Death of Stanley Ruby 1/2/21 (1/10/21)

Stanley Ruby died on Jan. 2.  His obituary from the Cincinnati Business Courier is here.  The obituary says:

Ruby began his career in Washington, D.C., where he was a clerk for Judge Tannenwald Jr. on the U.S. Tax Court. He continued his career as an attorney in the tax division at the Department of Justice. 

In my database, I have that he served in the Appellate Section from 1968 to 1970.  I joined the Appellate Section in 1969 and remember him as a very good lawyer.

Setting Up New DOJ Tax Division Alumni Mailing List (1/5/21)

I have just been notified that our DOJ Tax Division Alumni YahooGroups was discontinued in December.  I probably had been notified earlier but give it the attention I should have.  In recent years, I had used that service only to do mass emails to DOJ Tax Division Alumni who requested to be on the list.  I think the last time I looked, there were perhaps 100 on the list.  I can't access the list now,  so I don't know who was on the list.

I am looking to establish an alternative email list, probably using the Google Groups service.  However, I will have to enter to make all persons who want to be on the list members of the Google Groups service.  Membership means that members will receive emails sent to the Google Groups service and can post emails to the service (which I will vet in order to prevent inappropriate use of the list).  In terms of members' use, the service will be very much like the YahooGroups service.

I will start working on setting that up later this week.  If any DOJ Tax Division alum wants to be on the new mailing list, please let me know at jack@tjtaxlaw.com.  Emails sent through the service will be limited.  I think in the past the number was less than 10 a year on average and certainly no more than 20 per year.

Sorry for this disruption in service.

Death of George Hrdlicka 12/31/20 (1/3/21)

George Hrdlicka died on December 31, 2020.  His obituary is here; and his law firm bio is here.  George had an outstanding career and life.  George was a founder of the firm now known as Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams and Aughtry, founded by Hank Chamberlain, George Hrdlicka, Bob White and Bob Waters, all alumni of the Tax Division.  That firm (generally referred to as Chamberlain Hrdlicka) has had many DOJ Tax Division Alumni, including me, over the years and the founding partners there mentored and contributed to the professional and personal development of many of those alumni and to others in the firm.  Also among the DOJ Tax Alumni was Sidney Williams, now a named partner in the firm and still going strong in his 80s.

 Here are the key excerpts from his obituary related to his DOJ Tax experience and the professional trajectory thereafter.

 He started his law career at the Department of Justice in Washington D.C. in the late 1950s where he represented the Internal Revenue Service in the Federal Courts all over the Midwest. He met his lifelong partner, Judy Paulus, in D.C. and they married in 1964.

 In 1965, his former DOJ colleague Harold Chamberlain enticed George down to Houston where the opportunities were boundless. George and Judy packed it up, left D.C. and arrived in Houston. He co-founded what is now the law firm Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams and Aughtry with Hank Chamberlain, Robert White and Robert Waters. They worked in a small office handling all manner of tax cases and lived on nothing in the beginning. Judy would exclaim, “We ate eggs all week and chicken on Sunday.” Notably, George worked actively at the firm until his early 80s and never officially retired. He had lunch with his close friend and law partner Sidney Williams weekly for the better part of his career. Ever the teacher, mentor and counselor, George also taught at University of Houston Law Center for 30 years as an adjunct professor in Partnership Tax. His gift was to break down complicated tax concepts and teach them in a simple way that students and clients could understand.

And, indicative of his life, the following is an excerpt from the obituary:

His last adventure was in his home in Houston. There was nothing more important to him than his family whom he sacrificed opportunities once they entered his life. Resilient until the end, he waited until he could be in his home from the hospital to say goodbye. His final breath holding Judy’s hand whom he loved, always concerned that she would be taken care of for life. He left a legacy of kindness, intellect, hard work, insightful calm thinking, modesty and respect for others, a witty sense of humor, adventure, love, and generously enriching others. He will be missed and remembered as living a full life and going out with a bang on Judy’s 81st birthday, the perfect ending to their love story.

The obituary says:  "A service and Celebration of Life will be held at St. Theresa Catholic Church in Memorial Park when it is safe to gather."

On a personal note, while in my brief tenure with Chamberlain Hrdlicka, I worked substantially with George.  He was a class act.