Highlights from the 2025 All-Tax Conference

The Taxation Section was pleased to welcome over 300 attendees from private, government, and industry practice to the 2025 All-Tax Conference at the Westin Bayview in San Diego November 12^th through 14^th, 2025.  Saba Shatara, Chair of the Taxation Section, kicked off the Conference with welcoming remarks and thanked everyone for attending.

This year’s conference featured 30 substantive presentations by esteemed tax professionals, including representatives from numerous federal and state tax agencies, tax law professors, and private practitioners.  Additionally, this year’s conference introduced a federal tax, estate and gift tax, and SALT bootcamp panels that provided law students and new tax practitioners with an intensive 120-minute overview of the basics of tax law.  Three concurrent tracks for Tax Procedure and Litigation, Estate and Gift, and State and Local Tax included topics addressing the most current issues facing tax professionals, such as artificial intelligence, the impact of the One Big Beautiful Bill on tax and estate planning, and always-popular panels such as the U.S. Tax Court Roundtable, the Annual Legislative Update, and the Chief Counsel Roundtable.  Practitioners obtained CPE and MCLE credits, including specialized credits such as Legal Specialization in Taxation Law, Legal Specialization in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law, Recognition and Elimination of Bias, Technology in the Practice of Law, and Ethics, among others.

As is customary for the conference each year, there were numerous speakers from federal and state tax agencies, including the U.S. Tax Court, California state legislature, Franchise Tax Board (FTB), Board of Equalization (BOE), Office of Tax Appeals (OTA), and California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA).  Government presenters included: the Honorable Mark V. Holmes, the Honorable Jennifer E. Siegel, and the Honorable Cathy Fung (all of the U.S. Tax Court); Shane Hofeling, Jaclyn Zumaeta, Kathryn Frank, Delinda Tamagni, Sonia Woodruff, Tina Kenzie, and Alisa Pinarbasi of the FTB; Richard Moon and David Lujan of the BOE; Chris Schutz, Scott Claremon, Michele Linton  and Scott Chavez of the CDTFA; Kristen Kane, Josh Aldrich, and Michele Brown of the OTA; Colin Grinnell of the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee; Jiwon Jeong of the California Department of Finance; and, David Ruff of the California State Assembly Committee on Revenue and Taxation.

This year’s conference also included numerous networking opportunities.  The Standing Committee Happy Hour, held on the first evening of the conference, provided attendees with the opportunity to learn more about the Tax Section and to meet with the Tax Section’s Standing Committee Chairs, Executive Committee members, and other Tax Section members.  The second evening included a networking event at the hotel bar that provided tax professionals an opportunity to network in a relaxed and informal setting.  Our annual Toast to Women in Tax event, moderated by current Women in Tax Co-Chair Sally Reddy, honored Betty Williams, Valerie Dickerson, Annette Nellen, and Adria Price for their contributions celebrating the 10^th year of the Women in Tax standing committee.  Following the awards dinner, Thursday evening concluded with game night and lively karaoke.

A highlight of the Conference was the luncheon and dinner during which the Taxation Section presented their annual awards and keynote addresses.  Thursday’s luncheon honored V. Judson Klein Award winner, Jaclyn Zumaeta, Deputy Chief Counsel of Specialized and General Tax Administration and Procedure at the FTB.  The General Counsel of the San Diego Padres, Terezka Zabka, provide a keynote address touching on how tax law impacts almost every aspect of professional baseball.  During Thursday’s dinner Jeffrey Vesely, a partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw & Pittman, LLP in San Francisco, received the Benjamin F. Miller Award and Dennis Perez, of Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. in Los Angeles, was the Joanne M. Garvey Award winner.

Many thanks to the 2025 All-Tax Conference Planning Committee, whose tireless efforts were essential to the planning of this year’s conference: Shail Shah, Jonathan Kalinski, Mark Mullin, Natascha Fastabend, Joseph Broyles, Nicolas Sanchez, Valerie Dickerson, Brad Marsh, and Jenny Choi.  A special thank you to Robin Klomparens for her unwavering support and assistance in planning the Estate and Gift Tax track.  An extra special thanks to the California Lawyers Association staff for all of their help, flexibility, and assistance with this year’s conference.

Please continue to look out for announcements and updates regarding the 2026 All-Tax Conference.  If you have suggestions for topics or speakers for the 2026 conference, please share them with us at taxation@calawyers.org. We look forward to seeing everyone again next year!