Philip Wolf (Scale, San Francisco), Tax Lawyers vs. CPAs: Interview With James Creech, 180 Tax Notes Fed. 577 (July 24, 2023):

What is the difference between a tax attorney and a tax accountant? The boundary between these two professions can be blurry because proficient tax attorneys must be comfortable with accounting functions, and proficient accountants must be familiar with many tax laws and regulations. Indeed, a substantial number of individuals are both licensed attorneys and CPAs.

Large accounting firms often hire tax lawyers (as well as economists, MBAs, and other professionals) because they bring breadth and perspective to transactional accounting functions. …

But what happens when a tax attorney engages in a non-transactional activity like tax controversies? Tax lawyers who work for American accounting firms cannot appear in court or litigate cases, but they can guide clients through the process of administrative review.

Tax attorney James Creech practiced tax controversies on his own for 10 years and then successfully built a tax controversies practice after joining Baker Tilly US LLP, one of the 10 biggest accounting firms in the world, with an estimated global revenue stream of $4.3 billion. He now works in the firm’s tax advocacy and controversy services group, assisting clients to resolve their administrative-level tax controversies. I was honored to interview him and to learn about his work at Baker Tilly.

Conclusion
Creech is in a unique position to translate the tax laws to CPAs and tax professionals within his firm as well as to government agents on the other side of tax controversies. As a tax controversies lawyer working at an accounting firm, Creech has found a way to use the knowledge he gained from running his own tax controversies practice for 10 years, along with his natural curiosity and tenacity in a setting in which lawyers cannot normally practice law.