super Lawyers Magazine. Part of the national Super Lawyers rating service, Texas Rising Stars recognizes the best attorneys age 40 or younger, or who have been practicing for 10 years or less. Each year, no more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in the state receive this honor.

Eleven Chamberlain Hrdlicka Lawyers Named 2019 Georgia Super Lawyers, Rising Stars

(Houston, TX) – 2018 was another banner year for Chamberlain Hrdlicka’s Appellate Law section, which convinced higher courts to reverse over 14 millions dollars in judgments taken against the Firm’s clients.

Attorneys with the national law firm Chamberlain Hrdlicka have been selected to the Thomson Reuters 2018 Texas Super Lawyers list. Each year, no more than five percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor.

In an article published in Tax Notes titled "New LB&I Compliance Campaigns Address Virtual Currency and More", Kevin Sweeney, Senior Counsel, at Chamberlain Hrdlicka discusses the virtual currency campaign and how the new campaign furthers the IRS’s goals by reminding taxpayers of their reporting obligations for income from virtual currency and encouraging them to fix problems.

A Fifth Circuit panel partly vacated a lower court's quick win for the IRS that found a now-deceased Texas doctor liable for more than $4.3 million in penalties for the unpaid withholding taxes of his medical practice, saying there was still a genuine issue of material fact that warranted a trial.

Q&A session about the importance of Operating Agreements and horror stories from clients who did not have the right provisions in their Operating Agreements.

There is no federal law requiring purely private employers to offer paid leave of absence to their employees. However, states, counties, and cities are ever-increasingly enacting legislation that affects employers' obligations to provide their employees paid time off for sick or safe time. More progressive legislative bodies have enacted requirements for employers to award employees one hour of paid leave for every thirty or forty hours worked. Generally, paid leave laws allow eligible employees to accrue paid time off to care for themselves, their children, and certain family members due to sickness, sexual assault, or domestic violence. Opposite of this growing trend, many states have unfurled preemption legislation that bans local municipalities from requiring employers to provide certain employment benefits, including paid sick leave.

Kevin Sweeney, special counsel in Chamberlain Hrdlicka's Philadelphia office, is quoted in a article in the Wall Street Journal regarding Senior Counsel Robert Mueller's tax case against Paul Manafort.

ATLANTA, Feb. 22, 2018 – Chamberlain Hrdlicka is pleased to announce the inclusion of eight of its attorneys among Super Lawyers for 2018. Shareholders David D. Aughtry, Annette A. Idalski, Thomas E. Jones, Jr., Seth R. Price, Scott M. Ratchick and Hale E. Sheppard are recognized as "Georgia Super Lawyers." In addition, shareholder Peter N. Hall and senior associate Erica L. Opitz were named as “Georgia Rising Stars” by the publication. The complete list of honorees is available at http://superlawyers.com/georgia.

Chamberlain Hrdlicka is pleased to announce that it has elevated two of its shareholders to equity status and added three shareholders. Moving to equity shareholder are Scott M. Ratchick, based in Atlanta, and Jaime Vasquez of the firm's San Antonio office. In addition, Atlanta-based Peter N. Hall and Houston attorneys F. Daniel Knight and Jeff C. Wigginton, Jr. were named as shareholders. These promotions were affirmed during the firm's annual retreat on January 27 in Houston.

2017 was another banner year for Chamberlain Hrdlicka's Appellate Law section, including the recent successful appeal in a slander lawsuit, publicized by Law360.com. The Houston-based law firm is also gearing up for a busy 2018 with a number of important appellate matters already pending in the Texas Supreme Court, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and intermediate appellate courts.

Watch a recording of a webinar presented by Chamberlain Hrdlicka tax attorneys, Phil Karter, Scot Kirkpatrick, Katherine Jordan and Reid Barrineau on the important implications of the new partnership audit rules. effectuated by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015.

Eight attorneys with national law firm Chamberlain Hrdlicka have been selected to the 2017 Texas Super Lawyers list. Each year, no more than five percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor.

