Jean A. Pawlow is a partner in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP and is based in the Firm’s Washington, D.C., office. She is a member of the U.S. & International Tax Practice Group and the chair of the Federal Tax Controversy Practice.
Jean focuses her practice on federal tax controversies. She has been involved in significant tax litigation matters for more than 20 years, including litigation concerning credit card interchange and original issue discount (OID), the use of shrinkage estimates, the telecommunications excise tax, DISC/FSC pricing, and the treatment of life insurance reserves. Jean has represented clients in disputes before the U.S. Tax Court, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, U.S. district courts, U.S. courts of appeal, the Internal Revenue Service Appeals Division and the Internal Revenue Service National Office.
Substantive issues in dispute in these matters have also included: transfer pricing issues under Code section 482; capitalization and change in method of accounting issues; foreign tax credit issues; tax advantaged transactions including COLI, LILOs and SILOs; and distressed debt transactions.
Jean has extensive experience with the Internal Revenue Service's alternative dispute resolution (ADR) procedures, including Fast Track Settlement, Post-Appeals Mediation, Pre-Filing Agreements, and LIFE and CAP audits, and she is a frequent speaker on tax controversy matters.
Jean was one of only eight lawyers recognized nationally in the United States for tax litigation in the most recent edition of PLC Which Lawyer? The Legal 500 named Jean a “Leading Lawyer” in 2009, 2010 and 2011, and quoted a client who described her as “A pleasure to work with, clever, an excellent advocate, personable and possessed of an instinctive business understanding.” She was nationally ranked as a leading tax litigation lawyer in the 2010 and 2011 editions of Chambers USA and noted for her “dedication to client service.” Jean was also listed in Best Lawyers in America 2012.
Representative Experience
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United Services Automobile Association (USAA) v. United States, No. 10-cv-00185 (W.D. Tex. filed Mar. 5, 2010) and USAA v. Commissioner, No. 021037-10 (Tax Ct. filed Sept. 21, 2010)
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Capital One Fin. Corp. v. Commissioner, 133 T.C. 136 (2009) and 130 T.C. 147 (2008), appeal pending No. 10-1788 (4th Cir. 2010)
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John Hancock Life Ins. Co. v. United States, No. 09-31169 (5th Cir. filed Mar. 3, 2010)
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Goodrich Corp. v. United States, No. 10-cv-0105 (W.D. N.C. filed Mar. 9, 2010) and Goodrich Corp. v. Commissioner, No. 29180-09 (Tax Ct. filed Dec. 8, 2009)
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John Hancock Life Ins. Co. v. Commissioner, No. 7084-10 (Tax Ct. filed Mar. 23, 2010) and No. 6404-09 (Tax Ct. filed Mar. 17, 2009) and Manufacturers Investment Corp. v. Commissioner, No. 7083-10 (Tax Ct. filed Mar. 23, 2010)
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Nat’l R.R. Passenger Corp. (Amtrak) v. United States, 431 F.3d 374 (D.C. Cir. 2005)
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Barrick Res. (USA) Inc. v. United States, 464 F. Supp. 2d 1143 (D. Utah 2006)
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Boeing Co. v. United States, 537 U.S. 437 (2003)
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Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Commissioner, 153 F.3d 650 (8th Cir. 1998)
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Cheng v. Commissioner and Pen v. Commissioner, Nos. 509-96 and 510-96 (Tax Ct. filed Jan. 11, 1996)
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Metropolitan Life Ins. Co. v. United States, 30 Fed. Cl. 195 (1993)
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Texas Instruments v. Commissioner, T. C. Memo 1992-306 (1992)
Education
- Harvard Law School, J.D. (cum laude), 1988
- University of California-Berkeley, B.S. (with high honors), 1985
