Rick Lawton advises companies and individuals on a variety of federal (domestic and international), state and local tax matters.
He has extensive experience in the following areas:
- Tax-exempt organizations, including creating non-profit organizations, obtaining tax-exempt status, public charity and private foundation issues, private investment and private benefit issues, excess benefit transactions and unrelated business taxable income issues
- Taxation of corporations and shareholders (especially closely held corporations), including acquisitions, mergers, liquidations, distributions, redemptions and reorganizations
- International taxation, including the taxation of foreign corporations, foreign operations and transactions, controlled foreign corporations, subpart F matters, foreign taxes, foreign tax credits, cross-border transactions, tax treaties and export incentives
- State and local taxation, including income, sales, use and property taxes
- Internal Revenue Service practice and procedure
- Federal, state and local tax controversy work, including protests, appeals, negotiations and settlements
- American Bar Association
- Taxation and Business Law Sections
- Missouri Bar Association
- Tax Law Section
- Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis
- Past Chair, Tax Section
- American Chemical Society
- Arch Grants
- Barry-Wehmiller
- Bethesda Health Group
- Enterprise Rent-A-Car
- General Ore International Corporation
- Lutheran Church Missouri Synod
- Maritz Inc.
- Mercy Health System
- The Principia Corporation
- Regional Business Council
- St. Louis Zoo Foundation
- UniGroup, Inc.
- U.S. Bank National Association
- Listed in The Best Lawyers in America, 1995-2025 (by BL Rankings), Nonprofit Law and Tax Law
- Listed in Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers, 2005-2018 (by Thomson Reuters)
- Named Lawyer of the Year for Tax Law in St. Louis by Best Lawyers, 2016 (by BL Rankings)
- Named Lawyer of the Year for Non-Profit/Charities Law in St. Louis by Best Lawyers, 2013 (by BL Rankings)
- Co-Author: “Sales and Use Taxes-Substantive Aspects”
Missouri Taxation Law and Practice, 3rd Ed., 1996 - Co-Author: “Sales and Use Taxes-Substantive Aspects”
Missouri Taxation Law and Practice 2d Ed., 1989 Supplement - Co-Author: “Sales and Use Taxes-Substantive Aspects”
Missouri Taxation Law and Practice, 2d Ed., 1987 - Co-Author: “Forum Selection in Federal Tax Litigation”
Vol. XXXIII, No. 1, St. Louis Bar Journal, Summer 1986
- “IRS Form 990 and State Charitable Solicitation Registration Requirements”
AZA CFO Conference Round Table, October 2011 - “Charitable Gifts of Real Estate: UBTI Considerations and Concerns”
AUREO 2011 Conference, September 2011 - “Intermediate Sanctions: An Analysis of the Proposed Regulations”
St. Louis Health Lawyers Association, December 1998 - “Missouri Corporation Franchise Tax”
Corporate Income and Franchise Tax in Missouri, National Business Institute Inc., September 30, 1992 - “Intercompany Transactions”;
Organizing and Operating Foreign Owned Business in the United States, April 2, 1990 - “Tax Planning – FSC/DISC Alternatives for Small Exporters”
Profiting From International Trade, January 16, 1985