San Antonio, Texas - (August 22, 2017) – National law firm Chamberlain Hrdlicka today announced the addition of five attorneys to its San Antonio office. Joshua Sutin and Katherine Noll are joining the firm as shareholders, and Jillian Gordon Foerster, Erin Hamilton Jansen and Lauren D. Parker as associates.

It is part of every executive's job to ensure that any program he or she implements complies with the law. Certainly, it is a general counsel's job to advise his employer that a certain course of conduct might violate the law. One would think, then, that executives and attorneys who do their jobs by ensuring that their employer does not violate the law are not "whistleblowers." But a California jury disagreed, awarding $8 million to a former general counsel who told his employer that he thought the company might have violated a federal statute. This raises an important question - when are your employees just doing their jobs, and when are they whistleblowing?

Kennesaw State University (KSU) awarded Nicholas S. Papleacos, a Chamberlain Hrdlicka shareholder in the construction practice group, with the Outstanding Part-Time Teaching Award last Thursday at a ceremony hosted by the University. The award was presented by Dr. Dan Papp, President of KSU, at the August 13 ceremony conducted for the purpose of honoring outstanding faculty and staff. Papleacos was nominated by Dr. Khalid Siddiqi, the Chair of the Construction Management Department of the College of Architecture and Construction Management at KSU, and voted on by faculty and students of the Department. He teaches courses in Construction Law and Dispute Resolution.

Employers should be prepared to handle unannounced inspections by OSHA Compliance Officers and know how to best protect their company from unfair safety citations and monetary penalties.

BNA reporter Kathleen Caggiano, who authors BNA's “Incentives Watch” blog covering hot topics related to tax credits and incentives offered at the state level, recently interviewed Chamberlain Hrdlicka attorney Philip Karter about the implications of the firm's recent Tax Court victory in Gateway Hotel Partners v. Commissioner. T.C. Memo. 2014-5 (Jan. 9, 2014).

“Turmoil with insurrection, terrorism, piracy – those things all have to be taken into account before companies go to work in Africa or any place overseas,” said Kerry Williams, an attorney with Chamberlain Hrdlicka who works with American companies operating in West Africa.

“The Justice Department is sending a message that not every bank gets a deferred-prosecution agreement,” said Larry Campagna, a Houston tax attorney at Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Aughtry. “A deferred-prosecution agreement essentially says that if you keep your nose clean going forward, we won’t prosecute you for what you did in the past.”

National law firm Chamberlain Hrdlicka announced today that 36 of its attorneys have been selected by their peers as LexisNexis® Martindale-Hubbell® AV® Preeminent™ rated attorneys, the highest rating in legal ability and ethical standards. The selected attorneys practice in the firm’s offices spanning Houston, Atlanta, Philadelphia, San Antonio and Denver.

National law firm Chamberlain Hrdlicka announced today that 13 of its attorneys were selected by their peers for inclusion in the 2012 edition of Best Lawyers in America, one of the oldest and most respected peer-review publications in the legal profession.

My first exposure to the law came in the early 1990s when reading “To Kill a Mockingbird” in school. I was mesmerized by Atticus Finch and the courtroom drama in the novel. I was hooked on the idea of going to court and representing my clients to the best of my ability by persuading 12 strangers that my client was right and the other guy was wrong.

You have your restaurant concept. You picked the perfect location, and there is space available for rent. You’re on the brink of opening your business, so don’t blow it with a lease that could kill your success.

A Victoria federal judge has granted an unprecedented legal move for a private business to sue the U.S. Department of Labor. Although governmental entities such as the Department of Labor usually have immunity, which stops people from suing the government or its employees, in July, U.S. District Judge John Rainey granted Gate Guard Services' request to sue the department, allowing the oil service company to make the first legal punch.

Over the last 20 years, energy savings performance contracts (known as "ESPCs") have played a key role in the ability of federal and state agencies to complete critical upgrades to aging building systems and reduce energy costs without having large capital improvement budgets. Yet, many building and construction professionals are unfamiliar with the concept ESPCs or do not understand how these contracts differ from more traditional methods of delivery for construction and renovation contracts.

