Recent News
Sorensen & Edwards, PS. Is pleased to announce that Michael R. Sorensen and Bruce N. Edwards have both been selected
once again as
“Washington Super Lawyers” by Washington Law and Politics magazine.
They have been accorded this honor since the year 2003.
Mike is listed under the category of “General Business”, while Bruce is listed under the category of “Taxation”.
We are deeply appreciative of this honor, which reflects our continuing commitment to the highest professional standards coupled with aggressive advocacy for our clients.
More information is available at http://www.superlawyers.com.
Sorensen & Edwards has been practicing tax, real
estate, creditor and Indian law since the 1970's. We consult throughout
the United States, and we have extensive experience in the negotiation
and documentation of multi-million dollar commercial mortgage-backed
securities (CMBS) loans. We also represent several of the corporations
organized under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) and
their affiliated entities on a regular basis. Our representation of our
ANCSA clients is primarily a general corporate representation with
emphasis on the specific and unique issues and opportunities that face
Alaska Native corporations (commonly known as "ANCs").
ANCs enjoy very special preferences in federal contracting that enable
them to team with larger corporations to the mutual advantage of each.
These special preferences stem from section 8(a) of the Small Business
Act, as amended by ANCSA, and allow ANCs to receive unlimited "sole
source" procurements, meaning the procurement is not subject to the
normal competitive process. These sole source bid awards are generally
not protestable. Our clients have received substantial federal
contracting awards as a result of these special rules, and the profits
from these contracts have allowed our Native clients to provide
increased benefits to their shareholders, both in the form of direct
dividends and over the long term, through "settlement trusts".
ANCs also enjoy special tax rules. Congress passed special legislation
in the mid-1980's which enabled Alaska Native Corporations to "sell"
their net operating losses (NOLs) to profitable corporations. We were
heavily involved in the resulting NOL sales by our clients. Sorensen &
Edwards was lead seller's counsel in almost a quarter of a billion
dollars worth of NOL transactions, and also was specially retained in
the audit defense of an additional $300 million in NOL transactions. All
of our transactions ultimately survived IRS audit with only a minimum of
audit adjustments. We have significant experience in the various
alternative dispute resolutions mechanisms available to resolve IRS
audits, such as mediation and arbitration.
Chief among the strategies for long term preservation of the profits
from 8(a) activities, the NOL proceeds and other large cash payments,
such as sales to the Exxon Valdez Trustees, is the use of ANCSA
settlement trusts to hold and invest long term investment funds.
Sorensen & Edwards has been lead legal counsel regarding the
establishment of settlement trusts for numerous ANCs throughout the
state of Alaska. Most of these trusts are now operational, and contain
well over $100 million in assets. Of the 25 private letter rulings
obtained from IRS National Office as to ANCSA settlement trusts,
Sorensen and Edwards was lead counsel on 13. The rulings we have
obtained for our clients include the first two rulings as to any
taxpayer anywhere in the U.S. on applicability of the Hope Educational
Credit and Life Time Learning Credit. Settlement trusts enjoy a unique
elective form of taxation embodied in section 646 of the Tax Code, a
provision that our law firm helped obtain through our lobbying efforts.
If you have need of legal assistance in any of the above areas, we would
like the chance to talk with you.
DISCLAIMER
These documents have been prepared by Sorensen & Edwards, P.S. for informational purposes only and are not legal opinions, do not provide legal advice for any purpose, and neither create nor constitute evidence of an attorney-client relationship. Internet subscribers and online readers should not act upon this information without first seeking independent professional counsel.