REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE Eric’s recent representative experience includes:
- Representing Time Warner Cable Inc. in its $17.6 billion acquisition of Adelphia Communications Corp.
- Representing Spectra Energy Corporation as an amicus before the U.S. Supreme Court in Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation v. Levin.
- Serving as national tax counsel to cable companies in multi-state litigation regarding the constitutionality of taxes imposed on cable and satellite service providers. In each case the relevant court ruled in favor of our clients.
- Assisting a Fortune 100 company to defend $300 million Massachusetts income tax assessment.
- Representing the Broadband Tax Institute as an amicus before the U.S. Supreme Court in Polar Tankers Inc. v. City of Valdez.
- Successfully defending a Fortune 500 computer service provider in defending one of the largest Georgia state income tax assessments ever issued.
- Defending Fortune 500 companies’ interest add-back and royalty company issues in several states.
- Securing more than $40 million in state sales tax refunds for a national wireless carrier.
- Defending a large multi-state service provider in business/nonbusiness controversies in several states.
- Testifying before state government agencies regarding tax reform proposals.
- Conducting income tax sourcing studies analyzing the use of cost-of-performance sourcing for multi-state taxpayers.
- Representing a Fortune 500 cable service provider in multi-state property tax litigation resulting in substantial reductions in assessed taxes.
- Securing a multi-million-dollar tax incentive agreement on behalf a national cable service provider related to the relocation and retention of certain facilities.
- Representing a national air carrier in the abatement of a multi-million-dollar state tax assessment under the anti-head tax act.
PROFESSIONAL HONORS AND AWARDS
- Recognized by Chambers USA: Guide to Leading Business Lawyers in the area of tax (2009, 2010, 2013)
- Recognized by The Legal 500 United States in the area of tax controversy (2011)
PROFESSIONAL AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
- Former Adjunct Professor of state and local taxation, Georgia State University School of Law and Georgia State University School of Business
- Member, Georgia Governor’s Mentor-Protégé Program (assisting in developing Georgia businesses in strategic development and networking)
- Member, Advisory Board for Tax Law and Policy, Stafford Publications Inc.
RECENT PUBLICATIONS AND SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
- Co-author, “Applying False Claims Acts in State Taxation,” A Pinch of SALT, State Tax Notes (May 7, 2012)
- Co-author, “State Audit Guessing Games: When Can States Issue Estimated Assessments?” A Pinch of SALT, State Tax Notes (March 5, 2012)
- Co-author, “Be Ready to Pounce on a Texas Margins Tax Challenge,” Practical U.S./Domestic Tax Strategies (September 2011)
- Co-author, “Be Ready to Pounce on a Texas Margins Tax Challenge,” Practical U.S./Domestic Tax Strategies (July 2011)
- Co-author, “The ‘Unusual’ Application of UDITPA Section 18,” A Pinch of SALT, State Tax Notes (June 7, 2010)
- Author, “Hard Times and Hired Guns in Local Tax Audits,” State Tax Notes (December 7, 2009)
- Co-author, “’Heads You Win, Tails I Lose’ - The California Court of Appeal Denies the City of Los Angeles the Opportunity to Skirt Challenges to the City’s Telephone Users Tax,” IPT December Tax Report (December 2009)
- Author, “Bad Deal on Bad Debt,” State Tax Notes (September 7, 2009)
- Author, “Seeking the Holy Grail–Federal Jurisdiction in State Tax Cases,” State Tax Notes (December 1, 2008)
