Court rules that a
"John Doe" summons to obtain
confidential client records from a law firm isn't barred by
attorney-client privilege.
On May 15, 2019, a district court in
the Western District of Texas held that the Internal Revenue
Service ("IRS") may enforce a "John Doe"
summons to obtain confidential client records from a law firm. A
"John Doe" summons allows the IRS to demand records by
describing a category of taxpayers without naming any individual
taxpayers. In Taylor Lohmeyer Law Firm PLLC v. United
States, the IRS sought to enforce a remarkably broad summons
that required an estate planning firm to identify all of its
clients from 1995 to 2017 who were engaged in offshore activities
and to provide detailed information, including billing records and
records relating to offshore accounts, entities, and trusts. The
IRS represented that it was seeking this information to investigate
the civil tax liability of those who "create[d] and
maintain[ed] foreign
