James L Atkinson

James L. Atkinson practices in the area of federal income taxation, with a focus on tax accounting issues. Mr. Atkinson has significant policy-level experience with federal tax administration. Prior to joining Miller & Chevalier in 2003, Mr. Atkinson held a number of senior leadership positions with the Internal Revenue Service’s National Office, including Assistant to the Commissioner and, most recently, Associate Chief Counsel (Income Tax & Accounting). As Associate Chief Counsel, Mr. Atkinson was the senior executive in charge of a division of over one hundred attorneys, having responsibility for nearly all aspects of the IRS’s development and administration of a wide range of tax accounting issues, including accounting methods and periods; the determination, characterization, and timing of income and deductions; capitalization; inventory accounting; like-kind exchange transactions; and many other areas. He also has taught Federal Tax Accounting as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Georgetown University Law Center. Mr. Atkinson received his J.D., summa cum laude, from the University of Illinois College of Law, where he was a member of the University of Illinois Law Review and the Order of the Coif. He received his B.A., summa cum laude, from the Honors College of the University of South Carolina, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.