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Practice Area(s)

Education

J.D., New York University School of Law, 1970, cum laude; Order of the Coif; Editor-in-Chief, N.Y.U. Law Review
B.A., Amherst College, 1967, cum laude

Bar and Court Admissions

New York
District of Columbia
U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Tax Court
Supreme Court of New York
District of Columbia Court of Appeals

Other Professional Affiliations

Member, American Bar Association, Section of Taxation

Member, District of Columbia Bar, Tax Committee

Government Experience

Acting Chief Counsel, Internal Revenue Service, Office of Chief Counsel, 2001-2002

Deputy Chief Counsel, Internal Revenue Service, Office of Chief Counsel, 1999-2002

Law Clerk, Honorable Warren E. Burger, U.S. Supreme Court, 1971-1972

Law Clerk, Honorable John J. Gibbons, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 1970-1971

Richard W. Skillman

Member, Washington, D.C.
(202) 862-5034
rskillman@capdale.com | v-card | PDF

Richard W. Skillman is a Member in Caplin & Drysdale's Washington, D.C., office focusing in federal taxation. Mr. Skillman's practice covers a broad cross-section of domestic and international tax matters and includes the representation of taxpayers in tax controversies as well as tax planning. His practice focus includes insurance companies and products, executive compensation and other employee benefits, corporate tax, tax accounting, and international tax.

Between 1999 and 2002, Mr. Skillman served as Deputy Chief Counsel and Acting Chief Counsel of the Internal Revenue Service. As Acting Chief Counsel, Mr. Skillman was the chief legal official of the IRS. He held final authority for all legal and litigating positions of the IRS and management responsibility for approximately 2500 Chief Counsel employees in more than 50 offices nationwide.

Mr. Skillman is a member of the Tax Sections of the ABA and of the D.C. Bar. He formerly taught Corporate Tax as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center and has lectured and written articles on a broad range of tax subjects.

Mr. Skillman holds a B.A. from Amherst College and a J.D. from New York University Law School, where he graduated first in his class and served as Editor-in-Chief of the N.Y.U. Law Review. After law school, he served as law clerk to Judge Gibbons of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and to Chief Justice Burger of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Awards & Rankings

Chambers USA, 2010-2017
The Legal 500, Leading Lawyer, 2010-2013; Recommended 2014-2020
The Legal 500, International Tax Team of the Year, 2014-2015
Best Lawyers in America, Lawyer of the Year, 2014 and 2021; Listed 1995-Present
Super Lawyers, Washington, D.C., 2008-Present
The Washingtonian, Top Lawyer, 2009, 2011-2012, and 2015
Fortune Magazine, Top Rated Lawyers in Labor and Employment, 2014
Expert Guides' World's Leading Tax Advisers, 2014
Martindale-Hubbell® AV® Preeminent™

Speaking Engagements

Panelist, The Administrative Procedure Act and the Impact of Challenges to IRS Regulations, Bloomberg BNA and Baker & McKenzie's 6th Annual Global Transfer Pricing Conference: Washington, DC, June 8, 2016
Panelist, Ponzi Scheme Update: Tax Treatment of Clawbacks and Other Items, American Bar Association, 2013 Midyear Meeting, January 26, 2013
Speaker, Executive Compensation and Related Issues, Tax Executives Institute, Inc., Virginia Chapter Meeting, November 18, 2010

Click here for a full list of speaking engagements.

Recent Publications

"Tax Plans Compared (December 2016) Corporate Tax," with Jonathan S. Brenner, Mark D. Allison, Kirsten Burmester, and Peter A. Barnes, Global Tax Weekly, January 5, 2017
"Tax Plans Compared (December 2016) Corporate Tax," with Jonathan S. Brenner, Mark D. Allison, Kirsten Burmester, and Peter A. Barnes, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, December 16, 2016
"Muhammad Ali in the Time of the 'Maxi Tax'," Tax Notes, August 8, 2016
"The Final OECD BEPS Tome Has Arrived," with H. David Rosenbloom, Patricia Gimbel Lewis, J. Clark Armitage, and Peter A. Barnes, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, October 8, 2015
"New Retirement Plan Fee-Disclosure Rules Now Finalized," Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, April 5, 2012
"Before It's Too Late: Reconsidering The IRS Relief for Madoff Losses," Tax Notes, February 20, 2012
"Executive Compensation Plans," Bloomberg Law Reports, November 8, 2010
"PPACA and Beyond – Implications for Employers Today," Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, April 30, 2010
"More Foreign Financial Account Reporting," with James E. Salles and Scott D. Michel, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, March 26, 2010
"Section 457A and Interim Guidance under Notice 2009-8," Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, February 10, 2009
"Income Inclusion and Correction under Section 409A," Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, February 10, 2009
"403(b) Plans," Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, February 10, 2009
"Bona Fide Severance Plan and Substantial Risk of Forfeiture under Section 457," Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, February 10, 2009
"Tax Alert," Caplin & Drysdale, May 1, 2007
"Tax Accoutning: Proposed Capitalization Regulations - Not All Good News," Caplin & Drysdale, April 1, 2003
"Tax Shelters: Treasury Finalizes Tax Shelter Reporting Regulations," with Christopher S. Rizek, Caplin & Drysdale, April 1, 2003

Click here for a full list of publications.