Death of Garry Pearson 12/19/22 (12/28/22)

Garry Pearson died on 12/19/22.  His obituary is here.

The obituary says in part here relevant:  “After law school Garry litigated cases throughout the United States as a trial attorney in the Tax Division at the U.S. Department of Justice.”  My Alum database says that he was in refund 2 from 1958-1961.  His tenure may have actually preceded the formal designation Refund 2 (which, when I was there, covered roughly the South from Virginia through Texas).

The obituary says a “Celebration of Life” will be held in Grand Forks in the Spring.

Death of Steve Fuerth 12/18/22 (12/21/22; 12/24/22)

Steve Fuerth died on December 18, 2022. An obituary is here. Since it is brief, I just copy and paste it:

Stephen George Fuerth, 90, a long time lawyer for the US Justice Department, Tax Division, passed away on December 18, 2022; loving husband of Sallie J. Fuerth

In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be directed in Mr. Fuerth’s memory to University of Michigan Law School, Attn: Gift Processing, 4000 Jeffries Hall, 701 S. State St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109-3091

From some email traffic, I have gathered the following information:

• Steve was long-time Chief and Assistant Chief in the Western Region civil trial section.
• Steve was formerly also an assistant chief in the old General Litigation section.

Added 12/24/22 5:00pm:

The following expanded obituary was emailed to me by Sallie Fuerth:

Stephen G. Fuerth,  who conducted trials across the United States for the US Department of Justice, died Sunday, December 18. He was 90 years old and lived at Roland Park Place in Baltimore.

He once remarked that the only state he had never been in was South Dakota. He tried civil tax cases on behalf of the Department of Justice Tax Division. At the time he retired from the department, in 1994, he was chief of one of the civil trial sections in the Tax Division.

Brian Schwalb Elected D.C. Attorney General (11/12/22)

Brian Schwalb was elected (unopposed) as the "second independently elected attorney general in D.C."  See : Daniel Hamburg, Brian Farrell, Unopposed Brian Schwalb becomes DC’s next attorney general (DC News Now 11/8/22), here. The article says:

After graduating from Duke University and Harvard Law School, Schwalb served as a law clerk in Baltimore for U.S. District Judge John R. Hargrove. After his two-year clerkship, he joined the U.S. Department of Justice’s Honor Program as a trial lawyer in the Tax Division. 

Bria's candidacy web site is here.

Senate Confirms Lara E. Montcalvo for First Circuit Judge (9/17/22)

Lara Ewens Montecalvo was approved by the Senate for a position on the First Circuit Court of Appeals.  See Senate approves Rhode Island Public Defender Montecalvo for federal appeals court (Providence Journal 9/14/22), here.  The article says:

Montecalvo previously worked as a trial lawyer with the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. for four years, focusing on civil tax matters in federal courts before joining the public defender’s office in 2004.

 I previously blogged about her nomination:  Lara Ewens Montecalvo nominated for 1st Circuit Judgeship (5/28/22), here.

Death of Earl Silbert (9/15/22)

The Washington Post on 9/14/22 has a long Obituary here (pdf here) on the death of Earl Silbert on 9/6/22.  Earl Silbert became a prominent DOJ Tax alumnus after leaving the Tax Division because of his role as prosecutor with the D.C. U.S. Attorney Office for the District of Columbia upon the arrest and prosecution of the Watergate Burglars before the responsibility for that matter was passed to Archibald Cos, the special prosecutor.

According to my database, Earl served in the Criminal Tax Section from 1960 to 1961 and then in DOJ Tax Appellate from 1961 to 1964.

There is an oral history web offering on Earl by the Historical Society of District of Columbia Circuit, here.  That page identifies a later stint in DOJ:

In 1969, Earl returned to the Department of Justice for a brief period of time in the Office of Criminal Justice. While there, Earl worked on the Court Reform and Criminal Procedure Act of 1970 that created the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

I joined DOJ Tax Appellate in 1969 and became hallway friends with Earl and his sidekick, Carl Rauh (their offices were just down the hall). Both of them were class acts. I knew that they were working on important stuff at the time and was always pleased when I could engage them in discussions.  They later formed a law partnership together.

Death of Skip Trimble 6/18/22 (6/26/22)

Robert Lynn (Skip) Trimble died on June 18/22.  An extended obituary written by his surviving wife, Mary, is here.  On his Justice Department days:

After law school he was immediately hired by the Justice Department and moved to Washington D.C. There were many adventures at Rehoboth Beach and big cases he got to try immediately with the Justice Department, and he made lifelong friends and again had many stories to tell.

The Justice Department transferred him to Ft. Worth where he officed. But he lived in his beloved Big D, in the area of apartments fondly called "Cement City." Skip (or “Cliffer,” as some called him) made many close friends there that he shared good times with for decades. Again, many stories from those days have been retold countless times.

Skip left the Justice Department and began his legal career in private practice with Sands & Tyler.

