Barry E. Fink | Attorney

Taxation and International Law Practice Chair, Barry Fink, was born in 1938 in Bay City , Michigan . He received his Bachelor of Science degree from DePaul University in Chicago and his Juris Doctorate from the University of Chicago Law School. A college debater and law school moot court champion, Mr. Fink earned his license as a certified public accountant in 1962 and his law degree in 1963. After law school, Mr. Fink served as law clerk to the Honorable Richard B. Austin, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, while attending post graduate courses and serving as a member of the faculty of the John Marshall Law School in Chicago .

In 1964 Mr. Fink entered the private practice of law with the law firm of Bell , Boyd, Lloyd, Haddad and Burns in Chicago . He subsequently served as a trial attorney with the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington D.C. (1967 1969). During his tenure with the Department of Justice, Mr. Fink worked under the direction of the Assistant for Civil Trials and served as lead litigation counsel in major tax refund cases filed in the Unites States District Courts throughout the Unites States. In 1969, Mr. Fink joined the law firm of Wyman, Bautzer, Finnel, Rothman and Kuchel in Beverly Hills as a tax and tax litigation attorney. Shortly thereafter he became a partner in that firm and head of its Tax Department. Subsequently, Mr. Fink served as a partner and, in later years, a senior partner of the firm until 1988 when Mr. Fink joined with other partners in the formation of the Firm.

Mr. Fink currently serves as head of the firm's Tax and Tax Litigation practice and co-chair of the Firm's Business Department. He also actively practices in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, transactional law and international law. Mr. Fink describes his practice as exceptionally active and dynamic. Mr. Fink is especially enthusiastic about his extensive practice in negotiating and structuring international business transactions, particularly those involving multinational corporations. Most recently Mr. Fink represented clients in matters as diverse as the sale of a Polish corporation which owned and operated a large spirits business in Poland to an international, French-based company. In the same year Mr. Fink litigated several cases in the United States Tax Court and represented the U.S.-based purchasers of a meat-packing facility from a cartel of Japanese owners. Among Mr. Fink's other accomplishments is acting as lead counsel in the purchase and/or sale of more than 30 hotels and casinos located in the United States and in several foreign countries. Mr. Fink is also acknowledged as an expert in corporate/fiduciary law litigation and trust administration.

Mr. Fink has also served as a tax advisor to and member of President Jimmy Carter's Tax Advisory Committee, as legal advisor to the Los Angeles County Sheriff and as a lecturer for California Continuing Legal Education, the American Bar Association, the American Society of Certified Public Accountants and the American Society of Automotive CPAs.

Mr. Fink is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the California State Bar, the Illinois State Bar, the District of Columbia Bar as well as the Bar of the United States Supreme Court and the Supreme Courts of California and Illinois . Mr. Fink is also a member of the bars of the United States Tax Court, the United States Claims Court and various intermediate Courts of Appeal.

Mr. Fink has received a variety of honors including membership in the National Registry of Who's Who and has recently been named one of Los Angeles 's 100 Most Influential Attorneys by Los Angeles Magazine. Mr. Fink's other community service activities include past service as a member of the Board of Directors of the March of Dimes, working as an active supporter of City of Hope and, currently, as a member of the Board of Governors of Cedars-Sinai Hospital.

Mr. Fink resides in Pacific Palisades with his wife Arlene. He has two children and four grandchildren.

Some of Mr. Fink's practice specialties are as follows:

Income Tax Controversies: Counseling clients in connection with audit controversies and in the prosecution and/or defense of income tax litigation in the United States Tax Court, United States Claims Court and the United States District Courts as well as the litigation of California Franchise Tax and Property Tax controversies, including administrative appeals and representations. Mr. Fink has successfully litigated eclectic and wide-ranging tax matters such as the application of the California premium tax to self-assured utility companies as well as property tax appeals for sanitary landfills, golf courses, hotels, office buildings and other large properties.

Mergers and Acquisitions: Mr. Fink regularly represents corporations (and/or shareholders) in both acquisitions and sales of major business interests and strategic alliances.

Hotels and Casinos: Mr. Fink has represented owners and operators of hotels and casinos in the acquisition, licensing, construction, operation, purchase and sale of properties in California , Nevada and foreign venues such as Australia , the Philippines and the United Kingdom .

Automotive Importers and Distributors: Mr. Fink has represented importers and retail distributors of automotive products in California and throughout the United States in connection with regulatory issues and dispute resolution between dealers and suppliers.

Foreign and International Business Transactions: Mr. Fink represents U.S. companies and interests doing business in foreign countries as well as foreign business interests and companies desiring to do business in the United States . In this regard, Mr. Fink's practice includes not only hiring and supervising local counsel as appropriate, but developing an understanding of the laws of foreign jurisdictions, understanding and adapting to foreign business practices and cultural requirements and effectuating complex transactions between multinational parities under difficult and challenging circumstances.

Corporate Trust Administration: Mr. Fink specializes in counseling corporate fiduciaries on trust administration and dispute resolution in matters involving co-trustees and beneficiaries. His clients include major national and international trust companies as well as two of America 's top five banks.