Les is both a CPA and an attorney, and he's one of the leading practitioners in the U.S. in the area of income tax accounting and inventories. He has represented over half of the companies in the Fortune 500, as well as the leading accounting firms in the U.S.
Profile
Les's practice is concentrated on accounting methods, the timing of revenue and expenses, the valuation of inventories, and capital v. expense issues. More recently, he has devoted a lot of attention to the interaction of accounting methods with the international tax arena (i.e., section 861, GILTI, FDII and BEAT), as well as the application of the new rules requiring the capitalization of R&E expenses. Les is most often recognized for his three-volume treatise, Federal Income Taxation of Inventories, published by Matthew-Bender. His work involves tax planning, providing consultations on specific problems, structuring transactions, and the design and adoption of various types of inventory methods. He handles the full panoply of controversies from IRS examinations, to IRS Appeals cases, to litigation. In the tax planning area, one of his strengths is to provide instant assessments of tax issues in the tax accounting area.
In addition to Les's tax accounting credentials, he was a gold medal winner for achieving the highest grade on the CPA examination in the State of Maryland. He also finished second in the State of Maryland on the Bar exam. Upon graduation from Georgetown University Law Center, he was the youngest attorney on the staff of the Office of Tax Legislative Counsel, as well as the Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy of the U.S. Treasury Department. For several years he taught a course in income tax accounting in the graduate tax program at Georgetown University Law Center.
He has been recognized as one of the leading tax lawyers by the various rating services, including Who's Who Legal, The World's Leading Lawyers, The Best Lawyers in America, and Washington, D.C. Super Lawyers. Les was selected as the Tax Attorney of the Year in Washington, DC for 2020 by Best Lawyers. Les has been ranked as one of the five top practicing tax lawyers in Washington, D.C. by Chambers & Partners and has been ranked in the first band of DC's top tax lawyers every year since the ranking's inception. In Chambers & Partners’ Global Guide to top lawyers in the world, Les was ranked among the top 10 tax lawyers in the United States out of more than 10,000 tax lawyers.
Practice Areas
Education
Georgetown University Law Center, 1971, J.D.
- Georgetown Law Journal, Member, Board of Editors, 1970 - 1971
- Order of the Coif
University of Maryland, 1967, B.S., magna cum laude
Bar & Court Admissions
District of Columbia
Maryland
U.S. Tax Court
U.S. Claims Court
Government Service
Office of Tax Legislative Counsel, U.S. Treasury, 1971-1973
Special Assistant to Assistant Secretary of Treasury for Tax Policy, 1973
Memberships & Affiliations
American Bar Association, Tax Section, Tax Accounting Committee
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
Tax Accounting Technical Resource Panel
Honors & Awards
Best Lawyers 2006 - present
Chambers & Partners Global Guide from inception - 2022
Chambers and Partners USA Guide from inception - 2024 (Group 1)
Super Lawyers 2007 - present