- Author, “Cable Service Providers’ Comments on MTC Proposed Uniform Regulation for Apportionment of Income From Sales of Telecommunications and Similar Services,” State Tax Notes (August 15, 2005)
- Author, “Telecommunications,” Institute for Professionals in Taxation, Sales and Use Taxation (2004)
- Author, The Taxation of Cyberspace, Andersen Publications (1999)
- Author, The Taxation of the Utility Industry, Andersen Publications (1999)
- Speaker, “Class Action Lawsuits and False Claims Act Suits: Protecting Your Company,” TEI 63rd Midyear Conference (March 17-20, 2013)
- Speaker, “Current Property Tax Environment and Trends Across the Country,” Council On State Taxation Property Tax Workshop (January 15-17, 2013)
- Speaker, “Cloud Computing and Other Sales Tax Issues,” The Bloomberg BNA Tax Policy and Practice Summit (November 13, 2012)
- Speaker, “Telecommunications Controversies – Why and How Communications Companies Continue to Be a Favorite Target of State and Local Tax Authorities,” 2012 TeleStrategies’ Telecommunications Taxation Conference (May 16-18, 2012)
- Speaker, “State and Local Tax Update,” SALT Roundtable (May 10, 2012)
- Speaker, “Digital Media – Sales and Use,” 2012 Media Industry Tax Conference (May 2, 2012)
- Speaker, TEI Atlanta Chapter Meeting (March 2, 2012)
- Speaker, “Jurisdiction to Tax,” 2012 Council on State Taxation (COST) SALT Basics School (January 22-27, 2012)
- Speaker, “Transfer Pricing – Appropriate Strategies for Utilities,” 2011 State Tax Roundtable for Utilities and Power (STARTUP) (November 2-3, 2011)
- Speaker, “Significant Decisions Impacting Our Industry,” BTI Annual Conference (October 23-26, 2011)
- Speaker, "Navigating Recent and Pending Corporate Income/Business Activity State Tax Legislative Changes," COST Annual Meeting (October 19-21, 2011)
- Speaker, “Old Tax Laws Applied to New Technologies,” IPT Sales & Use Tax Symposium (September 25-28, 2011)
- Speaker, “911 Fees,” Wireless Tax Group Meeting (September 21-22, 2011)
- Speaker, “State Tax Roundtable - Planning and Techniques,” TEI Region VII (June 22-25, 2011)
- Speaker, “A Review of this Year's Significant State and Local Tax Controversies and What Telcos can do to Fight Back,” TeleStrategies Communications Taxation 2011 (May 24-26, 2011)
- Speaker, “State Tax Implications of Schedule UTP,” TEI Atlanta State and Local Chapter Meeting (January 6, 2011)
- Speaker, “Jurisdiction to Tax,” STARTUP State Tax Roundtable for Utilities and Power (November 2-3, 2010)
- Speaker, “Convergence in the Communication Industry & Impact on Asset Valuation,” Institute for Professionals in Taxation (IPT) 34th Annual Conference (June 27-30, 2010)
- Speaker, “Jurisdiction to Tax,” STARTUP State Tax Roundtable for Utilities and Power (November 2-3, 2010)
- Speaker, “Send lawyers, guns and money - a review of this year’s significant state and local tax controversies and what taxpayers are doing to fight back,” TeleStrategies’ Communications Taxation 2010 (May 18–19, 2010)
- Speaker, “State Tax Trends: Revising Apportionment Methods, Aggressive Penalty Enforcement and Retroactive Taxation,” STARTUP State Tax Roundtable for Utilities & Power (April 28, 2010)
- Speaker, “Multistate Sales and Use Taxation of Outsourced Services With Technology Components,” 19th Annual Ohio Tax Conference (January 28–29, 2010)
- Speaker, “Jurisdiction to Tax,” COST 2010 SALT Basics School (January 24–29, 2010)
- Speaker, “Top Multistate Tax Issues of the Day for the Tax Executive,” TEI’s 64th Annual Conference (October 25–28, 2009)
- Speaker, “The Only Thing We Have to Fear is _________: A State Legislative and Judicial Update,” TeleStrategies’ Communications Taxation 2009 (June 10–12, 2009)
- Speaker, TEI National Conference, San Antonio, Texas (2009)
- Speaker, Wireless Tax Group Annual Meeting (2009)
