James R. Brown
Partner
James R. Brown is a partner in the tax department, focusing on the tax aspects of complex transactions involving investment funds and advisers. He regularly advises sponsors of investment funds on tax structuring and operational issues relating to these funds, including hedge funds, private equity funds, liquid and illiquid debt funds, commodities funds and registered funds. He also advises on acquisitions, mergers, recapitalizations, joint ventures and other types of transactions involving funds, their portfolio investments and their sponsors.
Experience
Recent notable matters prior to joining the firm include:
- Special tax counsel to Ares Capital Corporation and Ares Management, L.P. in the acquisition of American Capital Ltd.
- Special tax counsel to Eaton Vance in the launch of the NextShares
- Tax counsel to Ivory Investment Management, L.P. in its partnership with Affiliated Managers Group, Inc.
Publications
- Quoted, “Buyback Tax Could Hit SPACS With Higher Costs,” Law360 (October 12, 2022)
- Featured, “Law360’s 2021 Tax Authority Federal Advisory Board,” Law360 (April 19, 2021)
- Quoted, “New Regs Pave Way for Private Equity in Opportunity Zones,” FundFire (May 1, 2019)
- Quoted, “The ETF Tax Dodge Is Wall Street’s ‘Dirty Little Secret’,” Bloomberg (March 29, 2019)
- Quoted, “IRS intensifies enforcement efforts against cryptocurrencies,” International Financial Law Review (August 28, 2018)
- Quoted, “Ropes & Gray Survey and Forum Consider Credit Fund Structures, Leverage, Conflicts of Interest and Challenging Environment (Part One of Two),” The Hedge Fund Law Report (July 19, 2018)
- Co-author, “Virtual Currencies and the Commodity Trading Safe Harbor,” Tax Notes (June 18, 2018)
- Quoted, “IRS Cops Are Scouring Crypto Accounts to Build Tax Evasion Cases,” Bloomberg (February 8, 2018)
- Quoted, “BlackRock, Franklin Set for Major Boost Under Trump Tax Plan,” FundFire (October 6, 2017)
- Quoted, “James Brown Rejoins Ropes & Gray in New York,” The Hedge Fund Law Report (January 26, 2017)
- Co-author, “Hedge Funds: Structure, Taxation and Regulation” Bloomberg BNA (Securities Practice Portfolio Series No. 327)
- Author, “Imposing Accrual Accounting on Large Professional Partnerships,” Tax Notes Federal (July 8, 2014)
- Author, “Equity-Based Compensation and Its Mischaracterization,” Tax Notes (November 5, 2012)
- Co-author, “The Taxation of Regulated Investment Companies and Their Shareholders,” Warren, Gorham and Lamont (1999)
Presentations
- Panelist, “Business Development Company (BDC) Structuring and Trends,” ABA May 2019 Tax Meeting (May 10, 2019)
- Panelist, “Currency’ in the Digital Age: Cryptocurrency, ICOs and the Future of Commerce,” Section of Taxation ABA Midyear Meeting (February 8-10, 2018)
- Panelist, “Partnership Hot Topics,” ABA May 2016 Tax Meeting (May 2016)
- Panelist, “Fund Structuring/Tax Issues,” International Bar Association, London (March 2015)
- Panelist, “Partnership Allocations,” New York State Bar Association (Summer 2013)
Education
- JD, Harvard Law School, 1991
- BA, University of Texas at Austin, 1988
Admissions / Qualifications
Qualifications
- New York, 2004
- Massachusetts, 1992
Awards
- The Best Lawyers in America (2022-2023)
- Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business (2020-2023)
- Legal 500 (2018)
- New York Super Lawyers (2007, 2009-2018)
