Tax Attorney
Talley LLP • Orange, CA • Full Time
Posted on Fri, Apr 24, 2026
Company: Talley Law Group | Orange, CA | Hybrid
Employment Status: Full-Time
Compensation: $180,000 to $200,000 Base + Bonus Eligible
Location: Orange, California
About the Firm
Talley Law Group (TLG) and its affiliated entity Talley LLP (Talley) deliver integrated tax, legal, accounting and consulting services to entrepreneurially driven businesses and high-net-worth individuals. Our professionals act as each client’s most trusted advisor by providing strategic and technically sophisticated solutions across complex financial, tax, and legal matters, along with the legal documentation necessary to substantiate them.
Position Summary
Talley Law Group is seeking a Tax Attorney to lead sophisticated individual tax planning for our high-net-worth clients. This role is built for an attorney who lives in complex individual income tax, enjoys structuring elegant solutions for business owners, investors, and family principals, and brings estate planning experience to round out integrated, multi-year planning conversations.
The ideal candidate combines deep technical command of individual tax planning with the ability to quarterback matters that touch pass-through entities, closely held business interests, liquidity events, real estate holdings, and California residency planning. Estate planning experience supports the work but is not the primary focus.
What You Will Do
- Lead sophisticated individual income tax planning for high-net-worth individuals, business owners, investors, and family principals.
- Structure and advise on pass-through entity strategies, including Subchapter K and S planning, basis management, and entity selection for closely held businesses.
- Draft and execute the transactional documentation that implements the plan, including entity formations, operating agreements, assignments of LLC and partnership interests, deed transfers, promissory notes, and related instruments.
- Integrate estate planning considerations into the income tax plan, coordinating with trust and estate counsel or handling select trust work where it supports the client relationship.
- Advise on real estate tax planning, including section 1031 exchanges, section 721 transactions, and related structures.
- Guide clients through California residency planning and multi-state exposure for individuals and their closely held interests.
- Prepare technical memoranda and planning recommendations grounded in current statutory, regulatory, and administrative guidance.
- Conduct substantive tax research as the complexity of each matter requires, leveraging modern research platforms and AI-assisted tools.
- Provide occasional support on tax controversy matters for individual clients, including audit responses and IRS and FTB notice resolution. This is a limited portion of the role.
Essential Functions
Individual Tax Planning and Advisory
- Serve as the lead tax attorney on high-net-worth individual and family client relationships, delivering proactive, year-round service.
- Design and implement income tax strategies across investment portfolios, closely held business interests, and real estate holdings.
- Identify and execute planning opportunities through return review, quarterly projections, and ongoing client dialogue.
- Collaborate with internal CPAs and external advisors, including wealth managers and investment bankers, to deliver coordinated solutions.
- Lead client meetings with confidence, technical authority, and commercial judgment.
- Prepare assignments of LLC and partnership interests for gifting, sales, and internal restructurings.
- Handle deed transfers, including grant deeds, trust transfer deeds, and related real estate documentation tied to the planning.
- Coordinate filings, recording, and funding steps so every structure is implemented cleanly, not just designed on paper.
- Form and restructure closely held entities, including LLCs, partnerships, and S corporations, to support the client’s tax plan.
- Draft and review operating agreements, partnership agreements, and related governance documents, along with amendments as client structures evolve.
- Bring estate planning fluency to integrated client conversations, including trust structures, lifetime gifting, and wealth transfer considerations.
- Coordinate with estate planning counsel on implementation, funding, and ongoing administration where it supports the client’s tax plan.
- Advise on the income tax consequences of trust structures, including fiduciary income tax and distribution planning.
- Conduct well-reasoned tax research to support sophisticated planning, recognizing that complex individual matters routinely require deep technical work.
- Produce clear, authoritative technical memoranda and planning recommendations.
- Stay current on federal and California tax legislative, regulatory, and case law developments and communicate the impact to clients and colleagues.
- Use AI-assisted research platforms such as Bloomberg, Checkpoint, and Blue J with sound professional judgment.
- Serve as a go-to resource for colleagues on individual tax questions, particularly for high-net-worth client matters.
- Partner with business tax, compliance, and accounting teams on integrated client engagements.
- Contribute to internal training sessions, knowledge-sharing, and firm improvement initiatives.
- Develop and maintain a personalized Balanced Scorecard (BSC) that outlines your strategic steps toward personal and professional growth in alignment with firm goals.
- Provide guidance and on-the-job training to junior attorneys and support staff.
- Participate actively in firm initiatives and team activities.
- Maintain required CPE and CLE.
What Success Looks Like
We want this person to hit the ground running and grow with the firm. Here is a general sense of what we hope to see:
First 45 Days: Get oriented. Learn our systems, meet your colleagues, and develop a clear picture of your client portfolio and BSC goals.
First 90 Days: Begin leading client tax planning conversations, manage assigned engagements with growing independence, and identify early planning opportunities across your book.
First 6 Months: Complete onboarding, own individual tax planning engagements end to end, manage matters on budget, and demonstrate active progress on your BSC.
First Year: Own your client relationships as a trusted advisor on individual tax planning, contribute to integrated estate and business tax conversations, and establish yourself as a credible internal and external voice. Implement your first-year BSC and build out your second-year plan.
What We Are Looking For
- 5 to 7 years of experience in high-net-worth individual tax planning at a law firm, CPA firm private client group, or integrated advisory practice.
- Deep technical command of individual income tax planning, including pass-through entities, closely held business interests, liquidity events, and real estate holdings.
- California residency and multi-state income tax planning experience.
- Hands-on experience drafting and implementing transactional documentation, including entity formations, operating and partnership agreements, assignments of LLC and partnership interests, deed transfers, and promissory notes.
- Estate planning experience, including trust structures, lifetime gifting, and wealth transfer concepts, sufficient to support integrated planning conversations.
- Strong tax research skills and the ability to produce clear, well-reasoned written analysis on complex matters.
- Comfort with AI-assisted legal and tax research tools.
- Outstanding written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex tax issues to non-attorney clients.
- JD and LLM in Taxation required. Active California Bar membership required.
Compensation and Schedule
Base salary of $180,000 to $200,000 depending on experience, plus bonus eligibility. This is a hybrid role with one required in-office day per week (Wednesdays). Minimal travel expected.
*Talley Law Group is an equal opportunity employer.