Tax Issues in Settling Lawsuits: Planning and Reporting for Plaintiffs and Defendants

Robert W. Wood, Managing Partner | Wood LLP

Robert W. Wood is Managing Partner of Wood LLP in San Francisco, where his work centers on how settlements and judgments are taxed. He advises plaintiffs, defendants, lawyers, and settlement funds on these questions, and he wrote Taxation of Damage Awards & Settlement Payments (5th Ed. 2021) along with the Bloomberg Tax Management Portfolio Tax Aspects of Settlements and Judgments (522). His broader practice covers tax planning and tax controversies, and he serves as an expert witness on tax matters in civil cases and class actions.

• Education & Credentials

Mr. Wood earned his J.D. in 1979 from the University of Chicago Law School, where he received the Florence James Adams Prize and a University of Chicago scholarship. He earned his A.B. in English, summa cum laude, from Humboldt State University in 1976 as a President’s Scholar, after studying at the University of Sheffield in England from 1975 to 1976. He is a Certified Tax Specialist through the California Board of Legal Specialization.

He is admitted to practice in California, New York, the District of Columbia, Montana, Washington, Arizona, Texas, and Wyoming, and is a qualified Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales. His federal admissions include the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Tax Court, the Third, Seventh, Ninth, and District of Columbia Circuits, the Northern and Central Districts of California, the District of Arizona, and the Western District of Washington.

• Recognition & Leadership

Mr. Wood is a Fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel. The State Bar of Montana gave him its Frank I. Haswell Award in 2023, and the Taxation Section of the California State Bar honored him with the V. Judson Klein Award in 2006. Best Lawyers in America has listed him from 2005 through 2027 and named him its 2015 San Francisco Tax Law “Lawyer of the Year.”

He is ranked among the top 10 tax lawyers by United States Lawyer Rankings, is recognized by Super Lawyers, and holds an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell. He has been elected to Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, Who’s Who in California, Who’s Who in the West, and Who’s Who in the World.

• Professional Involvement

Mr. Wood joined the Taxation Law Advisory Commission of the California Board of Legal Specialization in 1989 and chaired it from 1991 to 1992. He served on the Executive Committee of the State Bar of California’s Taxation Section from 2000 to 2003 and on the Bloomberg BNA Real Estate Advisory Board from 2012 to 2014. He is a member of the Law Society of England and Wales, the Canadian Bar Association, and the Law Council of Australia.

• Experience

Mr. Wood’s practice is best known for the tax side of resolving disputes: he counsels the plaintiffs who receive settlement and judgment payments, the defendants who make them, the lawyers who negotiate them, and the settlement funds that hold them. He also testifies as an expert witness on tax matters in civil litigation and class actions, including disputes over whether workers are independent contractors or employees.

Beyond settlements, he handles a broad range of tax planning and tax controversy matters. He writes regular columns for Tax Notes and Forbes, has authored numerous other tax books and hundreds of articles, and served as Editor-in-Chief of The M&A Tax Report (CCH) from 1992 to 2019. He has taught as an Adjunct Professor at Golden Gate University School of Law and as an Instructor at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.

SESSION 1 – Tax Planning and Reporting for Plaintiffs and Defendants | Robert W. Wood | 2:30pm – 4:10pm

This session covers tax planning and tax reporting for plaintiffs and defendants when a lawsuit settles. Attorneys will learn how tax issues differ across employment, personal injury, and other types of litigation, why planning before the agreement is signed matters for both sides, and what reporting follows payment. Attendees leave able to raise tax questions early, build them into settlement terms, and coordinate reporting between the parties once the case is closed.

BREAK | 3:30pm – 3:40pm