Saul Mezei is a partner in the Washington D.C. office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and a member of the firm’s Tax Controversy and Litigation Practice Group. His practice spans the federal tax controversy area and focuses on international tax and transfer pricing. He has substantial experience advising clients at all stages of federal tax controversy, from audit and administrative appeals to trial and judicial appeals.
Saul’s clients turn to him for counsel on a wide range of tax controversy matters, including international transfer pricing, foreign tax credits, research credits, employment taxes, and civil penalties. He also advises on a variety of other complex domestic and international issues.
For consecutive years The Legal 500 has named Saul to its list of "Leading Lawyer" in the Tax category. Saul was also recognized as a Rising Star by Law360.
Representative matters include:*
- 3M Company & Subsidiaries v. Commissioner, No. 23-3772 (Eighth Circuit) (transfer pricing; validity of regulation) (pending)
- Reflectxion Resources, Inc. v. United States, Docket No 23-982 (Court of Federal Claims) (additions to tax relating to employment taxes) (resolved with full government concession)
- Maxim Healthcare Services, Inc. v. United States, Docket No. 23-950 (Court of Federal Claims) (interest issues relating to employment taxes) (resolved with full government concession)
- KPC Global Medical Centers, Inc. v. Commissioner, T.C. Docket No. 18551-22 (accounting-method issues)
- Western Digital Corporation & Subsidiaries v. Commissioner, T.C. Docket Nos. 18984-18 and 4818-19 (transfer pricing and section 956) (settled shortly before trial)
- The Coca-Cola Company & Subsidiaries v. Commissioner, 155 T.C. __ (2020) (transfer pricing and foreign tax credits; 10-week trial)
- Reflectxion Resources, Inc. v. Commissioner, T.C. Docket No. 12017-16, T.C. Memo. 2020-114 (section 3401(d) and section 530 of the Revenue Act of 1978)
- Amazon.com, Inc. & Subsidiaries v. Commissioner, 148 T.C. 108 (2017) (transfer pricing (cost-sharing) issues); >5-week trial, aff’d934 F.3d 976 (9th Cir. 2019)
- Thomas & Betts Corporation & Subsidiaries v. Commissioner, T.C. Docket No. 4120-17 (transfer pricing) (settled before trial)
- kgb and Subsidiaries v. Commissioner, Tax Court Docket No. 4667-13 (transfer pricing) (settled before trial)
- Baldwin v. United States, Docket 3:12-cv-59 (D. Nev.) (section 165 loss) (settled before trial)
*Includes matters handled prior to joining Gibson Dunn
Saul is an adjunct professor in the Graduate Tax Program of Georgetown University Law Center, where he currently teaches Transfer Pricing. He also taught a transfer-pricing course in Georgetown University Law Center’s inaugural Saudi Tax Leaders Program, an intensive program designed specifically for leaders in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s tax and customs authority. He previously taught a class on administrative and litigation procedure. He is a co-author of “Transfer Pricing: Litigation Strategy and Tactics,” Bloomberg Tax, Transfer Pricing Portfolio 6932.
Saul received his law degree cum laude from the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law in 2002, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif. He received an Master of Laws in Taxation with distinction from the Georgetown University Law Center in 2009. He served as attorney-advisor to Judge Robert A. Wherry, Jr. of the U.S. Tax Court and senior law clerk to Judge Lawrence B. Hagel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude from University of Baltimore.
Saul is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia, Maryland, New York, the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the Court of Federal Claims, and the United States Tax Court.
Capabilities
Credentials
Education:
- Georgetown University - 2009 Master of Laws (LL.M.)
- Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law - 2002 Juris Doctor
- University of Baltimore - 1999 Bachelor of Arts
Admissions:
- District of Columbia Bar
- Maryland Bar
- New York Bar
Clerkships:
- US Tax Court, Hon. Robert Wherry, 2007 - 2009
- US Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, Hon. Lawrence B. Hagel, 2002 - 2007