Christopher Rizek Comments on Former Caplin & Drysdale Attorney's Nomination to Tax Court Bench

President Donald Trump’s newest pick for the U.S. Tax Court is a senior attorney within the Internal Revenue Service’s Office of Chief Counsel with expertise in tax matters relating to nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations and intellectual property.

Courtney Dunbar Jones was nominated to the Tax Court’s bench on Tuesday — one of a dozen of the administration’s choices for federal judgeships across the country.

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Jones then moved on to Caplin & Drysdale where, as an associate from 2008 to 2011, she advised nonprofit organizations on how to qualify for tax-exempt status, grant-making programs, for-profit subsidiaries, lobbying and political activities, executive compensation, unrelated business income tax and corporate governance.

Christopher S. Rizek, a member of Caplin & Drysdale's office in Washington, D.C., who primarily focuses on audits and litigation, told Law360 he had the opportunity to work with Jones when tax-exempt organizations got audited and he has even had to consult her since she joined public service.

“She is very bright; she is very smart,” Rizek said. “She’s pretty firm in her views once she’s considered everything and made a decision, which is [. . .] what you want in a judge.” Rizek noted that Jones’ collaborative nature means that she will “work well with the other judges” and her engaging personality is sure to help taxpayers feel they are being heard.

Jones’ LinkedIn profile does not indicate significant litigation experience, so there could be a learning curve for her on procedural aspects, Rizek said.

“She’s very smart; she’ll get it all. There’s no doubt in my mind,” he said.

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Excerpt taken from the article “US Tax Court Nominee An Expert On Tax-Exempt Matters” by Vidya Kauri for Law360.