It has been said that legal issues of an admiralty and maritime nature have a certain "saltiness" about them. At first glance, the Texas Supreme Court's July 1 decision in Haygood v. de Escabedo has little in the way of salty flavor, as it is an appeal of a car wreck case. Admiralty practitioners should be cognizant of this opinion, however, as it has far-reaching impact upon admiralty personal-injury cases filed in Texas state courts.

National law firm Chamberlain Hrdlicka announced today that its Corporate, Securities & Finance group in Atlanta has finalized a private equity transaction on behalf of its long-term client Stadion Money Management, a rapidly growing investment management firm with approximately $ 6.7 billion in assets under management. Chamberlain Hrdlicka’s Corporate, Securities & Finance team advising Stadion consisted of Thomas E. Jones, Jr., Mona Maerz, David Siegel and Erica Hickey of the firm's Atlanta office, and Jonathan DePriest of the firm's Denver office.

National law firm Chamberlain Hrdlicka announced today that it has changed its formal name to Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Aughtry, effective August 1, 2011. Atlanta-based tax attorney David Aughtry has been added to Chamberlain’s masthead after serving as a shareholder with the firm for 27 years.

Profitable family businesses can use captive insurance companies to manage business risk and shift wealth accumulated in a profitable captive from senior to junior generations thereby avoiding inclusion of those funds in the senior generation's estates.

National law firm Chamberlain Hrdlicka is pleased to announce that is has achieved firm and individual rankings on both the state and national levels in the 2011 edition of Chambers USA. Determined by input from clients and peers, the publication has ranked Chamberlain No. 1 in tax law in Georgia, No. 3 nationally in tax controversy and No. 4 in tax law in Texas. Additionally, seven attorneys from the firm’s Houston, Atlanta and Philadelphia offices have been recognized in the areas of tax and immigration law.

National law firm Chamberlain Hrdlicka is pleased to annouce that two lawyers from the firm’s Atlanta office have been recognized as national leaders in the tax law practice area in the 2011 edition of Chambers USA. Chamberlain has also achieved firm and individual rankings on both the local and national levels. Determined by input from clients and peers, the publication has ranked Chamberlain No. 1 in tax law in Georgia and No. 3 nationally in tax controversy.

National law firm Chamberlain Hrdlicka is pleased to annouce that two lawyers from the firm’s Houston office have been recognized as national leaders in the tax and immigration law practice areas in the 2011 edition of Chambers USA. Chamberlain has also achieved firm and individual rankings on both the local and national levels. Determined by input from clients and peers, the publication has ranked Chamberlain No. 4 in tax law in Texas.

Signed into law by President George W. Bush on September 25, 2008, the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act ("ADAAA") broadened the scope of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), making it easier for an individual to establish that he or she has a disability. While the ADAAA retains the ADA's basic definition of "disability" as: (1) an impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; (2) a record of having such an impairment; or (3) being regarded as having such an impairment, the ADAAA explicitly rejects court interpretations of the definition of disability, which Congress believed inappropriately limited the ADA's scope.

Chambers and Partners, a preeminent international publication providing independent rankings and editorial commentary about top law firms and lawyers in 175 countries, has once again named Chamberlain Hrdlicka as one of the nation’s top tax firms. Described as "a great firm that is really effective on tax controversy," Chambers named seven Chamberlain tax attorneys as "Leaders in their Field" in its 2010 edition.

Recently retired Vice President of Taxes for Kimberly-Clark Corporation and a past president of the Tax Executives Institute, David L. Bernard, provides a corporate insider's view in presenting the case for broadening the in-house discussion of tax issues in an increasingly challenging environment. For Mr. Bernard's latest guest commentary as well as earlier commentaries, please visit our tax blog at www.taxblawg.net.

The Legal 500, a leading publication that provides comprehensive independent evaluations and rankings of legal services providers in over 100 countries, has named Chamberlain Hrdlicka as one of the nation’s top law firms in tax controversy with only two other firms in the entire country ranked higher.

