Attorneys
Legal 500 ranks David Aughtry and Larry Campagna in its Hall of Fame, Jaime Vasquez and Juan Vasquez Jr rank as Leading Lawyers in US: Tax Contentious Category
The 2023 Edition of Legal 500, a guide to preeminent law firms and lawyers, has ranked Chamberlain Hrdlicka among the top tier of law firms in the United States. Ranked by Legal 500 among the top tax law firms for more than a decade, Chamberlain Hrdlicka has maintained its Band 2 ranking in the US Taxes: Contentious category, placing the firm among the top 15 tax controversy firms in the nation. Four attorneys received Legal 500 top honors, also in the US Taxes: Contentious category.
Larry A. Campagna, the managing shareholder for Chamberlain Hrdlicka, and David D. Aughtry, a shareholder in the Atlanta office, maintained their ranking among the Legal 500 Hall of Fame in the US, as part of only 12 tax attorneys nationwide in the US Taxes: Contentious category. To be eligible, lawyers must be widely regarded as being at the very top of the profession, and to have been consistently ranked as Leading Individuals by The Legal 500 for a number of years.
Jaime Vasquez, shareholder in the firm’s San Antonio office, maintained his Leading Lawyer ranking and Juan F. Vasquez Jr., was named to Leading Lawyers after previously being recognized as Next Generation Partner. With only 19 tax controversy attorneys recognized in that group, leading individuals are defined as true market leaders, with long-established reputations in their sector, lead roles in multiple recent significant matters, and exceptional, widespread recognition and endorsement from peers in the market and clients alike.
Legal 500 also named Jennifer Karpchuk, Philip Karter, Hale Sheppard, Lawrence Sherlock, and Kevin Sweeney as Recommended Lawyers.
Sources interviewed by Legal 500 praised the firm’s tax team, including the following comments: leaders in the field; very efficient, good mix of personnel who complement each other’s talents; outstanding attorneys and a pleasure to work with; great counselors, wonderful at communicating the case to clients and helping them understand their options; their expertise in tax controversy is incredible; understand the government’s approach; fantastic group of attorneys; excellent tax controversy attorneys; depth and breadth of knowledge is admirable.
David Aughtry has tried or argued more than 100 federal civil and criminal tax cases ranging across Tax Court, various District Courts, the Court of Federal Claims, eight Courts of Appeal, and the Supreme Court. He earned his undergraduate degree from the Citadel, and both his graduate degree in accounting and his law degree from the University of South Carolina. He also holds a Master of Laws in taxation from Emory University School of Law where he taught Tax Controversy for a number of years. He served as President and then Chair of the Southern Federal Tax Institute and was selected as a Fellow in the International Society of Barristers and American College of Tax Counsel. He’s been named to Chambers for 21 consecutive years, including as a Star Individual in Tax in Georgia for the 11th year in a row.
Larry Campagna has an established reputation as an authoritative litigator in matters of business litigation and white-collar criminal defense, as well as federal, state and local tax controversies. Throughout his career, he has resolved thousands of civil and criminal litigation matters, many of which involved sophisticated and complex legal issues that established precedent in courts at all levels. He’s been repeatedly ranked in the top band nationwide in Tax Fraud and Tax Litigation in Texas and recently received the prestigious Jules Ritholz Memorial Merit Award from The American Bar Association’s (ABA) Tax Section Civil and Criminal Tax Penalties Committee.
Jaime Vasquez concentrates his practice on federal, state, and international tax controversy matters. He has counseled clients in tax litigation matters, handling cases before the United States Tax Court, United States District Court, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He is Board Certified in Tax Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Vasquez is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and earned his undergraduate and Master of Accounting degrees from the University of Virginia McIntire School of Commerce, his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law, and his Master of Laws in Taxation from New York University. He's been named to Texas Rising Stars for eight consecutive years, since 2014. He was also named “Outstanding Lawyer” by San Antonio Business Journal and “Lawyer of the Year” for San Antonio in Litigation & Controversy – Tax by Best Lawyers in America in 2019, 2021 and 2023. He’s been listed on Best Lawyers in America for the past five years.
