Kneave Riggall, Attorney/Certified Tax Law Specialist

I am an attorney and certified tax law specialist in private practice in South Pasadena, California. My practice focuses on:

Tax controversies, such as audits, appeals, immunity for tax crimes, injured and innocent spouse matters, levies, liens, appeals, installment payment plan requests, offers in compro­mise, unfiled returns and voluntary disclosures;

Tax litigation in the United States Tax Court; California Superior Courts (including serving as an expert witness on taxes); the United States Bankruptcy Court (serving as special tax counsel); and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Tax planning, including projecting taxes and writing tax opinion letters; and

Tax whistleblowing, from evaluating and preparing tax informant reward claims to representing whistleblowers before the IRS and the United States Tax Court.

Please contact me at (626) 799-7219 or [email protected] if I may be of service. Initial telephone consultations are free.

Tax Law Experience

Since I began privately practicing tax law in February 1985, I have advised and repre­sented taxpayers on employment tax, estate tax, gift tax, income tax, property tax, sales tax and tax malpractice matters before: Internal Revenue Service offices of Appeal, Collection, Criminal Investigation, and Examination across the United States; the United States Tax Court; the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California (both as lead, and special tax, counsel); the State of California’s Controller, Employment Develop­ment Depart­ment, Franchise Tax Board, State Board of Equalization, Superior Courts, and Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board; Riverside County’s Assessment Appeals Board #1; the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (published victory over the IRS: Gardenhire v. United States, 209 F.3d 1145 (2000)); and the tax agencies of more than fifteen states.

In addition to many individuals, married couples and small businesses, my clients have included bankruptcy estates, C and S corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships, probate estates, qualified retirement plans, and trusts. I have also: prepared estate, gift, income and sales tax returns, and foreign bank account reports; served as an expert witness, in several Los Angeles Superior Courts, on tax issues; and represented tax informants before the IRS’s Whistleblower Office.

Current Licenses and Certifications

I am admitted to practice as an Attorney before:

All the courts of the State of California, 1978;

The U.S. District Courts for the Central and Southern Districts of California, 1979;

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 1979;

The U.S. Tax Court, 1986; and

The U.S. Court of Federal Claims, 2004.

I am certified as a Taxation Law Specialist by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization, 1991.

Education

J.D., University of California at Los Angeles School of Law, 1978.

LL.M., Taxation, University of San Diego School of Law, 1987.

M.A., Economics, University of California at Los Angeles, 1978.

B.A., Economics/Urban Studies (double major), University of California, Berkeley, 1975.

Professional and Academic Honors

Ranked AV® PreeminentTM 5.0 out of 5.0, Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, 1993-Present.

Selected as a Southern California Super Lawyer (Tax), Los Angeles Magazine, 2006, 2014-2020.

Selected as a Top Attorney (Tax), Pasadena Magazine, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2019- 2021.

Adjunct Professor, Tax LL.M. program, Loyola Law School, 2001-2006.

Part-Time Lecturer, Master of Business Taxation program, Leventhal School of Accounting, University of Southern California, 1992-95.

Member, UCLA Law Review, 1976-78.

John M. Olin Fellow in Law and Economics, UCLA, 1976-77, 1977-78.

Honors in Economics, and Highest Honors in Urban Studies, U.C. Berkeley, 1975.

National Merit Scholarship Finalist, 1970.

Published Tax Articles

Please contact me for a copy of any of the following articles.

Trust Issues, Los Angeles Lawyer, February 2021, at 30.

The Forever Tax: A Cautionary Tale on IRS Trust Fund Penalties, Los Angeles Lawyer, June 2019, at 18.

Tax Relief for Injured and Innocent Spouses, ACFLS, Spring 2015 at 21.

1031 Leasebacks: Even Better with Mayo!, 30 Journal of Taxation of Investments 3 (2012).

Should Tax Informants Be Paid? The Law and Economics of a Government Monopsony, 28 Virginia Tax Review 237 (2008).

Comprehensive Tax Base Theory, Transaction Costs, and Economic Efficiency: How to Tax Our Way to Efficiency, 17 Virginia Tax Review 295 (1997).

The Income Taxation of Foreclosures (with Jerald L. Mosley), Los Angeles Lawyer, Jan. 1995, at 15.

How to Reduce Boot in Like-Kind Exchanges, 72 Journal of Taxation 20 (1990).

The Tax Consequences of Statutory Duke Orders, 14 Whittier Law Review 809 (1993).

Dual Use of Property Does Not Bar Gain Nonrecognition, 54 Taxation for Accountants 196 (1995) and 26 Taxation for Lawyers 344 (1995).

