Tax Malpractice

Jacob L. Todres (Professor of Law, St. John’s University – School of Law) has recently posted on SSRN his article entitled Recent Tax Malpractice Development in the Estate and Gift Tax Area.  Here is the abstract of his article:

In this article the author reviews developments of approximately the past five to six years in tax malpractice litigation in the estate and gift area. After a brief review of the basic elements of the malpractice cause of action, the author examines the recent cases by category: tax return preparation/filing, planning errors, drafting errors, disclaimers and valuation. The author concludes that a relatively large number of cases are brought in this area and that it likely is the leading area for malpractice suits during the time period involved. The author also notes that tax practitioners frequently avoid liability on statute of limitations grounds, various privity-related arguments and various other procedural reasons. Careful, preventive lawyering is especially important in this area.