Juan F. Vasquez, Jr. serves as the Chair of the Firm's Nationwide Tax Controversy Section and concentrates his practice on federal, state and local tax controversy matters, including in connection with examinations, administrative appeals and trial. He also represents clients in administrative and policy matters before the IRS, various states, and local taxing authorities. Vasquez represents a broad range of clients including individuals, privately held businesses, and large Fortune 500 companies and multinationals. He has been involved in complex cases at various levels of the court system, including the Tax Court, Federal District Courts, Court of Federal Claims, Courts of Appeal (the Fourth, Fifth, Seventh, Eleventh, and Federal Circuits), and the U.S. Supreme Court. He also serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Houston Law Center, where he teaches Tax Controversy & Litigation and Tax Procedure & Practice.
Jennifer Karpchuk serves as Co-Chair of the Firm’s State and Local Tax (“SALT”) practice. She represents companies and individuals in all aspects of SALT controversy and planning, including issues related to corporate income taxes, franchise taxes, gross receipts taxes, excise taxes, personal income taxes, sales and use taxes, business privilege taxes, and real estate and property taxes. She has extensive experience planning for, advising on, and anticipating the SALT implications of various transactions, as well as litigating complex SALT matters.
Philip Karter specializes in tax controversy and tax litigation and has been named by Chambers & Partners in its nationwide rankings of top tax controversy and litigation attorneys for 18 consecutive years. He has litigated Federal tax cases in the United States District Courts, the United States Tax Court and the United States Court of Federal Claims for some of the nation’s most prominent companies, including high-profile, first-impression matters, and resolved hundreds of other matters at the audit level or with IRS Appeals.
Hale Sheppard is a Shareholder in the firm’s tax controversy practice, representing individuals and businesses during tax audits, appeals and litigation. He has participated in over 150 cases in the Tax Court, District Court, and Court of Appeals. In addition, Hale has obtained dozens of favorable Private Letter Rulings for clients from the IRS National Office on procedural, tax, and international issues. Hale obtained five college degrees, including an LL.M. in taxation, earning various scholarships and academic distinctions along the way. Hale ranks among the most active tax writers in the country, having published over 230 articles in top law reviews and tax journals. Hale has been widely cited as a tax/legal authority in many domestic and foreign journals, inducted into the American College of Tax Counsel, invited to present at major tax conferences, and recognized as a leader in tax disputes for 15 years by Chambers USA as well as other respected organizations.
Larry Sherlock is a shareholder in the firm’s tax controversy section. His practice focuses on negotiating and litigating federal tax disputes, including disputes arising out of income tax audits, estate and gift tax valuation questions and criminal investigations. With more than 40 years of practice, including his prior experience with the Tax Division of the Justice Department, he has a record of more than 40 cases tried to completion before judges and juries. Most recently, he has handled matters that resulted in favorable outcomes at IRS appeals and in court related to complex income tax questions and IRS challenges to estate tax valuations of family limited partnerships. He’s received the Outstanding Service as Tax Division Trial Attorney Award from the U.S. Department of Justice twice and has been named to Best Lawyers in America every year since 2012.
Kevin Sweeney is a member of Chamberlain Hrdlicka’s Tax Controversy & Litigation Practice and is a former federal prosecutor who defends clients in civil and criminal tax controversy and litigation matters. He represents high-net-worth individuals and businesses with complex and sensitive tax issues. Sweeney focuses on high-stakes IRS audits, civil tax litigation, white-collar criminal defense matters and whistleblower matters for high and ultra-high net worth individuals, corporate executives, business owners and public and private companies worldwide. He is recognized by Legal 500 U.S. and has also been honored twice with the Tax Division Outstanding Attorney Award by the U.S. Department of Justice. Sweeney earned his undergraduate degree from Loyola University Maryland and his law degree from New York Law School.
For more than 30 years, The Legal 500 has been analyzing the capabilities of law firms across the world, assessing the strengths of law firms in 106 jurisdictions. The Legal 500’s research is based on feedback from 250,000 clients worldwide, submissions from law firms and interviews with leading private practice lawyers, and a team of researchers with experience in the legal market. For more details on the ranking, visit https://www.legal500.com/c/united-states/tax/us-taxes-contentious/.
About Chamberlain Hrdlicka
Chamberlain Hrdlicka is a diversified business law firm with offices in Atlanta, Houston, Philadelphia, and San Antonio. The firm represents both public and private companies as well as individuals and family-owned businesses across the nation. In addition to tax planning and tax controversy, the firm offers corporate, securities and finance, employment law and employee benefits, energy law, estate planning and administration, intellectual property, international and immigration law, commercial and business litigation, real estate and construction law.