Attorneys
Chamberlain Hrdlicka ranked in the top ten tax law firms in the United States
For the 17th consecutive year Chambers & Partners ranked Chamberlain Hrdlicka among the top ten tax law firms in the United States on both national and state levels. The firm is only one of six U.S. law firms to be ranked in Band 1 in Tax Fraud nationwide, and is also ranked among the top eight U.S. tax controversy firms nationwide in Band 2. Individual Chamberlain Hrdlicka attorneys also achieved state and national rankings in the areas of appellate law, immigration, tax, tax controversy & litigation, and tax fraud. Notably, David Aughtry is ranked consecutively for the 22nd time, while Philip Karter, Peter Williamson, Larry Campagna, and Hale Sheppard are ranked for 19, 18, 17 and 16 years in a row, respectively.
"We are pleased once again to see our firm's rankings maintain consistency among the top tax law firms in the U.S.," said Larry Campagna, managing shareholder at Chamberlain Hrdlicka. "The ongoing recognition by Chambers & Partners, along with the feedback from the marketplace provided to Chambers researchers, underscores our sophisticated expertise and dedication to delivering top-tier service to our clients."
Sources interviewed by Chambers noted that Chamberlain Hrdlicka’s tax attorneys were: excellent in helping us through each stage of the dispute process, and very responsive to any questions or concerns; excellent tax attorneys, they understood the issues and did a terrific job representing me; the firm has a special strength in the area of tax litigation and enjoys an excellent national reputation in that regard; very experienced in all aspects of the audit process and is extremely helpful in guiding us through it; able to provide significant expertise with respect to state taxes .. [and] to simplify the issues when needed and provide practical approaches to resolving matters quickly; a creative and innovative thinker who is able to analyze issues from multiple angles in order to develop strategies and recommendations; well known for doing federal [tax] matters; strong team player who communicates well and has a love for tax; very sharp, intuitive and knowledgeable; an excellent appellate lawyer, I am impressed with his work at all levels of the Texas courts; terrific to work with (..) very knowledgeable and accomplished appellate lawyer.
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 to Chambers for 21 consecutive years, including as a Star Individual in Tax in Georgia for the 11th year 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.
Habeeb ‘Hobbs’ Gnaim serves as the head of the firm's Tax Planning & Business Transactions practice. He previously served on the firm’s Board of Directors and as head of the Recruiting Program. He focuses his practice on tax and business planning matters, including the formation, governance, reorganization and internal restructuring of corporations, partnerships and limited liability companies to achieve tax and business objectives. He has significant experience in all aspects of structuring, negotiating and implementing business acquisitions and dispositions, corporate reorganizations, mergers, conversions, recapitalizations, corporate finance transactions, deferred recognition transactions, admissions of and providing equity incentives for management and key employees, as well as choice of entity considerations, and state tax planning.
Jennifer Karpchuk serves as Chair of the Firm’s State and Local Tax (“SALT”) practice. She represents companies and individuals in all aspects of SALT controversy and planning, including issues related to corporate income taxes, franchise taxes, gross receipts taxes, excise taxes, personal income taxes, sales and use taxes, business privilege taxes, and real estate and property taxes. She has extensive experience planning for, advising on, and anticipating the SALT implications of various transactions, as well as litigating complex SALT matters.
Philip Karter chairs the Tax Controversy Practice Group and has been named by Chambers & Partners in its nationwide rankings of top tax controversy and litigation attorneys for 18 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.
Steven Knight serves as the Chair of the Appellate Law section at Chamberlain Hrdlicka. Throughout his career, he has successfully represented clients at every phase of the appellate process, including handling critical phases of the trial to assure error preservation through briefing and arguing appellate cases in state and federal appellate courts throughout the country. Mr. Knight’s appellate practice includes cases filed in the Texas Supreme Court, Texas intermediate appellate courts, and federal appellate courts throughout the country, including the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth, Third, Tenth, and Federal Circuits. He’s also been named to Texas Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers.
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 more than 250 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 more than 270 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 15 years by Chambers USA as well as other respected organizations.
Stewart M. Weintraub is a nationally recognized expert in state and local taxation. He brings 50 years of legal experience to help clients plan and structure transactions, so that state and local tax obligations are minimized. Weintraub represents clients in all aspects of state and local tax compliance and litigation, from audits, through trials and appeals, to the appellate courts, including the United States Supreme Court. He was elected as a Fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel and the American Bar Foundation. Weintraub is widely published in various tax journals and has spoken at or chaired many state and local tax conferences.
Peter Williamson possesses considerable experience handling the entire spectrum of immigration and nationality matters, from employment-based non-immigrant and immigrant to investor cases, labor certifications and family-based cases. He has represented families and companies in all parts of the United States and over 100 countries, in all aspects of immigration, and has developed particular experience in appellate matters and removal cases. He is board-certified in immigration law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization and has been recognized by Chambers as Senior Statesperson in the area of Immigration Law for 17 consecutive years.
Published by Chambers & Partners, Chambers USA compiles an annual list of the nation’s top attorneys according to practice area. The directory identifies and ranks leading firms and attorneys based on interviews conducted by researchers with clients and lawyers worldwide.
This year’s Chamberlain Hrdlicka rankings in Chambers USA included the following practice areas and individual attorneys:
Nationwide
Tax Fraud – Band 1
Tax: Litigation – Band 2
Larry A. Campagna (Tax Fraud – Band 1)
David D. Aughtry (Tax Controversy – Senior Statesperson)
Georgia
Tax – Band 2
David D. Aughtry (Tax – Senior Statesperson)
Hale E. Sheppard (Tax – Band 3)
Pennsylvania
Tax – Band 3
Jennifer Karpchuk – (Tax – Band 3)
Philip Karter (Tax – Band 3)
Stewart Weintraub (Tax - Band 3)
Texas
Tax Litigation: Band 1
Tax – Band 4
Larry A. Campagna (Tax Litigation – Band 1)
Habeeb ‘Hobbs’ Gnaim (Tax – Band 4)
Steven Knight (Litigation: Appellate – Band 4)
Peter D. Williamson (Immigration – Senior Statesperson)