David Cole > Kirkland & Ellis LLP > Houston, United States > Lawyer Profile
Kirkland & Ellis LLP Offices
609 Main Street
Houston, Tx 77002
TEXAS
United States
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David Cole
Position
David Cole is a tax partner in the Houston office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. David focuses his practice on tax disputes with trial experience in both federal and state courts. The tax matters David has litigated include disputes with taxing authorities and between private parties.
The clients David represents include large and small partnerships, public and private partnerships, corporations, and high net worth individuals. His clients operate across an array of industries, including private equity, upstream (onshore and offshore), midstream, renewable energy, domestic and foreign manufacturing, real estate, and medical devices.
Of course, the best outcome in a dispute is to avoid it altogether. To that end, David also leverages his dispute experience to advise clients on the front end of matters on approaches and strategies to minimize the likelihood of even having a dispute.
When disputes happen, David represents clients in all phases of tax controversy from audit to IRS appeals to litigation. In his litigation practice, he has represented clients before the U.S. Tax Court, Federal Courts of Appeal, and in the Delaware Court of Chancery. He has extensive experience with partnership disputes, including litigating numerous cases under the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 (TEFRA) and advising clients on the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (BBA).
David advises clients on all aspects of investments relating to renewable energy and carbon capture projects. Tax credits are critically important to the economics of these transactions, and David applies his practical tax dispute experience to help achieve and sustain the intended treatment of the tax credits.
Lawyer Rankings
United States > Tax > US taxes: contentious
Kirkland & Ellis LLP fields a ‘knowledgeable, responsive, and highly effective’ team with experience at every stage of the tax controversy process. The group places emphasis on diverse tax expertise, and as such covers an extensive range of disputes, including transfer pricing disputes, offshore banking issues, and complex audits for prominent clients in the private equity space. Richard Husseini, based in Houston, co-leads the department alongside Natalie Keller, in Chicago. Husseini has experience representing public and private companies and high net worth individuals before the IRS, courts, and other regulatory bodies, while Keller covers audits, appeals, and litigation, with strength in transfer pricing issues. The department has seen recent growth, with David Foster joining the Washington DC office from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in February 2023, and David Cole entering the Houston team from Vinson & Elkins LLP in October 2022. Of counsel JoAnne Nagjee, in Chicago, is a name to note.
United States > Tax > International tax
Kirkland & Ellis LLP advises on US and foreign tax issues in addition to representing clients in disputes worldwide. On the transactional front, the team advises clients in connection with M&A, acquisitions, buyouts, fund formations and restructurings. The firm is also well-versed in issues relating to investment fund sponsors and the formation of offshore private equity funds, as well as advocating on behalf of companies at every stage of the tax controversy process from pre-audit planning to administrative appeals. Chicago-based Todd Maynes focuses on debt restructurings and co-heads the team with New York-located Dean Shulman who has extensive experience in structuring transactions. Chicago-located Lee Morlock focuses on international tax planning. Sara Zablotney operates out of New York and handles the tax aspects of joint ventures and spin offs while Mike Carew advises on securities issuances with support from Mark Schwed. The team was strengthened in October 2022 with the arrival of David Cole from Vinson & Elkins LLP, who has expertise in disputes in both federal and state courts.
Lawyer Rankings
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Media, technology and telecoms > Advertising and marketing: litigation
- Finance > Capital markets: high-yield debt offerings
- International Trade > CFIUS
- Antitrust > Civil litigation/class actions: defense
- Government > Government relations
- Intellectual property > Copyright
- Dispute resolution > Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense
- Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: transactional
- Energy > Energy litigation: oil and gas
- Energy > Energy transactions: electric power
- Energy > Energy transactions: oil and gas
- Environment > Environment: transactional
- Dispute resolution > General commercial disputes
- Tax > International tax
- Dispute resolution > M&A litigation: defense
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: large deals ($1bn+)
- Investment fund formation and management > Mutual/registered/exchange-traded funds
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (full coverage)
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Private equity buyouts: large deals ($500m+)
- Investment fund formation and management > Private equity funds (including venture capital)
- Real estate > Real estate
- Finance > Restructuring (including bankruptcy): corporate
- Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: defense
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Shareholder activism
- Media, technology and telecoms > Technology transactions
- Intellectual property > Trade secrets (litigation and non-contentious matters)
- Intellectual property > Trademarks: litigation
- Tax > US taxes: non-contentious
Firm Rankings
- Finance > Capital markets: debt offerings
- Finance > Capital markets: equity offerings
- Antitrust > Cartel
- Energy > Energy regulation: electric power
- Environment > Environment: litigation
- Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: litigation
- Antitrust > Merger control
- Media, technology and telecoms > Outsourcing
- Intellectual property > Patents: licensing
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (International Trade Commission)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: automotive/transport
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: consumer products (including tobacco)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: pharmaceuticals and medical devices
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: toxic tort
- Finance > Project finance
- Real estate > Real estate investment trusts (REITs)
- Government > State attorneys general
- Finance > Structured finance: securitization
- Tax > US taxes: contentious
- Dispute resolution > E-discovery
- Dispute resolution > Financial services litigation
- Insurance > Insurance: non-contentious
- Energy > Renewable/alternative power
- Intellectual property > Trademarks: non-contentious (including prosecution, portfolio management and licensing)
- Energy > Energy regulation: oil and gas
- Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers
- Healthcare > Life sciences
- Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: transactional
- Real estate > Construction (including construction litigation)
- International Trade > Customs, export controls and economic sanctions
- Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers
- Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers
- Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers
- Dispute resolution > Appellate: courts of appeals / Appellate: supreme courts (states and federal)
- Finance > Commercial lending
- Investment fund formation and management > Mutual/registered/exchange-traded funds