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Beware of the 15-Year Tax Attorney ‘Specialist’ or ‘Expert’ Trap
Recently, we had a taxpayer reach out to our firm after conducting a free initial consultation with another firm, where the attorney falsely claimed to be a Board Certified Tax Law Specialist but was unable to direct the taxpayer to any State Bar website to confirm their board-certified status. When prodded further by the taxpayer, the attorney explained that he was an expert and cut the call short, ultimately hanging up on the Taxpayer.
The attorney was overly aggressive and led the taxpayer to believe they were automatically willful for failing to file their FBAR and that the taxpayer should immediately retain their firm, without first speaking to other attorneys. It turns out that the attorney is a ~15-year attorney — and unfortunately, this type of issue has been a problem in the past with ‘self-important’ attorneys with around 15 years of experience.
In fact, an article was published in the ABA (American Bar Association) journal explaining that this is a common issue.
While that article wasn’t directly specific to tax attorneys, it provides a great road map and serves as a cautionary tale for potential clients.
American Bar Association & Attorney Experts
Back in 2013, the American Bar Association published a great article, Think Twice Before Calling Yourself an Expert, about how the going theme is that attorneys with about 10-15 years of experience, and a focus on one specific area of law, will suddenly start referring to themselves as experts – and how it is very dangerous territory for the client and attorney.
Here are some of the key highlights:
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“You have been in practice for 15 years. After starting out as a general practitioner, you found your caseload to be largely made up of employment law matters and after five years decided to limit your practice to that area. You have family who are union members, and word-of-mouth advertising has been positive.
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Results from your work have been satisfying to clients, and your familiarity with the various laws relevant to employment matters is now solid. You teach a course at a local law school on employment law and frequently give workshops and guest lectures at seminars on the same topic. Can you now say you are an “expert” in employment law on your website?
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“You should think twice before doing so.”
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“Put another way, use of the term expert is a subjective claim that leaves much to the reader’s imagination. In doing so, it can easily cross the line into false and misleading communication. State bar ethics opinions are unanimous on this point….”
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Risk of Discipline?
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“Lawyers have been disciplined for making misleading claims of expertise. See In re PRB Dockett No.2002.093, 177 Vt. 629, 868 A2d. 709 (2005) (affirming discipline imposed upon lawyer who advertised in the local Yellow Pages as The Injury Experts and used a list captioned by the words “We are experts in” and listed several areas of law; court noted statements carried an “ implicit statement of superiority with a serious potential to mislead the consumer”); In re Wells, 392 S.C. 371, 709 S.E.2d 644 (2011) (lawyer publicly reprimanded and fined for, among other things, making claims of expertise in advertisements without having been certified as an expert); and In re Richmond’s case 152 N.H. 155, 872 A.2d 1023 N.H. (2005) (lawyer suspended for misrepresenting that he had expertise in securities law).”
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What is a Board-Certified Tax Law Specialist?
When an Attorney refers to themselves as a Tax Law Specialist, it does not mean they are board-certified in Tax. The term “specialist”, when it comes to tax, connotes that a person handles that specific area of tax nearly exclusively, if not exclusively. And, usually within the realm of the vast law of tax, the specialist specializes in one area, such as offshore disclosure, employment tax, criminal tax, etc. In other words, by stating you are a board-certified tax law specialist, you are making representations to the general public that you have extensive experience in an area of law.
The specialist exam for Tax, specifically, is known to be notoriously difficult. And, in addition to passing the exam, in order for a person to be Board-Certified, they must also meet rigorous ethical and experience requirements as well.
Unless a person is designated as a ‘Board-Certified Tax Law Specialist’ by at least one State Bar (even if they practice federal law), they are just using a marketing gimmick to try to fool the general public about their true experience level.
Need Help Finding an Experienced Offshore Tax Attorney?
When it comes to hiring an experienced international tax attorney to represent you for unreported foreign and offshore account reporting, it can become overwhelming for Taxpayers trying to trek through all the false information and nonsense they will find in their online research. There are only a handful of attorneys worldwide who are Board-Certified Tax Specialists and who specialize exclusively in offshore disclosure and international tax amnesty reporting.
*This resource may help Taxpayers seeking to hire offshore tax counsel: How to Hire an Offshore Disclosure Lawyer.
Golding & Golding: About Our International Tax Law Firm
Golding & Golding specializes exclusively in international tax, specifically IRS offshore disclosure.
Contact our firm today for assistance.