Locke Lord Elevates Highly-Regarded Tax Practice Into Firm’s 5th Department, Highlighting National, International Capabilities

Locke Lord has elevated the Firm’s highly-regarded global Tax Practice into its fifth Firm-wide department with Partners Mitch Tiras (Houston) and Karl Fryzel (Boston) named as Co-Chairs. Locke Lord and Edwards Wildman merged in January, which increased the Firm’s combined tax capabilities and knowledge.

Tax joins the Firm’s well-established Corporate, Intellectual Property, Litigation and Real Estate departments, offering clients the type of world-class service on key transactions and matters expected of an international firm such as Locke Lord.

“We believe this new department will highlight our national and international tax capabilities and send an important message to the marketplace that Locke Lord continues to provide the resources necessary to meet our clients’ needs in key practice areas,” said Locke Lord Chair Jerry Clements. “Plus, Mitch and Karl not only have a deep understanding of the complex issues our clients face every day, but they are skillful and practical lawyers with the type of collaborative spirit that earns them high marks from their peers and clients.”

Locke Lord counsels businesses of all sizes and in all types of industries, helping them manage their tax responsibilities and handle their global tax liabilities. Lawyers in the new Tax Department are experienced in dealing with U.S. federal, state and local tax matters, handling tax controversies at all levels and counseling tax-exempt organizations.

The Firm has consistently earned high marks for its tax work from legal industry ranking publications: Chambers USA ranked Locke Lord as one of the leading Texas tax firms; and U.S. News – Best Lawyers® "Best Law Firms" annual report ranked the Firm as one of the nation’s top tax firms.

Tiras previously chaired Locke Lord’s Tax Practice. His practice focuses on structuring and implementing partnership and limited liability company transactions, including joint ventures for public and private entities from both a tax and transactional perspective. He has extensive experience in advising sponsors of, and investors in, private equity funds, hedge funds and other alternative investment structures. Additional background on Tiras is available here.

Fryzel’s practice covers all aspects of domestic and international tax planning for corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies and individuals engaged in business and investment activities. He has extensive experience representing private equity and venture capital funds in structuring portfolio company acquisitions and sales as well as advising such clients on fund formation tax matters. His practice includes the handling of federal and state tax disputes in both administrative and judicial proceedings. Additional background on Fryzel is available here.

About Locke Lord LLP

Locke Lord is a full-service, international law Firm of approximately 1,000 lawyers working from 23 offices to meet clients’ needs around the world. With a combined history of more than 125 years and a greatly enhanced domestic and global footprint, Locke Lord is a worldwide leader in the middle market sector. Locke Lord advises clients across a broad spectrum of industries including energy, insurance and reinsurance, private equity, telecommunications, technology, real estate, financial services and health care and life sciences, while providing a wealth of experience through its complex litigation, regulatory, intellectual property and fund formation practices.