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David Aughtry, Habeeb ‘Hobbs’ Gnaim, Phillip Karter and Juan F. Vasquez Jr. ranked in 2024 Edition of World Tax
The 2024 edition of World Tax, the comprehensive guide to the world’s leading tax firms, has ranked Chamberlain Hrdlicka among the top tier of tax firms in Texas in the General Corporate Tax and Tax Controversy categories, with Tier 2 rankings. Additionally, David Aughtry was named Notable Practitioner in Georgia, Phillip Karter was ranked as Highly Regarded in Pennsylvania, and Habeeb ‘Hobbs’ Gnaim and Juan F. Vasquez Jr. were both named Highly Regarded in Texas.
Produced in association with the International Tax Review, World Tax provides rankings and profiles of the most effective tax practitioners in the world, covering more than 120 jurisdictions located on every continent. The rankings include law firms, consultancies, and advisory groups, ensuring the broadest coverage of any guide covering the global tax market.
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. Aughtry 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.
Habeeb ‘Hobbs’ Gnaim serves as Practice Chair of the firm's Tax Planning & Business Transactions Section. He previously served on the firm’s Board of Directors and as head of the Recruiting Program. He focuses his practice on tax and business planning matters, including the formation, governance, reorganization and internal restructuring of corporations, partnerships, and limited liability companies to achieve tax and business objectives. He has significant experience in all aspects of structuring, negotiating, and implementing business acquisitions and dispositions, corporate reorganizations, mergers, recapitalizations, deferred recognition transactions, admissions of and providing equity incentives for management and key employees, as well as choice of entity considerations, and state tax planning. Gnaim’s practice also includes the design and implementation of tax efficient business succession plans and business separation matters. Recognized in the legal community, he has been named to Best Lawyers in America, Chambers, and Texas Super Lawyers. Most recently, his deals won ACG Houston’s Deal of the Year Award and the Annual M&A Atlas Award. He is currently a finalist in seven categories for the 22nd Annual M&A Advisor Awards.
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. Among his many accolades, Karter has been named to the Best Lawyers in America annually since 2018, including the Lawyer of the Year in Philadelphia designation in 2019 and 2023, as well as ranked by Chambers (since 2006) and Legal 500 (since 2007).
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. Vasquez also serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Houston Law Center, where he teaches Tax Controversy & Litigation and Tax Procedure & Practice. Recognized in the legal community, he has been named to Chambers, Legal 500, Texas Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers in America, and received the Hispanic Issues Section Pete Torres Community Service Award from the State Bar of Texas, among several other accolades.
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. The firm offers counsel in appellate law, bankruptcy, commercial and probate litigation, construction law, corporate, employee benefits, energy and maritime law, ERISA, estate planning and administration, intellectual property, international and immigration law, labor and employment, privacy and data security, real estate, securities and finance, tax controversy, and tax planning and business transactions.