Attorneys
Larry Campagna will serve as 2023-24 President of the American College of Tax Counsel
Larry Campagna, the managing shareholder for Chamberlain Hrdlicka, was recently elected to serve as the 2023/24 president of the American College of Tax Counsel (ACTC).
Campagna was unanimously inducted as a Fellow in 1995 and most recently served as Vice President for ACTC. Election as a “Fellow” of the American College of Tax Counsel is limited to a maximum of 700 tax attorneys across the United States. ACTC Fellows work in private law firms and in house legal departments, teach tax in law schools, or work in federal or state revenue agencies. The College exists to foster excellence and to elevate professional standards in the practice of tax law; stimulate skills development and knowledge through participation in continuing legal education programs and seminars; provide for input by the tax bar into the development of tax laws; and facilitate the scholarly discussion and examination of tax policy issues. In recent years, the College has been extremely active in submitting amicus briefs in the federal courts of appeals and in the United States Supreme Court, to help elucidate for the courts the importance of various tax issues nationwide.
One of Campagna’s goals for his presidency is to create a visitation program at many of the nation’s law schools, to introduce law students to the broad variety of law careers available in taxation. Campagna proposed this initiative to the College because he foresees a coming surge of tax controversy work and a potential lack of qualified tax lawyers to represent the IRS and taxpayer. Campagna expressed the need to encourage a new generation of tax attorneys: “The IRS is about to receive $80 billion dollars over the next 10 years for modernization and increased enforcement. If we don’t encourage more young lawyers to consider tax as a career, there simply will not be enough talented professionals to handle all the cases that the IRS wants to investigate and that taxpayers need to defend. Students need to understand that tax is not all mathematics and accounting. It’s also mergers and acquisitions; it’s complicated trial and appellate work on important issues that affect millions of taxpayers; and it’s defending low income taxpayers who are targeted by the government. It’s a noble profession.”
Campagna started his admirable career at Chamberlain Hrdlicka as a file clerk, working his way to managing shareholder, while building a national reputation as an authoritative litigator in matters of business litigation and criminal tax defense, as well as federal, state and local tax controversies. Throughout his 45-year career, he has resolved thousands of civil and criminal litigation matters, many involving sophisticated and complex legal issues that established precedents in courts at all levels. He assumed the managing shareholder role for Chamberlain Hrdlicka just three months before the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In recognition of his leadership, decisive actions, and strategic vision, he was named among the Houston Business Journal’s 2021 Most Admired CEOs Award recipients.
Campagna has long been recognized as a tax law leader by his peers. Among his many accolades, he received the Jules Ritholz Memorial Merit Award from The American Bar Association’s (ABA) Tax Section Civil and Criminal Tax Penalties Committee in 2022; the Bruce I. Hochman Award at the 36th Annual Tax Controversy Institute at UCLA in 2021; the Texas Lawyer’s Professional Excellence Award in the Lifetime Achievement category in 2020; and was named a Texas Tax Legend by the State Bar of Texas in 2019. He’s been listed among Best Lawyers in America annually since 2010, including being named as 2014 and 2016 Lawyer of the Year in Houston for Litigation and Controversy – Tax. He continues to be ranked in Band 1 nationally and in Texas by Chambers USA since 2009 and has been named to the Hall of Fame by Legal 500. He has made the Texas SuperLawyers list annually since 2003 and has been named among the country’s leading federal tax litigators by America’s Top 100 Criminal Defense Attorneys since 2007.
Campagna generously gives his time and expertise to the legal community, with substantial participation in the American Bar Association Section of Taxation, where he recently served as the Vice Chair for Administration, as a member of its Council, and as Chair of the Committee on Appointments to the Tax Court. He previously chaired the Committee on Civil and Criminal Tax Penalties, the Task Force on Offshore Credit Card Cases, the Committee on Employment Taxes, and a subcommittee on IRS Investigations and Procedures. He also co-authored the only casebook on federal tax crimes and has been an Adjunct Professor at the University of Houston Law Center since 2001.
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, data security & privacy, employee benefits, energy and maritime law, ERISA, estate planning and administration, intellectual property, international and immigration law, labor and employment, real estate, securities and finance, tax controversy and tax planning & business transactions.
About the American College of Tax Counsel
The American College of Tax Counsel, founded in 1981, is a nonprofit association of tax lawyers in private practice, law school teaching positions, and government, who are recognized for their excellence in tax practice and their substantial contributions and commitment to the profession. One of the chief purposes of the College is to provide a mechanism for input by tax attorneys into the development of U.S. tax laws and policy. A Board of 19 Regents serves as the governing body of the College, with one regent drawn from each of the 13 federal judicial circuits, plus two at-large positions. The Board is rounded out by the four members of the Executive Committee – President, Vice President, Secretary-Treasurer and Last Retiring President. The College can be found online at http://www.actconline.org.