Allison J. Friedman
Paul, Weiss Associate, Tax
Harvard Law School, 2006
"I'm always learning here. Tax law is always changing, and one change in one area causes more changes to occur throughout the rest of the code. We are always learning something new, associates and partners alike. Over time, the little pieces of discrete knowledge come together to form a complete picture, and the process is really exciting.
Our department is like a family. Everyone is friendly and encouraging. You get very involved in deals early on in your career – the partners trust you. They're not afraid to throw you into the deal – they have a way of assessing your capabilities. They're always there to support you, and if you have any questions you can always go to them.
Being in a smaller department has real benefits. The tax side of any given deal will generally be staffed by a partner and one or two associates – so there are a lot of opportunities to learn and to build long-term relationships with clients. Whenever issues come up on a deal, you're an integral part of the process: you'll get a lot of client contact.
The variety of the work itself is also impressive. Just over the last two years I've worked on bankruptcy, tax, M&A and fund formation matters. And different parts of transactions too. So when there's an acquisition we work on the actual purchase agreements with M&A lawyers, and then later on in the same deal we work on the credit agreements with the finance lawyers. I love that – getting to be involved in all parts of the transaction and working with lawyers across many different disciplines. It's great to mix it up: I'm never bored."
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Tax
Our Tax Department is recognized among the best in the United States and is comprised of accomplished business lawyers with highly sophisticated tax capabilities. Our tax lawyers play a major role in structuring, negotiating and implementing nearly every substantial matter handled by the firm’s diverse transactional practice, including some of the most sophisticated U.S., cross-border and international deals being done today. While our tax lawyers work closely with our corporate, bankruptcy, real estate, litigation and entertainment lawyers to structure transactions in a tax-efficient manner, they often provide the key to a successful transaction by increasing the overall economic benefits of the deal and discovering innovative approaches to reduce the client’s tax burden.
The breadth of the Paul, Weiss transactional tax practice is unique, ranging from M&A transactions for industry leaders — such as Viacom International Inc., Time Warner Inc., The Weinstein Company, Inc., Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Sprint Nextel Corp., British Telecom, Carnival Cruise Lines and Citigroup, Inc. — to helping entrepreneurs launch start-up enterprises and investment funds. Our clients, large and small, tend to be market innovators who come to Paul, Weiss to help them break new ground.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
Diverse Work: The Tax Department plays a major role in just about every type of business transaction, including domestic and cross-border acquisitions, divestitures and spin-offs; the formation of partnerships, joint ventures and multinational investment and venture capital funds; financings, including public and private securities offerings, securitizations, project financings, leveraged leases and other complex credit transactions; bankruptcy and insolvency reorganizations and restructurings; and real estate and entertainment transactions and matters; as well as advising tax-exempt organizations on a wide variety of issues. In addition we often collaborate with the Litigation Department on tax controversies and the tax ramifications of litigation matters.
International Practice: Our tax practice is international in scope — with a particular focus on helping clients address the complexities of cross-border tax issues in transactions involving Asia, Canada, Europe and South Africa.
Team Environment: Tax associates work in a small department and develop close-knit relationships with their peers and with partners while participating in high-profile, cutting-edge transactions. Because of the nature of their work, our associates have the opportunity to also develop close working relationships with partners and associates outside the department. Our group also has its own library, librarian and staff of paralegals dedicated to assisting our tax lawyers.
Broad-Based Experience: Our tax lawyers are business lawyers who specialize in tax law, not merely tax technicians. We don’t subspecialize within the Tax Department, and assignments for associates at all levels of seniority are managed to provide experience with the full range of our practice and with all of our partners. Tax associates work directly with the tax partners on most of their assignments.
Assignments and Feedback: Our small size means that all of the group’s partners become familiar with the work of each associate; this allows us to provide meaningful feedback and training. Partners provide each associate with the opportunity to take on as much responsibility as he or she can handle. Virtually all assignments involve one associate working directly with one partner. There is a strong focus on exposing associates to a breadth of transaction types.
Training: Formal training is critical to your success as a tax lawyer. In addition to our CLE programs, the department holds a biweekly tax lunch program focusing on discussing application of tax laws and regulations to specific business scenarios. Our partners view themselves as teachers and coaches and place a high priority on developing the next generation of Paul, Weiss tax lawyers.
Industry Recognition
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