Notable matters and transactions
In 2006, Baker McKenzie wrote the amicus brief of the Council of Parent Attorneys & Advocates (COPAA) in support of the petition for a Writ of Certiorari in Winkelman v. Parma City School District, and later, COPAA's amicus brief on the merits.[23] It argued that parents have the right to represent themselves in court to enforce their IDEA rights and protect their children's access to free appropriate public education. This led to a unanimous Supreme Court decision in June 2007 granting parents the right to proceed without counsel on behalf of children with disabilities.[24]
In December 2009, Baker McKenzie won a landmark tax case against the U.S. Internal Revenue Service for Symantec Corporation. The IRS had claimed that the Veritas Software Corporation, which Symantec had subsequently acquired in 2005, owed over $1 billion in back taxes, penalties, and interest as a result of Veritas' non-U.S. operations. Symantec took the case to the U.S. Tax Court where Baker & McKenzie argued that the IRS position was arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable. In an opinion by Judge Maurice Foley, the court decided in favor of Symantec.[25][26]
Baker McKenzie represented Microsoft in Microsoft Corporation v. Internal Revenue Service.[27]
In 2012, Baker McKenzie assisted in the overturning of accountant Paul Chambers' conviction in Twitter Joke Trial, prosecuted under the Communications Act of 2003, for a tweet.[28] The Baker McKenzie team, which acted on the case pro bono from 2010, included partners Harry Small, Tom Cassels and Ben Allgrove.[29]
In 2016, Baker McKenzie represented Facebook Inc, in its dispute with the IRS over the value of assets that the companyhad transferred to its Irish holding company.[30] Lawyers with the U.S. Department of Justice asked for a court order forcing Facebook to provide information to the IRS related to agreements between the company and the holding company, Facebook Ireland Holdings.
