These Significant Case Coordination Procedures provide guidance for determining which cases in the Office of Chief Counsel meet the definition of “Significant,” as set forth below, and prescribe procedures for handling cases meeting the definition.

While all cases are important to the involved taxpayer and are essential to the nation’s overall tax system, certain cases individually or collectively have an identifiable, unusual, or unique impact on tax administration. Such cases, referred to in these procedures as “Significant Cases,” require a heightened level of coordination and oversight and demand a contribution of resources from both the field and National Office components of the Office of Chief Counsel in order to achieve the Office’s desired standards of consistency, accuracy, and timeliness. These procedures are intended to ensure that the necessary resources are available and are devoted to such cases to achieve these objectives.

All cases identified as Significant will be subject to a level of executive oversight greater than that accorded to cases not subject to these procedures, which remain subject to the general coordination and review procedures prescribed in the CCDM, such as those in sections 31.1 (Guiding Principles); 35.11.1-1 (Issues Requiring Associate Office Review); and 33.1 (Legal Advice).

Whether a case meets the definition of “Significant” as set forth in these procedures may change over the life of the case, due to emergence of additional facts, refined understanding of applicable law, revelations about the taxpayer’s position, new developments in the law, or other factors. Assuming Division Counsel and Associate Chief Counsel offices having jurisdiction over the case and issues involved concur, the case should be re-classified and handled according to its new classification.

It is anticipated that Division Counsel and Associate Chief Counsel offices will normally agree as to whether a case will be treated as a Significant Case and subject to the coordination procedures set forth herein. Existing reconciliation procedures should be used if the Division Counsel and the Associate Chief Counsel do not agree.

Significant Case. Includes any case described in one or more of the following categories:

Case Approaching Litigation. A case in which a notice preceding court filing (e.g., statutory notice of deficiency or Notice of Final Partnership Adjustment (NFPA)) is being prepared, or a case likely to be litigated as a refund, bankruptcy, declaratory judgment, injunction, or summons enforcement case.

Division Counsel. One of the tax litigation business units of the Office of Chief Counsel. The term may be used to identify either the business unit or the executive who is the head of the business unit.

Associate Chief Counsel. One of the technical tax functions of the Office of Chief Counsel and the Associate Chief Counsel Procedure & Administration office. The term may be used to identify either the business unit or the executive who is the head of the business unit.

National Coordination Case. A Tax Court case determined to require high level and regular coordination between Division Counsel and at least one Associate Chief Counsel office.

National Project Coordination Case. A case that is part of a group of docketed tax shelter cases or any other group of similar or related cases that are determined collectively to be Significant and to require a high level of coordination, both between Division Counsel and Associate Chief Counsel offices and among Division Counsel offices. The group of cases is referred to as a "National Project."

Division Coordination Case. A Tax Court case classified as Significant and not requiring the level of coordination between Division Counsel and Associate Chief Counsel offices required for a National Coordination case.

Lead Attorney. The Office of Chief Counsel attorney with responsibility for development, litigation (if docketed in Tax Court), and resolution of the case. Generally, the Lead Attorney in a Significant Case is an attorney in a Division Counsel office.

Principal Associate Attorney. An attorney in an Associate Chief Counsel office who is responsible for coordinating Associate Chief Counsel participation in either a National Coordination Case or a National Project and who is expected to become knowledgeable about the case or Project as a whole. All Nationally Coordinated cases and National Projects will have an assigned Principal Associate Attorney, also known as the PAA.

Project Coordinator. The Project Coordinator is a Division Counsel attorney or manager assigned to a National Project with responsibility for developing, managing, coordinating, and controlling cases within the Project.

Screening for Significant Cases Under Exam

Coordination of Significant Cases Under Examination.

Consideration may also be given to whether the case requires assistance from a Special Trial Attorney (STA).

Screening for Significant Cases Approaching Litigation

Coordination of Significant Cases Approaching Litigation. For those cases determined to be Significant Cases Approaching Litigation, responsible executives should ensure that appropriate coordination is occurring and that all affected components of the Office of Chief Counsel have been informed about the matter so that appropriate resources are marshaled in anticipation of docketing of the case. Procedures used for coordination of Significant Cases Under Examination should be used to the extent they have not previously been employed.

