Practice Areas:

• Corporate and Securities
• Litigation
• Tax and Estate Planning

Ira focuses his practice primarily on tax law matters, as well as general corporate and business law issues.  He provides federal, state and local tax planning and structuring for private and public companies, as well as individuals.  Specific practice areas include:

• Federal and state tax planning and structuring activities, especially involving Texas franchise, sales and use, property tax and multi-state corporate tax issues
• Tax Litigation in State District Court, U.S. Tax Court, State and Federal Appellate Courts
• Representation in contested tax controversy proceedings before the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Internal Revenue Service and other government agencies
• Ad valorem property tax controversy work from appraisal review board proceedings through litigation
• Negotiations with taxing authorities
• Tax exempt organization issues, including planning and structuring considerations for federal income and state franchise, income, sales and property tax purposes; qualification for and maintenance of federal exempt status and unrelated business taxable income issues; merger and acquisition issues including exempt entities

Education:

• University of Houston, School of Law, J.D. (1981)
• University of Texas at Austin, M.B.A. (1975)
• University of Texas at Austin, B.A. (1971)
• Certified Public Accountant, Texas 1984
• Board Certified, Tax Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization, 1995

Prior Firms:

• Ryan & Company, Austin – Director
• Jenkens & Gilchrist, P.C., Austin – Shareholder
• Touche Ross & Company, Houston – Senior Tax Manager
• Arthur Andersen & Co., Houston – Management Consulting
• Foley's (Division of Federated Department Stores), Houston – Research Director.   Primarily involved in sales forecasting, analysis and marketing research.

Professional Affiliations:

• Travis County Bar (Business, Corporate and Taxation Section – Section Chair, 1996-1997)
• State Bar of Texas, Section of Taxation; American Bar Association (Tax Section, Member Court Procedure Committee, State Tax Committee)
• Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Liaison Committee
• Texas Society of CPA's (State Tax Committee (Chair 1998-2001), State Taxation Conference Committee)
• Austin Chapter, Texas Society of CPA's (Tax Committee – Co-Chair, 1997; Chair, 1998)
• Texas Society of CPAs, (Board of Directors, 2001-Present)
• TSCPA Austin Chapter Executive Board 2003-04
• TSCPA Austin Chapter Oversight Council 2003 - Present
• TSCPA HB3 Task Force Committee

Publications & Presentations:

