Thomas Walker

I was an early adopter of technology which relieved some drudgeries of a busy law practice. I left my old law firm of 22 years in June 2017 because I wanted to take advantage of leading-edge stuff. Getting 10 law partners to agree on an approach proved too tough. So, I hired Matt Wolfe, a 32-year old recent law school graduate, who received his Master of Laws in Taxation (LL.M.) degree from Boston University. An LL.M. is an advanced law degree that comes after a Juris Doctor (J.D.). Matt and I often call ourselves the “bookends” of life. He’s just starting, and I might be…not sure… finishing.

I received my LL.M. in Taxation in June of 1977. When I returned to Idaho from the University of Miami Law School, I think I was one of less than five tax lawyers in Idaho.

I have enjoyed 43-years of practicing law. Although I was a “tax lawyer” I did a lot of other things over the years to keep me interested. I love to learn. So, I learned to be a civil litigator. I even took on several cases under the Racketeer Influenced, and Corrupt Organizations Act commonly called RICO. RICO is a federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. These cases were extremely interesting and challenging.

I litigated for over 25 years until I tried a 59-day construction defect case that wore me out. I told myself, I was going to cut back on my civil litigation practice. Now, what to do? How about a return to representing my favorite people, entrepreneurs, and small business owners? So, that’s what I did …which brings me to why I wrote this book.