Dallas firm Jenkens & Gilchrist has finally reached the end of its rope, as it announced that it would close its last office and cease practicing law by the end of the month. The firm has entered into a nonprosecution agreement with federal prosecutors over its past involvement in illegal tax shelters. Between 1998 and 2003 the firm’s tax shelter practice wrote hundreds of legal opinion letters supporting illegal tax shelters; in return, Jenkens will pay a $76 million civil penalty to the IRS and the firm has agreed to continued cooperation with the investigation. Though at one time the firm had about 600 lawyers in offices nationwide, it has since then lost about two-thirds of the lawyers and has closed a number of offices.

Source: www.law.com