United States Seventh Circuit

In a suit by the IRS to enforce administrative summonses against an accounting firm that allegedly failed to disclose potentially abusive tax shelters that it promoted, the district court's finding that the attorney-client privilege applied to a firm memorandum is affirmed where the document was within the common interest doctrine and the privilege was not waived. The district court's ruling that one document fell within the crime-fraud exception to the attorney-client and/or tax practitioner privilege is affirmed where the court did not abuse its discretion when it concluded that the IRS had made a prima facie showing of crime or fraud, but a ruling that sustained the tax practitioner and/or attorney-client privilege asserted by a number of the firm's clients is vacated and remanded where the panel could not evaluate the legal standard employed by the district court.

Appellate Information

• Decided 07/02/2007
• Published 07/02/2007

Judges

• RIPPLE, Circuit Judge., Before RIPPLE, KANNE and WILLIAMS, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Seventh Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Frank P. Cihlar (argued), Karen D. Utiger, Michelle B. Smalling, Department of Justice, Tax Division, Appellate Section, Washington, DC, for Petitioner-Appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Cary B. Samowitz (argued), DLA Piper US LLP, New York, NY, Michael S. Poulos, DLA Piper US LLP, Chicago, IL, for Respondent-Appellee., George W. Connelly, Juan F. Vasquez, Jr., Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Johnson & Williams, Houston, TX, David D. Aughtry (argued), Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Martin, Atlanta, GA, for Intervenors-Appellees.