Nancy joined Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.'s Houston office in 1990 and concentrates her practice on all phases of federal tax controversy. She has significant experience in:

• assisting taxpayers in planning and preparing for audits;
• handling audits (including responding to IRS information document requests and defending formal and informal taxpayer interviews);
• preparing protests and position papers for use with the IRS Appeals Office;
• negotiating with the IRS Appeals Office;
• documenting settlements; and
• litigating tax controversies, when necessary.

She has handled a wide variety of substantive tax matters, including both domestic and international income tax matters, employment tax matters, excise tax matters, and estate and gift tax matters. She has litigated before the U.S. Tax Court, U.S. district courts, the Court of Federal Claims, and appellate courts.

Preparing for and Handling IRS Audits

• Represented the executor of an estate in preparing for an estate tax audit involving the valuation of thinly-traded stock, including the substantiation of blockage and underwriting discounts
• Represented a corporate taxpayer on a wide range of issues in planning and preparing for a potential excise tax audit
• Represented several individual and corporate taxpayers in connection with filing delinquent tax returns under the IRS' voluntary disclosure policy
• Represented an individual taxpayer in planning and preparing for a potential gift tax audit
• Represented a number of individual and corporate taxpayers in responding to IRS administrative summonses, including designated summonses
• Represented multiple individual taxpayers around the country who had invested in currency options, in proceedings involving complex issues including retroactive Treasury regulations, economic substance, potential penalties, and suspension of interest
• Represented a corporate taxpayer in a tax refund claim proceeding involving foreign currency transactions
• Represented a corporate taxpayer in a contentious audit involving multiple issues, including debt versus equity, abandonment losses, and substantial understatement penalties
• Represented individual and corporate taxpayers in an audit involving employment and income tax issues, trust fund recovery penalties, failure to file income tax and employment tax returns, and failure to deposit and pay income and employment taxes

Appearing Before the IRS Appeals Office

• Represented a corporate taxpayer in a dispute involving a variety of income tax issues arising out of oil and gas production payments
• Represented an individual taxpayer in connection with an IRS assertion that the individual was liable for substantial penalties and interest because he had not timely filed his income tax return
• Represented individual taxpayers in a dispute over the basis of (and resulting gain upon the sale of) real property
• Represented corporate and individual taxpayers in valuation issues arising out of a taxable spin-off of business operations
• Represented a corporate taxpayer in a dispute involving IRS challenges to a tax-free reorganization and worthless stock deductions, as well as section 482 transfer pricing adjustments
• Represented a corporate taxpayer in a dispute involving the completed contract method of accounting
• Represented a corporate taxpayer in an employment tax dispute involving employee discounts
• Represented a corporate taxpayer in a dispute over the valuation and amortization of intangible assets and covenants not to compete
• Represented a corporate taxpayer in an IRS challenge to the sale-leaseback of an office building
• Represented several taxpayers in a number of separate disputes over capitalizing or deducting a variety of business expenses
• Represented a corporate taxpayer in a dispute involving income and employment tax issues related to employee fringe benefits
• Represented a non-profit organization in the IRS' attempt to revoke the organization's tax-exempt status retroactively
• Represented a corporate taxpayer in a dispute involving worthless stock and bad debt deductions, reconciliation of intercompany accounts, and penalty assertions
• Represented several individual and corporate taxpayers in a number of separate disputes challenging the imposition of a variety of penalties based upon the reasonable cause/good faith defense
• Represented several corporate and individual taxpayers in a number of separate disputes involving the statute of limitations for refund claims and for deficiency assertions

• Represented an individual taxpayer in a dispute over a substantial charitable contribution deduction

Litigation

• Represented a corporate taxpayer in U.S. district court refund litigation involving complex financial products, international tax issues, economic substance, substance over form, and the step-transaction doctrine
• Represented a corporate taxpayer in Tax Court litigation involving oil and gas production payments, section 482 adjustments, and the allocation and apportionment of interest expense
• Represented a corporate taxpayer in U.S. district court refund litigation involving investment tax credits and the interpretation and effect of a previous settlement agreement with the IRS
• Represented a corporate taxpayer in Tax Court litigation involving the Puerto Rico and possession tax credit
• Represented a public utility in Tax Court litigation involving the tax treatment of cushion gas and line pack gas, as well as a change in method of accounting
• Represented a corporate taxpayer in Tax Court litigation over the income tax treatment of inventory
• Represented a partnership in U.S. district court in a wrongful levy suit
• Represented a corporate taxpayer in refund litigation in the Court of Federal Claims involving interest expense allocation
• Represented an estate in Tax Court litigation involving the valuation of closely-held stock, including marketability discounts, minority discounts, and capital gains tax discounts, as well as substantial penalty assertions
• Represented third parties who were subpoenaed to testify in a tax refund case before the Court of Federal Claims

