Associate Tax Tax Controversy

About Latham & Watkins

Latham & Watkins is one of the worlds leading global law firms advising the businesses and institutions that drive the global economy. We are the market leaders in major financial and business centers globally and offer unmatched expertise and resources to help you grow from an intellectually curious self-starter into an exceptional lawyer. If you aspire to be the best this is where you belong.

About the Practice Group

Lathams tax controversy lawyers help US and multinational companies tax-exempt organizations and global high wealth individuals resolve complex contentious tax matters.

From large-dollar US and cross-border corporate tax disputes to economic substance and promoter cases to sensitive allegations of fraud Latham regularly delivers extraordinary results both in and out of the courtroom.

We advise clients on complex tax issues at every stage of a US federal state local or cross-border tax controversy matter and in every venue where US tax disputes are the context of transactions we identify and manage actual or potential tax controversies before they arise. When issues do arise we draw on our experience in government at the IRS and US Department of Justice Tax Division and our strong working relationships with US tax authorities to minimize the scope of disputes and work to resolve them quickly and in a cost-effective manner.

For disputes that proceed to litigation we leverage our sophisticated knowledge of the substantive procedural and evidentiary rules to win at summary judgment and at trial. We frequently team with Lathams highly regarded Supreme Court & Appellate Practice which has a rich history of notable tax appeal victories.

We regularly represent clients in controversies related to:

International and domestic corporate income tax issues including transfer pricing
Partnership tax issues
Employment tax and employee benefits issues
Excise tax issues
State and local tax issues
Information gathering by tax authorities
Sensitive tax matters including:
Penalty defense
Whistleblowing defense
Investigations for non-compliance
Efforts to self-report and correct errors in compliance

About the Role

The Tax Controversy practice group is seeking to add highly qualified associates with a minimum of 2 years of experience in complex tax disputes including corporate partnership transfer pricing international tax SALT and criminal tax matters to join our 2nd through 5th year associate classes. The practice group advises clients on complex tax issues at every stage of a US federal state local or cross-border tax controversy matter and in every venue where US tax disputes are litigated.

In the context of transactions the group identifies and manages actual or potential tax controversies before they arise. When issues do arise they draw on our experience in government at the IRS and US Department of Justice Tax Division and our strong working relationships with US tax authorities to minimize the scope of disputes and work to resolve them quickly and in a cost-effective manner. For disputes that proceed to litigation the practice group frequently team with Lathams highly regarded Supreme Court & Appellate Practice which has a rich history of notable tax appeal victories.

Main Contact Details

Additional Information

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Pay Range

Associate Base Salary

Discretionary bonuses may be available depending on application circumstances and position.

Class of	US Payroll
2026	$225000
2025	$225000
2024	$235000
2023	$260000
2022	$310000
2021	$365000
2020	$390000
2019	$420000
2018	$435000

Required Experience:

IC