William Hays Weissman Appointed Chair of ABA Tax Section’s Employment Taxes Committee

WALNUT CREEK, CA (July 13, 2010) – Littler Mendelson (Littler), the nation's largest employment and labor law firm representing management, is pleased to announce the appointment of William Hays Weissman to Chair of the Employment Taxes Committee of the American Bar Association Tax Section. Weissman is a shareholder in the Firm's Walnut Creek office. His appointment to the Employment Taxes Committee Chair commenced on July 1, 2010.

The Employment Taxes Committee has primary responsibility for both the substantive and procedural sections of the Code relating to employment taxes, most recently focusing on classification of workers as employees or independent contractors, the trust fund recovery penalty, social security tax reform, wage base conformity between federal and state employment tax systems, and state employment tax issues.

Weissman was appointed Chair by the current leadership of the Committee and Section due to his dedication to the development of the employment taxes code and his efforts to assist in achieving the Committee's goals. He recently completed his two-year term as vice chair and has been an active member of the Committee.

"I am honored to serve as Committee chair and humbled to have been selected by my peers. Employment taxes may not always seem glamorous, but the Committee will continue to organize panels that we hope will be both informative and engaging to the legal community," said Weissman.

Weissman advises and represents employers in a broad range of employment tax matters, including employment tax audits, protests and appeals before the California Employment Development Department and Internal Revenue Service, litigation in civil court, drafting employment and independent contractor agreements, and counseling on the tax implications of various employer-provided benefits. He has extensive experience in state and local taxation and has represented clients before numerous state taxing agencies.

Prior to joining Littler, Weissman served as a tax counsel in the Multistate Tax Bureau of the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB). While a tax counsel at the FTB, he was involved in numerous complex and significant matters, including acting as counsel for the FTB in the appeal of Crisa Corp., which was a landmark case addressing distortion.

"William's expertise in all aspects of state and federal employment taxation makes him a perfect fit for the role of Chair of the Employment Taxes Committee," said Mike Brewer, managing shareholder of Littler's Walnut Creek office.

Weissman earned his M.B.A. from the University of California, Davis in 2005 and his LL.M. in Taxation from Golden Gate University School of Law in 1996. While earning his J.D. from the District of Columbia School of Law, Weissman served as managing editor of the District of Columbia Law Review and as a law clerk for the National Indian Gaming Commission, graduating cum laude in 1995. He earned his B.A. in political communication from The George Washington University in 1991.

About Littler Mendelson

With more than 750 attorneys and 49 offices, Littler Mendelson is the largest U.S.-based law firm exclusively devoted to representing management in employment and labor law matters. As the only U.S. member of the Ius Laboris global alliance, Littler has extensive resources to address the needs of multinational clients, from navigating international employment laws and labor relations issues to applying corporate policies worldwide. Established in 1942, the Firm has litigated, mediated and negotiated some of the most influential employment law cases and labor contracts on record. For more information, visit littler.com.