• Author, "Franchise Tax Reformed: The New Margin Tax Including 2007 Legislative Changes and Final Comptroller Rules," Texas Journal of Business Law, Volume 42:1 (Spring 2007)  
• Speaker, “Texas Property Tax: Primer and Protest,” Houston Chapter of TSCPA, Houston, Texas, May 17, 2007
• Speaker, “Texas Property Taxation; Overview of Property Tax System and Procedural Issues in Contesting Property Taxes,” Austin Chapter of TSCPA, CPE Expo, Austin, Texas, May 8, 2007
• Speaker, “The New Texas Margin Tax; Overview, Pitfalls and Opportunities – How to Plan for the Margin Tax,” Amarillo Area Estate Planning Council, Sixteenth Annual Institute on Estate Planning, Amarillo, Texas, April 26, 2007
• Speaker, “The New Texas Margin Tax; Overview, Pitfalls and Opportunities,” TSCPA Houston Chapter, Houston, Texas, March 8, 2007
• Speaker, “Real Estate Documents, Closing and Workouts; The New Texas Margin Tax,” University of Houston Law Foundation, Houston, Texas, March 2, 2007, Dallas, Texas, February 23, 2007
• Speaker, “Texas Margin Tax,” Texas Legislative Staff presentation, Austin Capitol, Austin, Texas, February 2, 2007
• Speaker, “The New   Texas Margin Tax,” Panhandle Chapter of the TSCPA, Amarillo, Texas, December 5, 2006
• Co-Author, "Texas Margin Tax:  Good for Business?  Good for CPAs?," Today's CPA, TSCPA, September/October 2006 and November/December 2006
• Speaker, “The New Margin Tax,” Briefing for Legislative Staff, Texas Legislative, Austin, Texas, November 28, 2006
• Speaker, "The New Texas Franchise (Margin) Tax:  Its Effects on Real Estate," University of Houston Law School Foundation, Advanced Real Estate Conference, Houston, Texas, November 10, 2006; Dallas, Texas, November 17, 2006
• Speaker, "State Tax Issues in Mergers, Acquisitions and other Business Transactions," TSCPA Texas State Taxation Conference, Houston, Texas, October 21-22, 2006
• Speaker, "Franchise Tax Reformed - The New Texas Margin Tax," Ft. Worth Chapter TSCPA, Ft. Worth, Texas, September 22, 2006
• Speaker, "Franchise Tax Reformed:  The New Texas Margin Tax," Houston Bar Association Taxation Section, Houston, Texas, September 20, 2006
• Speaker, "Taxable Entities After the New Texas Margin Tax," The New Texas Margin Tax: A Practical Guide for Lawyers and Accountants, University of Texas School of Law, Austin, Texas, August 24, 2006; Houston, Texas, September 7, 2006; Plano, Texas, September 21, 2006
• Speaker, "The New Texas Franchise (Margin) Tax -- An Overview," Mortgage Lending Institute, University of Texas School of Law, Austin, Texas, September 14, 2006
• Speaker, "The New Texas Franchise (Margin) Tax:  What Has the Legislature Done?," Houston CPA Society of TSCPA, Houston, Texas, August 11, 2006
• Speaker, "Texas State Tax:  Working with the New Law," conference on Partnerships, Limited Partnerships and LLCs, University of Texas School of Law, Austin, Texas, July 20, 2006
• Speaker, "Sale and Use Tax in Texas," Lorman Educational Services, Austin, Texas, June 29, 2006
• Speaker, "Commerce Clause Litigation and State Taxes," Texas State Tax Conference, University of Texas School of Law, Houston, Texas, January 29, 2006; Dallas, Texas, February 9, 2006
• Speaker, "Texas Tax Legislative Update," TSCPA Texas State Taxation Conference, Austin, Texas, October 20, 2005
• Speaker, "State Tax Planning Strategies Using Special Purpose Entities," TSCPA Texas State Taxation Conference, Dallas, Texas, October 21-22, 2004
• Speaker, "State Taxation of Unincorporated Associations, Including Special Session Changes," Current Issues Affecting Partnerships, Limited Partnerships and Limited Liability Companies, University of Texas School of Law, Austin, Texas, July 15-16, 2004
• Speaker, "State and Local Tax Issues," Travis County Bar Association, Real Estate Section, Austin, Texas, December 9, 2003
• Speaker, "Franchise Taxes: The Legislature Takes Aim at Partnerships and Entities With Limited Liability," Conference on Partnerships, Limited Partnerships, and Limited Liability Companies, University of Texas School of Law, Austin, Texas, July 17-18, 2003
• Speaker, "Texas Franchise Tax Structuring: Planning Opportunities, Issues and Alternatives," 50th Annual Taxation Conference, University of Texas School of Law, Austin, Texas, November 6-8, 2002
• Speaker, "Texas State Franchise Tax Issues," University of Texas School of Law, Current Issues Affecting Partnerships, Limited Partnerships, and Limited Liability Companies, San Antonio, Texas, July 18-19, 2002
• Speaker, "Texas Franchise Tax Structuring: Planning Opportunities Using Conversions and Federal Check-in-the-Box Regulations," CLE International, Austin, Texas, May 4, 2001; Dallas, Texas, November 16, 2001
• Speaker, "Other State Tax Issues," TSCPA Texas State Taxation Conference, Dallas, Texas, October 29, 2001
• Speaker, "Advanced Sales and Use Tax," Lorman Education Services, Austin, Texas, November 2, 2001