• American Bar Association - Section of Taxation
  • Court Procedure and Practice Committee
  • Standards of Tax Practice Committee
• State Bar of Texas
• Houston Bar Association
• The Florida Bar

• The Best Lawyers in America, Tax Law
• The Legal 500 US (2007)

• Co-author,  "IRS's Latest Directive On Economic Substance Doctrine Provides Welcome News," Fulbright Briefing, July 22, 2011
• Co-author, "IRS Releases Final Schedule for Reporting Uncertain Tax Positions and Clarifies Policy of Restraint," Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. Briefing, September 28, 2010
• Co-author, "Recent IRS Administrative Guidance on Economic Substance Leaves Many Unanswered Questions," Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. Briefing, September 17, 2010
• Co-author, "Taxpayer Victory in 'Deloitte' Breathes Fresh Air Into Continuing Battle Over Tax Accrual Work Papers," BNA Daily Tax Report, August 3, 2010
• Co-author, "IRS Releases Draft Schedule and Instructions for Reporting Uncertain Tax Positions," Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. Briefing, April 23, 2010
• Co-author, "Clarification of the Economic Substance Doctrine May Have Beneficial Side Effects for Taxpayers," Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. Briefing, March 30, 2010
• Co-author, "IRS About To Start Detailed Employment Tax Examinations," Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. Briefing, February 24, 2010
• "'Wells Fargo' and Economic Substance:  Revisiting the Blueprint for Taxpayer Success," BNA Daily Tax Report, February 18, 2010
• Co-author, "IRS Announces New Broad Disclosure Requirements for Uncertain Tax Positions," Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. Briefing, January 29, 2010
• Co-author, "Recent Taxpayer Economic Substance Victories Provide Blueprint for Success," BNA Daily Tax Report, December 10, 2009
• Co-author, "IRS Takes Aim at Offshore Services to the Oil & Gas Industry," Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. Briefing, November 5, 2009
• Co-author, "IRS Targets Employment Taxes To Close Tax Gap," Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. Briefing, October 9, 2009
• Co-author, "U.S. Court of Appeals Rules That IRS is Entitled to Tax Accrual Work Papers," Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. Briefing, August 19, 2009
• Co-author, "Newly Minted 'For Use in Possible Litigation' Test of 'Textron' May Have Far-Reaching Implications for Taxpayers," BNA Daily Tax Report, August 2009
• Co-author, "Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts Must Be Reported by June 30, 2009," Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. Briefing, May 26, 2009
• "A Trap for the Unwary: Is the Six-Year General Statute of Limitations An Outside Limit for Refund Suits?" The Practical Tax Lawyer, Spring 2009
• Co-author, "IRS Makes Limited Time Offer to Taxpayers With Undisclosed Offshore Accounts," Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. Briefing, April 2, 2009
• Co-author, "Tax Issues for Investors in Alleged Ponzi Schemes," Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. Briefing, April 2, 2009
• "Strategies for Defending Against Discovery Requests for Tax Returns," Tax Notes, January 12, 2009
• Co-author, "IRS Focusing on Taxpayers with Undeclared Foreign Accounts," Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. ALERT, July 2008

Nancy has made the following recent speeches:

• "Current Developments in FOIA Litigation"
• "Litigating Transfer Pricing Disputes"
• "Vacatur of Published Opinions"
• "Strategies for Defending Against the Discovery of Tax Returns in Non-Tax Litigation"
• "Status of the Economic Substance Doctrine"
• "Are You Ready for the IRS?  Planning for Enhanced Enforcement Under the New Administration"
• "Circular 230:  A Practical Perspective"

1990 - LL.M., with distinction, Taxation, Georgetown University Law Center
1981 - J.D., with honors, Duke University School of Law
1977 - B.A., summa cum laude, Florida State University 

While at Duke, Nancy was a member of the Editorial Board of the Duke Law Journal and was selected for membership in the Order of the Coif. She was admitted to practice law in Florida in 1981 and in Texas in 1990.