Celebration of Life 2pm Wednesday, June 29, 2022 at Holy Covenant United Methodist Church, 1901 Peters Colony Carrolton, TX. 

President Nominates Adair Ford Boroughs for United States Attorney for the District of South Carolina (6/7/22)

The announcement, dated 6/6/22, is in the list of nominees here:

Adair Ford Boroughs, United States Attorney Nominee for the District of South Carolina

Adair Ford Boroughs is a founding partner of Boroughs Bryant, LLC where she has practiced since 2021. From 2017 to 2019, she was the Executive Director of Charleston Legal Access. Ms. Boroughs served as a law clerk for Judge Richard M. Gergel on the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina from 2013 to 2017. She was previously a trial attorney in the Tax Division of the United States Department of Justice from 2007 to 2013. Ms. Boroughs received her J.D. from Stanford Law School in 2007 and B.S., summa cum laude, from Furman University in 2002.  

President Nominates Richard K. Delmar to be Treasury Inspector General (6/4/22)

The announcement, dated 6/3/22, is in the list of nominees here:

Richard K. Delmar, Nominee for the Inspector General of the Department of the Treasury

Richard K. Delmar is the Deputy Inspector General of the Department of the Treasury. He has served as Acting Inspector General and as Counsel. Earlier in his career, Delmar served on active duty in the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps, as a trial attorney in the Department of Justice Tax Division, and as a tax litigator and criminal tax program manager with the Office of Chief Counsel at the Internal Revenue Service. Delmar is a graduate of Georgetown University, the New York University School of Law, and the Naval War College Off-Campus Graduate Program. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar.

Death of Tom Troyer 5/20/22 (5/31/22)

Tom Troyer, a DOJ Tax alumnus, died on 5/20/22.  The Washington Post obituary is here.  Tom was a giant in the tax law as his obituary evidences.  The obituary indicates that he served in several important government posts but does not mention his Tax Division service specifically.  My database indicates that he served in the Court of Claims section from 1962 to 1964.

Death of Bruce Morton 5/1/22 (5/4/22)

Bruce Morton, an alumnus  of the Southern  Criminal Enforcement Section, passed away on 5/1/22.  The obituary appears on The Malone Report: RIP Bruce Morton, here, and on the funeral home site here.  From the Malone Report:

He specialized in tax law, receiving his L.L.M. from Georgetown Law. For nearly 25 years, he was a Trial Attorney in the United States Department of Justice’s Criminal Section of the Tax Division.

The Washington Post Obituary is here. 

Lara Ewens Montecalvo nominated for 1st Circuit Judgeship (5/28/22)

President Biden nominated Lara Ewens Montecalvo to be a judge on the First Circuit Court of Appeals.  See White House announcement here.  The portion of the announcement applicable to here is (DOJ Tax portion bold-faced by JAT):

Lara E. Montecalvo is the Public Defender of Rhode Island, a role she has held since 2020. Ms. Montecalvo previously served as an assistant public defender in the Rhode Island Public Defender’s Office from 2004 to 2020. She held several roles in that office, including as Chief of the Appellate Division from 2014 to 2020, an appellate attorney from 2010 to 2014, and a trial attorney from 2004 to 2010. Ms. Montecalvo was a trial attorney in the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice from 2000 to 2004. Ms. Montecalvo received her J.D., magna cum laude, from Boston College Law School in 2000 and her B.A. from Swarthmore College in 1996.

 She was in the Civil Northern section.

Her Wikipedia page is here.

Her Vetting Room page is here.

Death of Jack McCarthy 2/28/22 (2/5/22)

Jack McCarthy (long-time Chief of the General Litigation Section) passed away on 2/28/22.  His Washington Post obituary is here. 

On his DOJ service, the obit says:  “He was a litigator for the U.S. Department of Justice in a career that spanned 42 years and took him around the world.”  I am sure there are a lot of stories behind that statement.

Death of Tom Silk 1/25/22 (2/14/22)

Tom Silk (DOJ Tax Appellate 1964-1966 and Spec. Ass’t AAG 1966-1968) passed away on 1/25/22.  His obituary is here.  It is quite an extensive obituary with many accomplishments.  Here is the excerpt for the Tax Division service:

After graduating from UC Berkeley School of Law in 1963, practicing for four years at the U.S. Department of Justice's Tax Division where was appointed special assistant to the chief and received the highest award given by the Attorney General.

ABA Tax Section Loretta Collins Argrett Fellowship (1/21/22)

The ABA Tax Section has launched the Loretta Collins Argrett Fellowship.  The Fellowship “seeks to identify, engage, and infuse historically underrepresented individuals into the Tax Section, create a more accessible, equitable, and inclusive pathway into Tax Section leadership, support the expansion, diversification, and inclusiveness of the tax profession, and create a sense of belonging for members looking to become involved with the Section.”

The Tax Prof Blog offering on the Fellowship is here.