Charles S. Lewis, III

Experience

Carl Lewis is a partner of the firm practicing in the Seattle office. Carl's practice focuses primarily on federal income tax, particularly with respect to planning and implementing sophisticated tax-motivated transactions, partnerships and joint ventures, financial instruments, and mergers and acquisitions. Carl has represented owners, developers, operators, buyers and sellers for over 25 years in tax-critical transactions ranging from partnerships, joint ventures and LLCs with skewed tax allocations, to leveraged leases, to multi-billion-dollar mergers. These projects have included cogeneration projects, biomass generators, coal and gas-fired plants, synthetic fuel projects, wind plants and biofuels projects, and have been located throughout the United States and in Europe, Australia, The Philippines and South America. Recently, Carl assisted a client in creating, designing and implementing a sale and leaseback structure to monetize the remainder of nearly $12 million in Oregon pollution control tax credits. Subsequently, Carl helped the company use this structure again—with the addition of a complex lessee partnership, O&M agreement and operating agreement to bring in an additional tax credit investor when the original investor's tax appetite was insufficient—to monetize an additional $17 million in tax credits with respect to another facility.

Carl joined Stoel Rives in 1978 and is Tax Counsel for the firm.

Professional Honors & Activities

• Listed in Best Lawyers in America® (currently: Tax Law), 2004-2013
• Selected as one of "America's Leading Lawyers for Business" (Washington) by Chambers USA (currently: Corporate/Commercial: Tax), 2006-2012
• Member, Washington State Bar Association taxation section
• Member, Oregon State Bar taxation section
• Member, American Bar Association taxation section

Presentations

• Frequently lectures on taxation subjects

Civic Activities

• Member, Board of Directors, Seattle Chamber Music Society

Publications

• "Tax Issues," The Law of Marine and Hydrokinetic Energy: A Guide to Business and Legal Issues, Stoel Rives LLP, Vol 4, 2011 (formerly The Law of Ocean and Tidal Energy)
• "Like Kind Exchange of Property Used in a Trade or Business or for Investment," 5 Review of Taxation of Individuals 195, 1981
• "Partnership Taxation," 1 Advising Oregon Businesses, Ch 4, Oregon CLE, 1984 and 1989, coauthor 1994 and 1997
• "The 2003 Confidential Transaction Tax Shelter Regulations: Another Chapter in the Disclosure and List Maintenance Regulations Saga" (coauthor), Corporate Taxation, 2004
• The Tax Reform Act of 1986: Analysis and Commentary, coauthor, 1987

Education

• Willamette University College of Law, J.D., 1978, magna cum laude
  CJS Award (1976-1978)
• Lewis and Clark College, B.S., 1975, magna cum laude
  Delta Mu Delta, business honorary, OSCPA Accounting Student of the Year, 1975
• University of Southern California, 1971-1972

Admissions

• Washington
• Oregon
• U.S. Tax Court

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