SUSAN BERSON
PARTNER
Practice Areas
Tax Litigation
IRS Audits and Appeals
Subchapter S Taxation
Business Litigation and Mediation
FINRA Arbitrator
Bar Admissions
District of Columbia
Kansas
Missouri
U.S. Tax Court
U.S. Court of Federal Claims
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Sixth, Eighth and Tenth Circuits
School
University of Nebraska, J.D., 1990
Georgetown University, LLM, 1994
Contact
(913) 397-2702 (Direct)
(913) 273-0747 (Fax)
(816) 510-0179 (Mobile)
SUMMARY
Susan Berson, a results oriented attorney for 21 years, began her career in the Attorney General Honors Program with the United States Department of Justice, Tax Division, in Washington, D.C. Awarded the highly coveted Outstanding Attorney Award from the Attorney General in 1996, Susan has successfully tried tax cases to judges and juries in federal district courts as well as bankruptcy courts across the country. She has also been selected to the Business Journal of Kansas City's "Best of Bar," an annual survey recognizing the area's top lawyers.
Since entering private practice in 1998, knowing the IRS playbook has helped Susan successfully represent clients in their dealings with the IRS, the U.S. Department of Justice and the United States Attorney’s offices. She specializes in representing taxpayers against the IRS and the U.S. Department of Justice at all stages of civil and criminal investigations, as well as at all levels of the federal court system, including the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. She has represented a diverse clientele with equally diverse tax cases and IRS problems. Audit strategy, responding to IRS information and document requests, seeking claims for refund, abating penalties, negotiating compromises and settlements, appealing IRS determinations and litigating issues in court are all matters handled by Susan. In addition to administrative appeals, discovery, motions, trial and appellate practice, she has expertise in a wide array of tax claims and disputes facing individuals as well as entrepreneurs and small business owners based on their industry-specific practices.
In 2001, she authored the treatise Federal Tax Litigation, published by Law Journal Press, which is in use by law schools and tax practitioners around the country. More recently, she authored the books The Modern Rules of Personal Finance for Professionals (American Bar Association 2008) and The Lawyer’s Retirement Planning Guide (American Bar Association 2009). She has also coauthored the book The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act: From Legislation to Implementation to Litigation (American Bar Association 2011). Coinciding with her most recent books, she has also been retained by law firms and bar associations to present on the topics of Personal Finance and the Business of Law Firm Management for audiences of summer associates and new attorneys. Susan is also a contributing columnist for the American Bar Association’s monthly Journal Magazine, authors a legal advice column appearing quarterly in Flourish! women’s business magazine.
Susan serves as an arbitrator for participants in the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) Dispute Resolution program. As an arbitrator, Susan is responsible for hearing and deciding the parties' securities cases and, based on the evidence, rendering a fair, just, and impartial award. Claims of unsuitable recommendations, excessive trading, misrepresentation, failure to execute, or lack of supervision are among the FINRA disputes for which Susan arbitrates. She is also a certified mediator in the Early Assessment Program for the Western District of Missouri. As a mediator, she is responsible for facilitating negotiations between disputing parties, helping them find a mutually acceptable solution. Her experience serving as an arbitrator and mediator for business disputes for other attorneys and theirs clients, significantly helps her when counseling her own clients in evaluating and implementing alternative dispute resolution techniques to avoid costly lawsuits, when possible.
TYPES OF TAX MATTERS THAT WE HANDLE
Susan’s practice is devoted to administrative and judicial resolution of tax controversies, civil and criminal, state and federal. Some of the types of issues and cases that our firm handles include:
Audits. Many taxpayers mistakenly plunge into an audit flying solo, without the aid of an attorney or other professional. However, negotiating and responding to IRS information/document requests is an important part of an audit process. It is imperative that a balance be attained between providing the information that the IRS may legitimately need, while protecting taxpayer privileges and limiting information requests to a rule of reason. The IRS has increasingly been involving its attorneys early on in the audit examination process. Because of this, our experience has been that it can be crucial to a taxpayer’s success to have legal counsel before revealing information to the government. In that regard, we have experience planning for, and managing audits, as well as various audit issues such as responding to information document requests, complying with formal document requests, quashing summonses, controlling statutes of limitation, establishing document retention procedures, and identifying and protecting privileged documents. This practice area includes experience with various special IRS programs such as the Coordinated Examination Program, the Large Case Program, the Industry Specialization Program, the Market Segment Specialization Program, the Early Referral Program, the Appeals Coordinated Issues Program, the Advance Pricing Agreement Program, and the Tax Preparer and Tax Promoter Programs.
Controversy and Refund Litigation. We litigate cases in U.S. Tax Court, U.S. Court of Federal Claims and Federal District Courts. Tax issues arising from business transactions, accounting practices, employment taxes and withholding, independent contractor status, wrongful levy and tax policy are types of lawsuits that we have successfully brought and defended. Refund claims, tax shelters, tax promoters, independent contractor and employment matters, innocent spouse claims, jeopardy assessments, alter ego/nominee assessments, Privacy and Freedom of Information Act requests, and seeking monetary damages for unauthorized IRS actions are also matters we handle. Consistently, we strive to resolve controversies with the government through cost-saving alternative dispute resolution programs such as mediation in lieu of litigation, when possible.
