Pure tax

McGrigors — winners of the LexisNexis Taxation award for best tax team in a law firm for two years running in 2006 and 2007 — were recently awarded a 'Band 1' classification for contentious tax in the Chambers and Partners 2008 Directory. What is the secret of the firm's success?

Being the first gives some advantages and James Bullock explained that their tax litigation and investigations team were the first legal team to be wholly dedicated to dealing with contentious tax disputes.

Both James and fellow partners Jason Collins and Rupert Shiers were keen to differentiate their work from pure litigation.

'Avoidance' is probably not one of the most popular terms in tax but their aim is to avoid the need for litigation and they are rightly proud of their success in winning arguments for their clients without the need to go to court. Their work can...