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Brian Gardner, J.D., LL.M.

Brian Gardner is a partner at Asbury Law Firm, Tax Counsel. Brian focuses his practice on tax controversy and litigation matters. He represents taxpayers in all phases of civil and criminal tax litigation including U.S. District Courts, U.S. Tax Court, United States Courts of Appeals, and the Georgia Tax Tribunal. 

Brian has extensive experience working with the IRS and the Georgia Department of Revenue in matters concerning, among other things, defense of conservation easements, passive activity losses, net operating losses, estate taxes, 831(b) captive insurance, promoter penalties, employment taxes, and international tax issues.

Brian regularly speaks and writes on tax controversy topics.  He has presented at local and national tax conferences, led webinars, and appeared on panels on topics ranging from litigating employment tax controversies to dealing with international tax noncompliance.

Prior to joining Asbury Law firm, Brian practiced at an AmLaw 100 firm and a mid-sized firm in Atlanta, Georgia. He has represented clients in civil and criminal tax proceedings in U.S. District Courts, the U.S. Tax Court, and U.S. Courts of Appeals.

Selected to Georgia Super Lawyers, Rising Stars and Best Lawyers in Americas Ones to Watch, Brian is recognized among his peers as a tax expert.

Brian attended Villanova University School of Law as a Dean’s Merit Scholar. While there, he worked in the Villanova Federal Tax Clinic and was awarded the Federal Tax Clinic Award as the top student in the Clinic. Brian received his LL.M in Taxation from Georgetown University. 

Please visit our Appearances & Articles page for recent speeches, articles and headlines.

Representative Matters

  • Secured precedent-setting victory in 11th Circuit case reversing the Tax Court in a conservation easement case.
  • Negotiated $250,000 refund in Tax Court case where IRS originally proposed over $1.5 million in tax and penalties.
  • Represented taxpayers in case of first impression regarding method of accounting issue.
  • Received full abatement of over $1 million in foreign noncompliance penalties through collection due process procedures.
  • Won Tax Court case involving $1+ million theft loss deduction.
  • Successfully defended taxpayers against IRS’s penalty assertion in Tax Court trial of $14 million conservation easement donation.

Honors
Georgia Super Lawyers, Rising Stars, 2018-2024, Tax
Best Lawyers in America, Ones to Watch, 2021-2024, Tax Law
John S. Nolan Fellow, 2023-2024
Chambers USA, 2023, Tax
Young Lawyers Division Leadership Academy Class of 2017, State Bar of Georgia
Federal Tax Clinic Award, top student in the Villanova Federal Tax Clinic.

Associations
Section of Taxation, American Bar Association
Taxation Law Section, State Bar of Georgia
Tax Law Section, Atlanta Bar Association

Court Admissions
Supreme Court of Georgia
U.S. Tax Court
U.S. Court of Federal Claims
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia

Bar Admissions
Georgia

Education
Furman University, B.A. 2010
Villanova University, J.D. 2013
Georgetown University Law Center, LL.M. in Taxation, 2018

Brian Gardner, J.D., LL.M.
Email: brian@asburylawfirm.com
Phone: (404) 382-9942
Fax: (404) 565-1103