Brian McManus, Chair of Latham & Watkins’ Boston Tax Department, primarily handles civil and criminal tax litigation and controversies.
Mr. McManus litigates high-stakes tax cases before federal and state courts throughout the United States. He also represents taxpayers in Internal Revenue Service (IRS) audits, appeals, and criminal investigations with the objective of confidentially resolving tax controversies and avoiding litigation.
Mr. McManus is consistently ranked as a leading lawyer by Chambers USA across Tax categories, including National Tax Controversy and District of Columbia Tax. With nearly two decades of “inside the beltway” experience in Washington, Mr. McManus frequently handles controversy matters with broader tax policy implications. His Washington ties include serving as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center since 2015 where he teaches IRS Practice and Procedure in the graduate tax (LLM) program.
Mr. McManus' litigation and controversy practice extends to all areas of federal and state taxation, with an emphasis on disputes involving cross-border and international tax matters, sophisticated corporate transactions, enterprise and asset valuations, transfer pricing, partnerships, oil and gas taxation, tax shelters, promoter penalty defense, cryptocurrency, and tax collection matters.
Mr. McManus frequently handles sensitive tax matters involving allegations of fraud and potential criminal tax charges. He has helped clients avoid severe civil penalties and criminal prosecution, and he regularly advises on voluntary disclosure of domestic and offshore filing errors.
His clients include numerous multinational and Fortune 500 companies in diverse industries such as banking, insurance, technology, energy, pharmaceuticals, airlines, entertainment, and retail. Mr. McManus has represented several global law and accounting firms, as well as international charitable organizations, trust companies, offshore corporate service providers, and high net worth families.
Mr. McManus is admitted to practice before the US Court of Appeals for Federal Circuit, the US Tax Court, the US Court of Federal Claims, and the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
Thought Leadership
Mr. McManus is a Vice Chair of the American Bar Association (ABA) Tax Section's Civil and Criminal Tax Penalties Committee where he is responsible for developing substantive CLE sessions for ABA Tax conferences, participating in government comment projects, and preparing publications.
In addition, he regularly speaks at national tax conferences, podcasts, and is the author of numerous tax-related articles. Most recently, he joined a Paycom HR Break Room ® Podcast to discuss “FFCRA and CARES Act: What Employers Need to Know.”