Hodgson Russ partner Alvan Bobrow profiled in Brooklyn Law School alumni magazine

Reprinted with the permission of Brooklyn Law School.

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Alvan L. Bobrow '72 is the managing partner of Hodgson Russ's New York City office. While he concentrates his practice on New York State and New York City tax matters, he also has extensive multi-state tax experience, and counsels international companies that are locating in the United States.

After earning an LLM in taxation at the University of Miami Graduate School of Law, he began his career handling international tax issues in cross border transactions for CBS, Inc. and was responsible, among other things, for tax issues associated with opening foreign news bureaus. Bobrow's 23 years at CBS culminated with his appointment as Vice President and General Tax Counsel in 1988.

During his early years at CBS he was involved in a range of international activities, including the Olympic newscasts. In the mid-'80s, however, his focus shifted to state and local tax matters, as they became a larger burden for the network. Dealing with these types of tax issues was not all that different from international tax issues, Bobrow says."Understanding the interplay among different countries' tax laws is analogous to analyzing how various state tax laws work together," he says.

In 1996 Bobrow left CBS and joined Hodgson Russ, one of the nation's oldest law firms. An innovator in business and legal issues relating to the rapidly evolving entertainment, media, information services, and telecommunications industries, Bobrow has significant experience working with senior government officials and legislative committees across the country, developing statutory provisions, regulations, and administrative solutions to complex business problems. He is credited as the principal drafter of the national multi-state income apportionment rules for broadcasters,which help states share income earned by broadcasters.

His extensive experience resulted in his appointment in 2004 as chairman of the City Bar Association's Committee on State and Local Taxation. Bobrow works with the key city and state tax departments and the Partnership for New York City in evaluating proposed legislative and rule changes to determine whether they will work in the real world. The Committee also files amicus briefs on pertinent topics, often working jointly with other committees to resolve questions of law. Recently,when the City Bar's Standing Committee on Sex and Law was writing a brief in support of same-sex marriage in New York State, Bobrow and his Committee's members researched whether failure to recognize same-sex marriage causes state and local tax discrimination.

Bobrow dispels the notion that tax law is only about details. He points out that it is equally as important to have broad perspective and good judgment as it is to know the ins and outs of the IRS Code. He credits his law school education with helping him develop a good sense of judgment."And good judgment is what separates lawyers who can lead from lawyers who only know the details."