Additional tax articles published in: ACFLS (Feb. 1992, Apr. 1992, June 1992 and Nov. 1992); California Tax Lawyer (Summer 1992, Winter 1993 and Summer 1999); Family Law News and Report (Fall 1990, Spring 1991, Summer 1991, Fall 1991, Spring 1992, Fall 1992, Spring 1993, Fall 1993, and Spring 1994); Los Angeles Daily Journal (Apr. 5, 1991); Los Angeles Lawyer (Mar. 1989, Jan. 1990, Nov. 1994, Jul/Aug 1998 and Sept. 2003); Monthly Digest of Tax Articles (Dec. 1998, at 34, and Jan. 2000, at 1); 52 Taxation for Accountants 268 (1994); 69 Taxes 41 (1991); and The Gavel and Quill (Oct. 1999).

Professional Leadership Positions

Los Angeles County Bar Association (Vice Chair, Committee on Pass-Through Entities, Taxation Section, 2003-04); Pasadena Bar Association (Chair, Tax Section, 1997-2006, 2009-Present; Trustee, 2000-01; Secretary 2001-03); San Gabriel Valley Bar Association (Program Chair, 1990-92; Treasurer 1995-98); UCLA Student Bar Association (Treasurer, 1977-78).

Professional Speaking Engagements

American Law and Economics Association, Annual Meeting: May 5, 2006.

California Society of Certified Public Accountants, Burbank/North Hollywood Group: November 28, 1990, January 23, 1991, November 11, 1992, and August 25, 1993; Glendale Group: July 26, 1990, May 23 and Septem­ber 26, 1991; Hollywood/Beverly Hills Group: August 16, 1988, May 7 and July 2, 1993, June 10, 1994, August 4, 1995, September 26, 1997, October 30, 1998, November 10, 2000, January 24, 2003, and August 25, 2006; Olympic-Vermont Group (Korean-American CPA Society): July 14, 1993; Pasadena Group: March 28, 1988, December 4, 1989, July 30, 1990, August 26, 1991, May 23, June 20 and July 25, 1994, February 12, 2001, November 4, 2002, August 2, 2004, and July 15, 2019; West San Gabriel Valley Group: April 27, 1988, June 13 and December 12, 1990, June 9 and July 28, 1993, and December 13, 2006; Whittier Group: February 8, 1990, February 14, 1991, and October 9, 1997.

California Society of Enrolled Agents, Los Angeles Chapter: July 11, 1995, and May 14, 2002; Orange County Chapter: July 20, 1999, and October 17, 2000, and October 21, 2003; San Gabriel Valley Chapter: July 24, 1991, and November 29, 1995; South Bay Chapter: May 17, 1994, August 22, 1995, July 16, 1996, May 18, 1999, and September 17, 2002.

Eastern Bar Association of Los Angeles County: June 17, 1999.

Los Angeles County Bar Association, 24th Annual Family Law Symposium: May 9, 1992; Family Law Section: May 20, 1993; Young Tax Lawyers Committee of the Taxation Section: February 23, 2006.

Pasadena Bar Association, Family Law Section: October 14, 1992, Jan­uary 26, 2001, and April 25, 2017; Probate Section: November 22, 1988, September 26, 1989, and September 30, 2013; Real Property Section: February 19, 1991, June 3, 1993, and May 4, 1995; Taxation Section: April 12, 1994, July 11, 1995, June 10 and October 13, 1997, October 8, 2002, May 11, 2004, November 8, 2005, September 18, 2009, February 19, 2010, October 21, 2011, March and September 20, 2013, October 17, 2014, March 20, 2015, May 19, 2017, and May 18, 2018.

San Fernando Valley Bar Association, Taxation Section: November 19, 2003, April 16, 2013, January 21 and November 18, 2014, and April 18, 2018.

San Fernando Valley Estate Planning Council: December 3, 2015.

San Gabriel Valley Bar Association: February 2, 1990, December 4, 1992, April 1, 1994, March 3, 1995, December 5, 1997, March 3, 2000, October 5, 2001, March 7, 2003, June 4, 2004, and January 9, 2015.

Santa Monica Bar Association, Family Law Section: October 28, 1993.

Taxation Section of the State Bar of California, Annual Income Tax Seminar: June 20, 2003, June 11, 18 and 19, 2005, and June 22, 2007; Annual Meeting of the California Tax Bar: November 5, 1999, and November 2, 2007; Washington, D.C., Delegation, May 1999; Young Tax Lawyers Discussion Group, Downtown Section: October 18, 1995, and November 8, 1998.

USC Tax Institute: January 9 and 10, 1995, and January 24, 2006.

Last updated on February 20, 2021