William M. Goldstein, former managing partner of Drinker Biddle and former chair of the firm’s tax practice group, died this morning at the age of 72.  From a firm email:

Over a legal career that spanned 48 years, Bill was one of the nation’s preeminent tax and business lawyers. …

After Princeton, Bill attended Harvard Law School, where he became an Editor of the Harvard Law Review and graduated magna cum laude in 1960. He then clerked for Judge William H. Hastie of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and later joined Morgan Lewis & Bockius in Philadelphia. … Bill was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Tax Policy, serving under President Gerald Ford. …

After the change of administrations, Bill returned to Morgan Lewis but moved to Drinker in 1982 to lead the tax practice. …  His successful argument before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in the case Zarin v. Commissioner in 1990 led to a landmark court decision on the definition of income, which is widely featured in tax casebooks.

(Hat Tip:  Meredith Conway.)

Update: Drinker Biddle press release.