Michael O'Donnell

Michael O’Donnell is Of Counsel at Gordon Law Group. He spent three decades in the IRS Office of Chief Counsel, where his work spanned Tax Court litigation, criminal tax, money laundering, forfeiture, and valuation disputes.

Mike began his legal career at the United States Tax Court before joining Chief Counsel. In the Small Business/Self-Employed Division he tried a large number of Tax Court cases, including valuation cases decided in full Tax Court opinions rather than memorandum decisions. He was part of the litigation team in Bank One Corp. v. Commissioner, which addressed the tax valuation of derivatives, and his work includes Greene-Thapedi v. Commissioner, a fully reviewed opinion of the Tax Court.

Later in his career he moved to the Criminal Tax division, where he reviewed and advised on criminal prosecution reports and served as a national resource within the IRS on forfeiture, money laundering, and financial tracing.

At Gordon Law, Mike brings the government’s view of a tax controversy to the client’s side: how cases are triaged, how agents evaluate evidence, and what leads a matter to escalate.

A Chicago native, he earned his J.D. from DePaul University College of Law and his LL.M. in Taxation, With Distinction, from Georgetown University Law Center.