Chamberlain Hrdlicka Maintains Top Tax Law Firm and Enhances Individual Legal 500 Rankings for 2022

Legal 500 rankings for Chamberlain Hrdlicka as a Top Tax Law Firm and Adds to Individual Ranks in 2022

The 2022 Edition of Legal 500, a guide to preeminent law firms and lawyers, has ranked Chamberlain Hrdlicka again among the top tier of law firms in the United States. Ranked by Legal 500 among the top tax law firms for more than a decade, Chamberlain Hrdlicka has maintained its Band 2 ranking in the US Taxes: Contentious category, placing the firm among the top tax controversy firms in the nation. Four attorneys received Legal 500 top honors.

Larry A. Campagna, the managing shareholder for Chamberlain Hrdlicka, and David D. Aughtry, a shareholder in the Atlanta office, were named to the Legal 500 Hall of Fame in the US Taxes: Contentious category, as part of only 11 tax attorneys nationwide. To be eligible, lawyers must be widely regarded as being at the very top of the profession, and to have been consistently ranked as Leading Individuals by The Legal 500 for a number of years.

Jaime Vasquez, shareholder in the firm’s San Antonio office, was named Leading Individual, also in the US Taxes: Contentious, after previously being recognized as Next Generation Partner. Leading individuals are defined as true market leaders, with long-established reputations in their sector, lead roles in multiple recent significant matters, and exceptional, widespread recognition and endorsement from peers in the market and clients alike.

Juan F. Vasquez Jr. was named Next Generation Partner, denoting his significant recognition from clients and peers in the market, and recent lead roles on multiple matters.

Legal 500 also named Eva Guzman, Hale Sheppard, Lawrence Sherlock, and Philip Karter as Recommended Individuals.

Sources interviewed by Legal 500 praised the firm’s tax team as: one of the leading tax controversy teams in the country; the depth of its bench; tremendous technical insight and case judgment; being world-class attorneys with varied backgrounds, including private practice, Treasury, the IRS or the Department of Justice; a mix of veterans and new talent, which along with the firm’s benchmark positive client settlements and tax court wins puts it at the top of tax controversy field; compiling rich case data and sample evidence from all sources, leaving no stone unturned when crafting a defense for their clients; as well as a great team to work with, very responsive and pleasant in addition to being on top of their game.

David Aughtry is a renowned tax attorney who counsels clients involved in civil and criminal tax litigation. He has tried or argued more than 100 federal tax cases ranging across Tax Court, various District Courts, the Court of Federal Claims, eight Courts of Appeal, and the Supreme Court. He earned his undergraduate degree from the Citadel, and both his graduate degree in accounting and his law degree from the University of South Carolina. He also holds a Master of Laws in taxation from Emory University School of Law. He’s been named a Star Individual in Tax in Georgia by Chambers for eleven years in a row.

Larry Campagna has an established reputation as an authoritative litigator in matters of business litigation and white-collar criminal defense, as well as federal, state, and local tax controversies. Throughout his career, he has resolved thousands of civil and criminal litigation matters, many of which involved sophisticated and complex legal issues that established precedent in courts at all levels. He’s been repeatedly ranked in the top band nationwide in Tax Fraud and Tax Litigation in Texas and recently received the prestigious Jules Ritholz Memorial Merit Award from The American Bar Association’s (ABA) Tax Section Civil and Criminal Tax Penalties Committee.

Jaime Vasquez concentrates his practice on federal, state, and international tax controversy matters. He has counseled clients in tax litigation matters, handling cases before the United States Tax Court, United States District Court, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He is Board Certified in Tax Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Vasquez is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and earned his undergraduate and Master of Accounting degrees from the University of Virginia McIntire School of Commerce, his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law, and his Master of Laws in Taxation from New York University. He's been named to Texas Rising Stars for eight consecutive years, since 2014. He was also named “Outstanding Lawyer” by San Antonio Business Journal and “Lawyer of the Year” for San Antonio in Litigation & Controversy – Tax by Best Lawyers in America in 2019 and 2021. He’s been listed on Best Lawyers in America for the past four years.

Juan F. Vasquez, Jr. serves as the Co-Chair of the Firm's Nationwide Tax Controversy Section and concentrates his practice on federal, state, and local tax controversy matters, including in connection with examinations, administrative appeals, and trials. He also represents clients in administrative and policy matters before the IRS, various states, and local taxing authorities. Vasquez represents a broad range of clients including individuals, privately held businesses, and large Fortune 500 companies and multinationals. Vasquez has been involved in complex cases at various levels of the court system, including the Tax Court, Federal District Courts, Court of Federal Claims, Courts of Appeal (the Fourth, Fifth, Seventh, Eleventh, and Federal Circuits), and the U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Vasquez also serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Houston Law Center, where he teaches Tax Controversy & Litigation and Tax Procedure & Practice.

Philip Karter specializes in tax controversy and tax litigation and has been named by Chambers & Partners in its nationwide rankings of top tax controversy and litigation attorneys for 15 consecutive years. He has litigated Federal tax cases in the United States District Courts, the United States Tax Court and the United States Court of Federal Claims for some of the nation’s most prominent companies, including high-profile, first-impression matters, and resolved hundreds of other matters at the audit level or with IRS Appeals.

Hale Sheppard is a Shareholder in the firm’s tax controversy practice, representing individuals and businesses during tax audits, appeals and litigation.  He has participated in over 150 cases in the Tax Court, District Court, and Court of Appeals.  In addition, Hale has obtained dozens of favorable Private Letter Rulings for clients from the IRS National Office on procedural, tax, and international issues.  Hale obtained five college degrees, including an LL.M. in taxation, earning various scholarships and academic distinctions along the way.  Hale ranks among the most active tax writers in the country, having published nearly 200 articles in top law reviews and tax journals.  Hale has been widely cited as a tax/legal authority in many domestic and foreign journals, inducted into the American College of Tax Counsel, invited to present at major tax conferences, and recognized as a leader in tax disputes for many years by Chambers USA and other respected organizations.

Larry Sherlock serves as the Co-Chair of the Firm's Nationwide Tax Controversy Section. His practice focuses on negotiating and litigating federal tax disputes, including disputes arising out of income tax audits, estate and gift tax valuation questions and criminal investigations. With more than 40 years of practice, including his prior experience with the Tax Division of the Justice Department, he has a record of more than 40 cases tried to completion before judges and juries. Most recently, he has handled matters that resulted in favorable outcomes at IRS appeals and in court related to complex income tax questions and IRS challenges to estate tax valuations of family limited partnerships. He’s received the Outstanding Service as Tax Division Trial Attorney Award from the U.S. Department of Justice twice, and has been named to Best Lawyers in America every year since 2012.

For more than 30 years, The Legal 500 has been analyzing the capabilities of law firms across the world, assessing the strengths of law firms in 106 jurisdictions. The Legal 500’s research is based on feedback from 250,000 clients worldwide, submissions from law firms and interviews with leading private practice lawyers, and a team of researchers with experience in the legal market. For more details on the ranking, visit https://www.legal500.com/firms/50285-chamberlain-hrdlicka/53145-houston-usa/