Recently retired Vice President of Taxes for Kimberly-Clark Corporation and a past president of the Tax Executives Institute, David L. Bernard, provides a corporate insider's view of how in-house tax professionals should be thinking about the IRS's new disclosure of uncertain tax positions requirement. For Mr. Bernard's guest commentary, please visit our tax blog at www.taxblawg.net.

Chamberlain Hrdlicka's Ralph Midkiff is one of the few attorneys that was able to receive restitution for his client in the Melissa Ramon Ponzi Scheme.

In its 2009 national rankings, Chambers USA has named Chamberlain Hrdlicka among the nation's top firms in the United States in tax controversy and a record nine lawyers as leaders in their field.

The Legal 500, a prestigious worldwide publication that independently evaluates law firm capabilities in a variety of practice areas, has ranked Chamberlain Hrdlicka among the nation's most elite firms in tax controversy.

For only the 12th time, a Georgia attorney has been accredited by the U.S. Green Building Council. Gina Vitiello, a shareholder with Chamberlain Hrdlicka law firm, has been named a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Accredited Professional for New Construction and Major Renovation projects.

Phil Karter is interviewed on Fox Business News about the move away from traditional defined benefit plans and the implications of transferring the risk of managing retirement assets from employer to employee.

When the National Association of Women Lawyers released its annual survey at the end of last year, the statistics regarding women equity partners were sobering.

In United States v. Textron, Inc.,a closely watched case involving the application of the attorney work product doctrine to tax accrual workpapers, the First Circuit affirmed that the work product doctrine applies but left unanswered questions about whether protection of a taxpayer's workpapers can be waived by disclosure of its auditor's workpapers.

George Hrdlicka, Larry Campagna, George Connelly, Richard Cruse, Jack Eckels, Kevin Jewell, Ralph Midkiff, and Peter Williamson were recently named "Super Lawyers" by Texas Monthly Magazine’s "Super Lawyers 2008.”

In its 2008 national rankings, Chambers USA has named Chamberlain Hrdlicka among the top dozen firms in the United States in tax controversy.

Jim Berry was elected to a 3-year term to serve on the Houston Golf Association Board of Directors.

Chamberlain Attorney Hale E. Sheppard was recently cited in BNA's Daily Tax Report as an authority on international tax enforcement and foreign financial account reporting.

TAPP’s primary goal is to help the legal profession more adequately represent the people it serves by increasing diversity in the legal profession. It does this by providing diverse high school students with concrete, motivating opportunities to learn about the law and begin planning for their law school educations. TAPP provides high school students with the opportunity to speak with lawyers one-on-one about legal careers, education, study habits, and diversity in the legal profession.

This past summer, the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) released the final regulations for 403(b) plans. These plans allow employees of 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations, public schools, and churches (as well as ministers) to defer money for retirement.

In December 2007, the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) issued Notice 2007-100, providing limited relief for certain operational failures under Internal Revenue Code Section 409A.

Chamberlain Hrdlicka is a Gold Sponsor of the Technology Association of Georgia's Tax & Finance Society for the third year in a row.

Russ Owens won summary judgment in a premises liability case for a client, a manufacturer and distributor. A Dekalb County Superior Court judge ruled from the bench during oral arguments and granted Owens' motion.

Chamberlain Hrdlicka shareholder and First Tee of Atlanta board member Charles Talbot Nunnally III talks with the Fulton County Daily Report about golf, life and giving back.

Tom Jones, a shareholder in Chamberlain Hrdlicka's Atlanta office, was selected by his peers to be included in the 2007 and the 2008 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.

Shareholder Nicholas Papleacos was featured June 22 in Atlanta's ABC News coverage of the successful win of a complex and rare eminent domain win.

Chamberlain Hdlicka's Atlanta office was recently named in the Atlanta Business Chronicle as number six in Atlanta for growth by number of attorneys, placing it in the top ten for fastest growth in firm size.

