The non-contentious tax group at Morrison Foerster has a wealth of experience in advising multinational companies, investors, non-profit organizations, private equity sponsors, and hedge and real estate funds on the full spectrum of corporate tax matters, complex capital markets work, operational tax planning, and general business and transactional matters. The practice is led by Anthony Carbone in New York, who specializes in high-profile bankruptcy matters, a broad range of securities offerings, and corporate finance transactions. Bernie Pistillo in San Francisco has strong expertise in tax controversies and international M&A and restructurings. In San Diego, Shane Shelley advises REITs and real estate, renewable energy, and financial services clients on sophisticated tax matters. The ‘extremely talented’ David Sturgeon in Los Angeles handles a wide variety of tax work for the tech, real estate, and financial services sectors. Joy MacIntyre and Katherine Erbeznik have departed the firm. Richard Nugent joined the team in April 2025 from Jones Day, and now chairs the global tax practice.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘Deep professionalism and creative thinking’

  • ‘A leading firm across all areas of U.S. tax. They are responsive, collaborative, creative, and technical.’

  • ‘David Sturgeon is a star. He's extremely talented, has a broad base of knowledge, is profoundly technical, and understands how to serve the needs of his clients. He is a pleasure to work with.’

  • ‘I found them personable and knowledgeable. We were in a deal and they always made themselves available at a time that suited the company. ’

  • ‘I valued how calm, methodical and thoughtful their advice was and how it was always about enabling the business. ’

Key clients

  • ACT
  • AgroFresh
  • Alexandria Real Estate Equities
  • Alpine Investors
  • ARM Holdings
  • Autodesk
  • Cartica Acquisition Corp.
  • Clean Energy Fuels Corp.
  • DevvStream Holdings
  • Elvaston Capital

Work highlights

  • Advised U.S. Silica Holdings on the tax aspects of its $1.85 billion sale to entities affiliated with Apollo Global Management.
  • Advised private equity firm Alpine Investors, and portfolio companies, on the tax implications of multiple transactions to support the growth of its business platforms.
  • Advised Alexandria Real Estate Equities on various REIT tax issues and its USD1 billion public offering.

Lawyers

Practice head

Anthony Carbone; Richard Nugent

Other key lawyers

Bernie Pistillo; Shane Shelley; Dave Sturgeon; Brian Radigan; Rebecca Balinskas