Jack Trachenberg joins Sutherland’s SALT practice as Counsel
Sutherland Asbill & Brennan has announced that Jack Trachtenberg, the former New York State Department of Taxation and Finance Deputy Commissioner and Taxpayer Rights Advocate, has joined the firm’s State and Local Tax (SALT) Practice as Counsel in New York.
Mr. Trachtenberg has more than 10 years of experience advising clients and taxpayers on New York State, New York City and multistate tax matters. Prior to serving as the Taxpayer Rights Advocate, Mr. Trachtenberg practiced at a New York law firm, counseling clients on all aspects of state and local taxation. Mr. Trachtenberg has litigated cases before the New York State Division of Tax Appeals, the New York State Tax Appeals Tribunal and the New York State Supreme Court. He is also an adjunct professor at Albany Law School, where he teaches a course on state and local tax.
“This is an exciting time for both our SALT practice and the New York office. Jack is the third lateral addition to our SALT group this year,” said Sutherland Managing Partner Mark D. Wasserman. “Bringing Jack on board highlights the firm’s continued commitment to providing the highest quality service to our clients for all of their state tax issues across the U.S.”
“We are thrilled to have Jack join us,” said Jerome B. Libin, chair of Sutherland’s Tax Practice Group. “His extensive experience advocating for taxpayers through the administrative and judicial process in New York and other key states further augments our tremendous multistate SALT team. Jack will be of great value to our clients.”
As the first Taxpayer Rights Advocate at the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, Mr. Trachtenberg established and led the office, which intervenes on behalf of taxpayers facing intractable tax disputes. Under Mr. Trachtenberg’s leadership, the office managed nearly 4,000 cases in just over two years and obtained relief for taxpayers nearly 70% of the time. In this capacity, Mr. Trachtenberg also worked to identify systemic problems that were negatively burdening large segments of the taxpayer community. His efforts resulted in the passage of important reform legislation, as well as key changes to agency processes and procedures.
The addition of Mr. Trachtenberg comes just weeks after the announcement that Carley A. Roberts and Prentiss Willson, nationally recognized leaders in California and multistate tax matters, joined Sutherland SALT in Sacramento.
Sutherland’s SALT practice is one of the premier state and local tax law practices in the country, with 29 lawyers representing more than 25 of the Fortune 100 and numerous other clients that are recognized leaders in their respective sectors.