For more than half a century, Caplin & Drysdale has been a leading provider of a full range of tax, tax disputes, and related legal services to companies, organizations, and individuals throughout the United States and around the world. With offices in New York City and Washington, D.C., the firm also offers counseling on matters relating to bankruptcybusiness, investment & transactional taxcomplex litigationcorporate lawemployee benefitsexempt organizationsinternational taxpolitical lawprivate client, tax litigation, and criminal tax cases & white collar defense. Our ranks include former senior staff from the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Treasury, the Federal Election Commission, and the Justice Department. Their substantial technical skill and considerable knowledge on how laws are made and administered illustrate our commitment to serving clients in a holistic and solution-oriented manner.

The Caplin Model

For over half a century, Caplin & Drysdale has been synonymous with responsive, creative, and sophisticated legal services. Our clients view us not only as successful advocates and excellent legal technicians, but also as professionals who give straight answers, and anticipate problems before they become costly. Our goal is to produce a quality work product to help meet the client's strategic objectives.

In an era of mega-firms, we remain small and nimble. Our staffing is lean, and our clients have immediate and direct access to the right attorney who possesses the experience and background needed to work on the specific problem at hand. We are proud to offer the know-how and experience to rival the largest firms combined with the efficiency that characterizes a legal boutique.

Firm History

Mortimer M. Caplin – former Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service during the administrations of Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson – and Douglas D. Drysdale, then a professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, founded Caplin & Drysdale, Chartered in Washington, D.C. in 1964 with a team of just four other attorneys. Over the years to best meet the needs of our clients, the firm has evolved from a small tax boutique into a trusted institution with experienced practitioners handling complicated tax, litigation, political, and other legal issues on an international scale.

As the firm has grown, we are proud to have maintained the legacy of excellence instilled by our founding members along with our core principles of community, diversity, collegiality, and exceptional client service.


Mortimer M. Caplin (1916 - 2019) and Douglas D. Drysdale (1924 - 2018)

Firm Facts  


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