The 2007 Edition of the US Legal 500, a guide to preeminent law firms and lawyers, has ranked Chamberlain Hrdlicka among the top tier of law firms nationwide in tax controversy and litigation.

The Atlanta office's James M. Kane spoke on the topic to the Elder Law Section of the Atlanta Bar Association on May 16.

Shareholder David Aughtry comments to the Wall Street Journal in this article published May 9, 2007.

Chamberlain Hrdlicka has added nationally-recognized tax attorneys from the Philadelphia office of Miller & Chevalier, which is one of the nation's premier tax firms. Miller & Chevalier partners Herbert Odell, Philip Karter and Kevin Johnson announced today their decision to leave the Washington, D.C.-based firm and join Chamberlain Hrdlicka as shareholders, effective Feb. 1.

Houston's Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Martin will transform next month from a regionally recognized tax boutique to a national one when three partners and one associate leave the Philadelphia office of Washington, D.C.'s Miller & Chevalier to open a Philadelphia branch of Chamberlain Hrdlicka.

George Hrdlicka, Larry Campagna, Richard Cruse and Jack Eckels were recently named "Super Lawyers" by Texas Monthly Magazine’s "Super Lawyers 2007.”

Tom Jones, a shareholder in Chamberlain Hrdlicka's Atlanta office, was selected by his peers to be included in the 2007 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.

Chamberlain Hrdlicka shareholder Richard N. Hubert's family trust has made exceptional donations to both the Hubert-Yeargan Center for Global Health at Duke University and Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health.

Charles E. Hodges, II and Thomas C. Grant from Chamberlain Hrdlicka's Atlanta office will be recognized as "Rising Stars" in the October issues of Atlanta Magazine and Georgia Super Lawyers. The honor acknowledges successful up-and-coming attorneys in Georgia.

Chamberlain Hrdlicka attorneys, Richard Hubert and Nick Papleacos, were highlighted today in the Fulton County Daily Report regarding a mid-trial settlement of an eminent domain lawsuit in one of the hottest areas of Atlanta real estate development.

Chamberlain Hrdlicka attorneys, David Aughtry and Charles E. Hodges II, were highlighted today in the Atlanta Business Chronicle regarding a precedent-setting win of a federal lawsuit that could effect nonprofits nationwide.

On Tuesday, July 11, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans issued a landmark opinion against the IRS on the most critical tax issue facing public charities.

Development of the new 75-acre South Point Retail Center in McDonough, Georgia continues full-steam ahead as development teams and investors officially closed on the property in late June.

Chamberlain Hrdlicka lawyer Anson Asbury recently spoke to the Technology Association of Georgia's Tax & Finance Society about Streamlined Sales Tax (SST) and its effect on Georgian business dealings with SST member states.

Chamberlain Hrdlicka, a Houston-based, full-service commercial law firm, today announced the addition of five new lawyers to the Construction Section of its Houston and Atlanta offices as well as a new shareholder in its Corporate, Securities and Finance Section in Houston.

Chamberlain Hrldicka Houston lawyer, George Connelly, offers some tips on tax issues and business gift giving to the Houston Business Journal and The Legal News.

Since the article below was published, Chamberlain Hrdlicka has donated a total of $26,340 to the American Red Cross and The Salvation Army Katrina Disaster Relief Funds! Thank you to all of our employees for contributing to this worthy cause. Fulton County Daily Reporter, Meredith Hobbs, reports how "Lawyers Work to Help Gulf Coast Brethren."

Named Rising Stars by "Law & Politics" and the publishers of "Texas Monthly" in the July Edition of "Texas Super Lawyers" Rising Stars Edition.

The Fulton County Daily Report profiles a hard ball league, which includes two of our very own MVPs!

Atlanta NBC Affiliate, WXIA, recently spoke with Mr. Hubert to gain insight for an eminent domain story on a specific case in suburban Atlanta.

Law & Politics media mailed more than 23,500 ballots to Georgia attorneys asking them to vote for the best lawyers they had personally observed in action. Congratulations to our Georgia Super Lawyers for 2005!