Blank Rome Scoops Up Another Group of MoFo Tax Lawyers

Blank Rome has added to a growing haul of Morrison & Foerster tax attorneys by hiring a team of five state and local tax counsel in New York.

The attorneys making the switch are senior counsel Irwin M. Slomka and senior attorney Michael A. Pearl. Matthew F. Cammarata, Eugene J. Gibilaro, and Kara M. Kraman will be of counsel at Blank Rome. The group will be a part of the firm’s growing tax, benefits, and private client group.

Last month, the firm announced the hire of MoFo tax lawyers, Craig B. Fields, Holly L. Hyans, Nicole L. Johnson, and Mitchell A. Newmark, who also moved to Blank Rome’s New York office.

Fields, who co-chaired MoFo’s tax department, now serves as co-chair of Blank Rome’s tax, benefits, and private client practice group and head of its state and local tax practice.

“Working together once more, we look forward to expanding Blank Rome’s national tax platform and capabilities as we strategically counsel clients on their tax concerns,” Fields said in a statement welcoming the new lawyers from MoFo. “We are also collaborating with our talented colleagues across the Firm’s offices and practices to support our clients at the highest level, and are excited to get the new members of the team integrated into this great culture.”

The new tax team brings experience handling state and local tax controversies before administrative and judicial bodies in New York and throughout the U.S.

Slomka, who serves as the co-chair of the New York City Taxes Committee for the Tax Section of the New York State Bar Association, represents a broad range of corporate and individual clients on local and state tax controversies.

Cammarata previously served in the litigation bureau of the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, where he litigated cases on behalf of the Massachusetts Commissioner of Revenue.

Before joining private legal practice, Gibilaro worked at Big Four accountancy Ernst & Young, where he advised private equity and corporate clients on tax matters.

Kraman advises clients on issues relating to bank taxes, corporate income taxes, insurance taxes, sales and use taxes, fraud, personal income taxes, real estate transfer taxes, and utility taxes.

Pearl previously served as in-house state tax counsel for J.C. Penney, and provided state and local tax consulting services for two major accounting firms prior to joining private practice.

Since the beginning of the year, Blank Rome has made at least 12 lateral partner hires, the majority of which were in Chicago, Washington and New York.