FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TAX
SEPTEMBER 26, 2001
(202) 514-2007WWW.USDOJ.GOV
TDD (202) 514-1888TAX DIVISION NAMES
THREE DEPUTY ASSISTANT ATTORNEYS GENERAL
Eileen J. O'Connor, the Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice's Tax Division, has announced the appointment of three Deputy Assistant Attorneys General: Mark V. Holmes, Rod J. Rosenstein, and Richard T. Morrison.
Mark V. Holmes becomes the Tax Division's Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Policy and Planning. Holmes will be assisting the Assistant Attorney General in formulating new policies and initiatives and in responding to and developing administrative and legislative proposals in areas of interest to the Division.
"Mark brings a strong litigation, tax, and government service background to his new position," O'Connor said. A native of Buffalo, New York, Holmes graduated from Harvard College and the University of Chicago School of Law. After working as an associate for two years at Cahill Gordon in New York City, he served as a law clerk to Judge Alex Kozinski of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Following his clerkship, he worked at Sullivan & Cromwell in New York. From 1991 to 1996, Holmes served as Counsel to the Chairman of the United States International Trade Commission. Most recently, he has been practicing law at the Washington, D.C. law firm of Miller & Chevalier, litigating tax refund and deficiency cases, as well as advising clients on tax, antitrust and trade matters.
Rod J. Rosenstein has been appointed Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Criminal Matters, and will oversee the Division's criminal tax enforcement program. Rosenstein comes to the Division from the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland, where he has prosecuted a broad range of federal criminal cases, including tax crimes. He joined the United States Department of Justice through the Attorney General's Honor Program, and prosecuted public corruption cases for the Criminal Division's Public Integrity Section. During the mid-1990s, Rosenstein served as Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General and then as a Special Assistant to the Criminal Division's Assistant Attorney General. He was then detailed to the office of Independent Counsel Kenneth W. Starr and served as lead counsel in the investigation of the "FBI Files" matter.
Rosenstein earned his J.D. degree cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Law Review, and graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. After law school, Rosenstein served as a law clerk to Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
"Rod's skills as a federal prosecutor, his extensive knowledge of the Department of Justice, and his sterling reputation for integrity and good judgment will enhance the Division's ability to enforce the criminal tax laws firmly and fairly," said O'Connor.
Richard T. Morrison will oversee the Tax Division's Office of Review and its Appellate Section as the Division's Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Review and Appellate. Morrison joins the Division from the Tax Controversy practice group of Mayer, Brown & Platt in Chicago. Earlier, he practiced tax law with Baker & McKenzie's Chicago office. After law school, Morrison served as a law clerk to Judge Jerry E. Smith of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Morrison received his law degree from the University of Chicago Law School, where he was a member of the Law Review and associate editor of the Legal Forum. He earned an M.A. in international relations from the University of Chicago. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Kansas, receiving a B.S. in economics and a B.A. in history and political science, with honors.
"The Division will benefit enormously from Rich's considerable knowledge of substantive tax law," O'Connor said. In addition to his tax litigation practice, Morrison is a member of the Chicago Bar Association's Federal Taxation Committee, and helped draft the committee's comments regarding corporate tax shelter regulations. He is the former chair of the Tax Working Group of the Federalist Society's Administrative Law and Regulation Practice Group.
The three new Tax Division Deputies join Claire Fallon, who continues to serve as the Division's Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Civil Trial Matters. Fallon has been with the Tax Division since 1972 and was appointed Deputy in 1995.
# # #
01-497