Obama nominates Caplin & Drysdale’s Cono R. Namorato to lead DOJ’s Tax Division
President Barack Obama’s has nominated Caplin & Drysdale’s Cono R. Namorato to the top spot in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Tax Division.
He would replace Tamara W. Ashford, who was confirmed to the U.S. Tax Court in November.
If confirmed, Mr. Namorato would be returning to the DOJ, where he has held numerous positions, including chief of the criminal section and deputy assistant attorney general in charge of criminal tax enforcement in the 1970s. As head of the DOJ tax division, Mr. Namorato would oversee more than 350 attorneys and the enforcement of the nation’s tax laws, including the government’s efforts to crack down on international tax evasion.
Services
Mr. Namorato’s legal experience has been wide-ranging. He has represented corporations and individuals, including corporate executives and senior public officials, in potential or ongoing criminal tax investigations, sensitive civil IRS examinations, and complex voluntary disclosures. He has counseled companies, including Fortune 500 corporations and worldwide professional firms, in resolving sensitive legal and ethical problems and has directed complex internal investigations into financial frauds. Mr. Namorato has also assisted tax lawyers and accountants in tax, ethics, and compliance issues.
Highlights
Mr. Namorato had been a Member of Caplin & Drysdale for 25 years previously, joining the firm in 1978 after ten years in the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, where he served as Chief of the Criminal Section and Deputy Assistant Attorney General in charge of criminal tax enforcement nationwide. During his most recent term at the IRS, Mr. Namorato supervised the Service’s increasing efforts toward achieving compliance nationwide among tax practitioners with newly enhanced standards of conduct. He also served as a Senior Advisor to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue on complex enforcement matters.
Professional Activities
Mr. Namorato has held prominent positions in the American Bar Association’s Sections of Taxation and Litigation, and is a frequent speaker on matters relating to professional ethics, criminal tax, and other white collar criminal enforcement issues. He received his law degree from the Brooklyn Law School, after beginning his career at the IRS, where he served as a Special Agent in the Intelligence Division (now the Criminal Investigation Division).