Big4 Transaction Tax to Big Law Forum

[CanadianWolf]

Interesting observation that: "The Washington National Tax people oversee the work of the ground level folks...".

My understanding differs in that to the best of my knowledge the Washington National Tax offices serve as a resource for the field offices, and typically do not act in any supervisory capacity over the field offices.

Of course, as you noted above, experiences differ.

Another important difference that I hope you will address:

Do you see biglaw tax attorneys as generalists who handle a wide variety of tax document drafting responsibilities versus Big 4 WNT attorneys who are subject matter specialists (i.e., M&A federal tax specialists, SALT specialists, International Tax specialists, transfer pricing specialists, etc.) prohibited from drafting and filing legal documents ?

Whatever happened to PwC's Wash DC law firm which was started in 2017 to practice foreign law for US based clients ? Is this law firm still in existence (ILC Legal, LLP) ?

Thank you in advance for your response.

[jdkale]

I think the extreme emphasis on WNT may be a bit outdated. The people in the Big 4 specialized consulting groups such as M&A, international, etc. (i.e., the tax LLMs) are doing work that is not so categorically different from big law. It varies, of course.

Also, the people who get hired by WNT could have done big law already (and probably did). Or they were/are tax professors (which is even harder to get). Saying you would only hire people from WNT at a law firm is like saying you would only hire people from the eastern conference of the NBA to play in the western conference. Even if it were true, it gets no one anywhere.

[Anonymous User]

Can we discuss big4 salaries for WNTS? Whats the range for a manager and whats the range for senior manager?

Can a manager pull more than 225? How much (well-credentialed) senior manager typically make in WNT ?

[Anonymous User]

Would also appreciate if anyone could shed light on the pay ranges for Washington National Tax (WNT) manager and senior manger.

Also how much better are the hours than BL what does a typical day in WNT look like and what about weekends?

[Anonymous User]

My friend was a manager in WNTS. Got an offer for $295k to lateral to another one as a senior manager.

Ended up going to biglaw at a firm that made him start as a fourth year ($295k). He doesn’t like the type of work the firm is doing so he may go back to Big 4 WNTS.

[nealric]

Interesting observation that: "The Washington National Tax people oversee the work of the ground level folks...".

I don't think WNT "supervises" in the sense that they act as direct manager or review all the work product of other offices. Rather, WNT is typically responsible for the institutional position of a firm on various issues so they can effectively serve in the role as decisionmakers.

Firms want to be taking consistent stances on tax issues. They don't want the NYC office to give an MLTN opinion on an issue that that the LA office wouldn't. So it's fairly common for a partner in another office to consult WNT before issuing an opinion or signing off on a client's position during audit.

[cooljon525]

If you are interested in this in LA (and have a very impressive resume), message me.

Still hiring?

[cooljon525]

Agree with the above that I see more examples of exec comp being a more natural landing spot but if you have no experience there, then probably not worth trying to make that transition. My firm's hiring for tax FTW and I've talked to tax folks there who have expressed openness to candidates with Big 4 backgrounds. Feel free to DM if you want to chat.

Still hiring?

[jdkale]

Sorry, not at the moment. We did hire from an accounting firm. Best of luck.