Tax Fraud. Allegations of tax evasion, filing false tax returns, failure to file tax returns, money laundering, offshore banking, asset forfeiture, bankruptcy fraud and false statement(s) to government officials are examples of financial crime cases in which we have expertise.
Grand Jury. We also advise taxpayers who may be under investigation by a grand jury or are subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury to testify as a witness and/or produce documentation.
Tax Regulation of Financial Institutions. We also provide advice with respect to certain tax matters related to merger transactions and Subchapter S elections of bank holding companies.
BAR MEMBERSHIPS
Susan is a member of the Kansas Women Attorneys Association, District of Columbia Bar Association, the Kansas City Area Bankruptcy and Litigation Practitioner Groups, the Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers and the American Bar Association’s Litigation Section and Tax Section. She is also a committee member of the Federal Bench-Bar in Kansas, the Kansas Bar Association’s Political Action Committee, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Kansas Lawyer’s Assistance Program and the Kansas Women Attorneys Association.
LICENSES
Susan is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia, Kansas, Missouri, the United States Tax Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth, Tenth and Sixth Circuits, and the Supreme Court of the United States. She has also been admitted in a pro hac vice basis in various state and federal courts.
TREATISE, PUBLICATIONS AND SEMINARS
In addition to the treatise, Federal Tax Litigation (Law Journal Press, 2001), her books The Modern Rules of Personal Finance for Professionals (American Bar Association, 2008) and The Lawyer’s Retirement Guide (American Bar Association, 2009), and her columns for the ABA Journal magazine, Susan has also authored numerous articles and been a speaker at various seminars, some of which are listed below.
Articles. “Implementing The Estate and Gift Tax Changes Before 2013‘s Sunset”, Journal of the Kansas Bar (May 2011); “Channeling a Refund to Pay Down Debt” InTouch, Community Bankers Association of Kansas (August 2010); “Taxation of Damage Awards and Settlements”, Journal of the Kansas Bar (July 2009); "Ask Questions, Look for IRS Red Flags Before Investing in Tax Shelters," Kansas City Business Journal (April 7, 2006); “When a Business Fails to Pay Employment Taxes: Potential Consequences to Financial Institutions”, Journal of Taxation and Regulation of Financial Institutions (March 2005); “Grand Jury Practice for In-House Counsel”, Insights, The Corporate & Securities Law Advisor (Vol. 18, No. 2, February 2004); "Business Strategies Can Create Duty From Directors to Creditors, Too," Kansas City Business Journal (March 1, 2002); "When a Business Fails to Pay Employment Taxes," Kansas City Small Business Monthly Journal (Vol. 9, Issue 8, August 2000); "Disputing An IRS Assessment: An Overview," 55 J. Mo. B. 143, Journal of the Missouri Bar (May/June 1999).
Seminars. “Missouri Bank Taxation and Tax Credits,” Missouri Bankers Association (October 2010); “Rule 30(b)(6) Deposition:
The Sword & The Shield,” Kansas Bar Association (September 2010); Taxation of Damages and Settlement Awards: When Less is More”, KC Metro Bar Association (October 2009); “Recession-Proofing Your Practice” and “Personal Finance Essentials”, Wyoming Annual Bar Convention (September 2009); “Thriving in A Recession” (a four week series from the American Bar Association June/July 2009); “Ten Things Every Lawyer Should Know About the IRS,” Kansas Women Attorneys Association Annual Conference (July 2009); “Overview of a Criminal Investigation Involving Corporate Employees” (Kansas Bar Association 2004); Bankruptcy School for Credit Unions, National Association of Credit Unions (Iowa, May 2003); Grant Thornton Litigators Forum (January 2003).
PREVIOUS POSITIONS
Tax Litigation Group LLC (Kansas City, MO)
September 2005 to December 2007
Principal
Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP (Kansas City, MO)
April 1998 to August 2005
Partner
United States Department of Justice Tax Division (Washington, DC)
September 1990 to March 1998
Trial Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice Tax Division
Attorney General Honors Program
COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES AND ASSOCIATIONS
Susan organized the 2011 Food From The Bar drive in the state of Kansas, sponsored by the Kansas Women Attorneys Association, in conjunction with the National Conference of Women Bar Associations. In 2011, she also was re-appointed to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Advisory Committee for the District of Kansas. In addition to serving as the past Chair of the Fundraising Committee for the Habitat for Humanity Women Build 2005 project, she has also served on various nonprofit boards in the Kansas City area, including Rose Brooks Center for Domestic Violence, Whatsoever Community Center, the Society of Photography, and has been active in fundraising for The Women’s Foundation of Greater Kansas City, Jackson County CASA, and the Women’s Political Caucus of Greater Kansas City.
© 2007 The Banking & Tax Law Group LLP
