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Four Attorneys Added to Tax Controversy & Litigation Practice in Atlanta
Chamberlain Hrdlicka is pleased to announce the addition of Joseph O’Brien, Alan Shapiro, Andrew Mullendore and Jonathan Williamson to the Atlanta office. Shapiro joins as senior counsel, and O’Brien, Mullendore and Williamson join as associates, all in the Tax Controversy & Litigation practice group. They will advise and represent taxpayers before federal, state and local taxing authorities and in all federal and state courts where tax disputes are litigated.
Shapiro focuses his practice on tax controversy law. He worked as a senior trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice Tax Division for over 30 years, where he litigated complex multimillion-dollar, as well as run of the mill and collection cases, in federal district and federal bankruptcy courts. Shapiro has handled a wide range of tax issues in individual, corporate, estate, excise, and employment tax matters. He also has experience in many nontax subject matter areas, including contract, employment, tort, estate and trust, debtor-creditor, banking, financing, constitutional, criminal, bankruptcy, real property, valuation, lien enforcement, state and local tax, mortgage, account receivables, construction, fraudulent transfer, alter ego, and nominee collection theories, the Right to Financial Privacy Act, and the Federal Tort Claims Act. He obtained court appointment of receivers and oversaw their work in selling real property in multiple states to liquidate judgments. Shapiro earned his undergraduate degree from Emory University, his law degree from Emory University School of Law – where he graduated in the top 20% of his class – and his Master of Laws in Taxation from Georgetown University Law Center.
Mullendore focuses his practice on federal and state income taxation, tax controversy and litigation, and state and local taxation. He represents clients in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, U.S. District Courts, U.S. Tax Court, and appellate and district courts in Tennessee, Texas and Florida. Mullendore served as an associate attorney at a tax controversy firm in Memphis, Tennessee. While in law school, he served as the managing editor of the Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law. Mullendore was also part of the Vanderbilt Transfer Association and the Vanderbilt Law & Business Society. He received his undergraduate degree from Middle Tennessee State University and law degree from Vanderbilt University Law School.
O’Brien brings a wealth of experience in civil tax controversy, from audits and appeals before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), to litigation before the U.S. Tax Court and District Courts. Prior to joining a Dallas tax firm, O’Brien worked as a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice Tax Division, litigating complex refund suits, collection actions, and defending the IRS’s interests in bankruptcy cases. O’Brien’s expertise also stems from his tenure at the IRS Office of Chief Counsel’s Large Business & International Division where he worked as a senior attorney. There he litigated multi-million-dollar cases before the U.S. Tax Court and assisted IRS Revenue Agents with technical domestic and international issues during the audits of Fortune 500 companies. O’Brien earned both his undergraduate degree and law degree from the University of California, Irvine, where he was a Dean’s Merit Scholar and earned the Faculty Award for trying and winning a case in U.S. Tax Court as a law student.
Williamson started with Chamberlain Hrdlicka as a summer associate last year, continued as a law clerk last Fall, and joined full-time in December. He focuses on all aspects of tax controversy, representing taxpayers from examination to appeals and litigation. Prior to joining the firm, Williamson worked as a legal intern in the Office of General Counsel of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services w. A certified teacher, he taught primarily debate and world history at three high schools before starting his law career. Williamson earned his Bachelor's degree in political science from Gonzaga University and his Master’s in political science from California State University, Los Angeles. This past December, he earned his J.D. and LL.M. in Taxation degrees from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where he was on the Dean’s List, earned book awards for pre-trial practice and marijuana law and policy, served as a Levin Ambassador for the Office of Admissions, and was the Executive Notes Editor for the Florida Journal of Law and Public Policy.