• Speaker, "Computer Software/Hardware and State & Local Tax Issues," Austin Chapter, TSCPA Annual Tax Update, Austin, Texas, November 28, 2000
• Speaker, "Sales and Use Tax Planning Strategies," TSCPA Texas State Taxation Conference, Houston, Texas, October 26, 2000
• Speaker, "State Tax Issues for High Tech Companies," Lorman Education Services, Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, Texas, March 16, July 13, August 23, December 6, 2000 (respectively)
• Speaker, "Texas Tax Update: Judicial and Legislative Developments, 1999," Austin Chapter, TSCPA, Annual Tax Update, Austin, Texas, December 4, 1999
• Speaker, "State Tax Recent Developments," TSCPA Texas State Taxation Conference, Austin, Texas, October 21, 1999
• Speaker, "Federal and State Tax Controversy Issues," Jenkens & Gilchrist Accountant's Forum, Austin, Texas, August 3, 1999
• Speaker, "Sales Tax Update - Southwestern States," American Bar Association/Institute of Property Taxation Annual Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana, March 24, 1999
• Speaker, "Texas Sales Tax and Abandoned Property Issues, Annual Tax Update," Austin Chapter, TSCPA, Austin, Texas, December 4, 1998
• Speaker, "Texas Franchise Tax: A Technical Review With Planning Ideas or Opportunities and Pitfalls - How To Tell the Difference," Forty-First Annual Tax Seminar, Corpus Christi Chapter, TSCPA, Corpus Christi, Texas, October 30, 1998
• Speaker, "New Developments - Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998," Jenkens & Gilchrist Accountants' Forum, Austin, Texas, September 22, 1998
• Speaker, "Planning Opportunities For The Texas Franchise Tax, Including Use of Flow-Through Entities and Check the Box Regulation," 4th Annual Conference on Texas State Taxation, University of Texas School of Law, Dallas, Houston, Texas, July 9-10, 1998
• Speaker, "Negotiating Tax Settlements," University of Houston School of Law, Dallas, Houston, Texas, April, 1998
• Speaker, Exempt Organization Issues, Texas Association of Museums, Annual Conference, Galveston, Texas, April 2, 1998
• Speaker, "State Tax Considerations in Sales of Businesses," American Bar Association, Section of Taxation Mid Year Meeting, San Antonio, Texas, January 23, 1998
• Speaker, "Texas State Tax Update," Texas Society of CPA's, 44th Annual Texas Tax Institute, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Texas, November 20-22, 1997
• Speaker, "Mergers and Acquisitions," Texas Society of CPA's, State Taxation Conference, Houston, Texas, October 23, 1997
• Speaker, "Texas State Tax Update," Panhandle Chapter, TSCPA, Amarillo, Texas, September 5, 1997
• Speaker, "Strategies for Dealing With State Tax and Local Tax Authorities," 3rd Annual Conference on Texas State Taxation, University of Texas School of Law, Houston, Dallas, Texas, July 10-11, 1997
• Speaker, "Negotiating Tax Settlements," University of Houston School of Law, Dallas, Houston, Texas, March/April, 1997
• Speaker, "High Tech Tax Issues for Texas Taxpayers," Texas Society of CPA's, Austin Chapter, Austin, Texas, December 1996
• Speaker, "Texas Sales and Use Tax Issues for Manufacturers," Texas Society of CPA's, Houston Chapter, Houston, Texas, November 14, 1996
• Speaker, "Taxable Services - Overview and Analysis," University of Texas School of Law, 2nd Annual Conference on Texas State Taxation, Austin, Texas, October 31, 1996; Houston, Texas, November 1, 1996
• Speaker, "High Tech Tax Issues," Texas Society of CPA's, State Taxation Conference, Austin, Texas, October 24, 1996
• Speaker, "Texas Sales Tax Issues and Opportunities for Manufacturers," Texas Society of CPA's, Houston Chapter, Houston, Texas, July 11, 1996
• Speaker, "Contesting Property Tax Assessments," Texas Society of CPA's, Austin Chapter, Annual Tax Update, Austin, Texas, December 14, 1995
• Speaker, "Taxable Services - Overview and New Developments," Texas Society of CPA's, State Taxation Conference, Dallas, Texas, October 26, 1995
• Speaker, "State Tax Controversies," Texas Society of CPA's, CPE Expo, Austin, Texas, October 18, 1994
• Speaker, Choice of Charitable Federal Tax Exempt Entities , State Bar of Texas, Advanced Tax Law Course, Houston, Texas, July 28, 1994
• Speaker, "Texas Franchise Tax Analysis," Louisiana Society of CPA's, Shreveport Chapter, Shreveport, Louisiana, June 20, 1994
• Speaker, "Employees vs. Independent Contractor Considerations," Small Business Administration Expo, Austin, Texas, November 11, 1993
• Speaker, "Federal Tax Exempt Organization Update," Texas Society of CPA's, Austin Chapter, Austin, Texas, January 15, 1993
• Speaker, numerous presentations on a variety of federal and state tax topics for bar associations, local CPA chapters and for-profit seminar groups throughout Texas
• Co-Author, "Taxation of Tort Damages," Texas Torts and Remedies, Matthew Bender & Company, Inc. (1991)