Screening of Tax Court Petitions. Tax Court petitions (including amended petitions) will be screened in the Associate Chief Counsel and Division Counsel offices as described in section 31.2.1.5(3). The primary purpose of such screening is to determine if the case should be classified as Significant, and if so, to determine whether the case should be subject to National, National Project, or Division coordination procedures.

Screening of Complaints. Complaints in refund cases initiated in the United States District Court or the Court of Federal Claims, bankruptcy cases involving the merits of a tax liability, declaratory judgment suits, and summons actions recommended for enforcement, will be screened in the Division Counsel and Associate Chief Counsel offices as described in section 31.2.1.5(3). The primary purpose of screening is to determine which of the complaints or recommended summons enforcement actions represent Significant Cases. Such classification is not intended to supersede the existing procedures for classifying a case as Standard or S.O.P. for purposes of referral to the Department of Justice. A case deemed Significant should be classified as “Standard.” However, not all Standard cases meet the definition of Significant Cases.

Screening Process. To ensure that issues in litigation meeting the criteria of Significant are appropriately identified, the Division Counsel attorney responsible for responding to a Tax Court petition (except one in which Small Tax Case procedures have been requested) or for a Complaint in a refund case will consider whether the case may meet Significant Case criteria as outlined in CCDM 31.2.1.2. Procedure and Administration’s Legal Processing Division (LPD) will send each Tax Court petition with an amount at issue totaling more than $5 million to the Associate Chief Counsel offices that LPD determines have subject matter implicated by an issue in the petition. Any Associate Chief Counsel attorney who reviews a Tax Court petition received from LPD or otherwise becomes aware of a Tax Court or refund case that may meet Significant Case criteria should contact the responsible Division Counsel attorney within fifteen days of receipt by the office of the petition or other information regarding the case, unless otherwise agreed for a particular case. For all Tax Court petitions and Complaints with amounts at issue totaling more than $5 million and for any case in which the Division Counsel attorney determines or is notified by an Associate Chief Counsel attorney that a case may meet Significant Case criteria, the Division Counsel attorney will follow the Division Counsel screening process to determine whether the case should be reported and treated as a Significant Case and subject to National or Division Coordination procedures. The Division Counsel attorney and the Associate attorney, and their respective managers should engage in informal discussion to evaluate the incoming case, whether the issue is Significant, and the appropriate level of coordination, with differences of opinion resolved through the reconciliation process.

The decision to classify a docketed case as Significant and to subject it to National, National Project, or Division Coordination procedures is made by the Division Counsel and Associate Chief Counsel offices with a stake in the case (e.g., the Associate Chief Counsel office with jurisdiction of the issue, the Division Counsel office who may assign the Lead Attorney to the case). Existing reconciliation procedures should be used if the Division Counsel and Associate Chief Counsel offices do not agree that the case should be classified as Significant or do not agree about the necessary coordination procedures to be used. Once a decision has been made, the responsible Division Counsel and Associate Chief Counsel should ensure that attorneys and managers assigned to the case are notified of the decision.

The Lead Attorney and front-line manager are responsible for identifying the case as a Significant Case subject to either National, National Project, or Division Coordination in the Office of Chief Counsel’s time/inventory reporting system (e.g., the Docketed Significant Case Aspect Code (DSC) in TECHMIS.

In Significant docketed cases for which National Coordination is determined to be appropriate, there must be a continual, active working partnership between the Division Counsel and Associate Chief Counsel offices for the duration of the case, from initial case planning and development through pretrial practice, trial preparation, trial, submission of briefs, and appellate consideration. In such cases, every person and every office involved in the case is encouraged to make meaningful contributions during the entire litigation process. Executives in both the Division Counsel and Associate Chief Counsel offices must be directly engaged within the scope of their respective roles. As applicable within these roles, executives will be expected to participate in the development of substantive legal positions and decisions about litigation tactics and strategy, and to understand the positions taken in significant pleadings, motions, and briefs. Their involvement must go well beyond traditional notions of management review and oversight. Litigation decisions, such as whether to try or settle a case, whether to use alternative dispute resolution, or whether to employ an expert witness, should be made by the Division Counsel office after appropriate coordination with the Associate Chief Counsel office on the technical legal position.

Case assignments. Each Significant Case subject to National Coordination procedures will be assigned a Lead Attorney and a Principal Associate Attorney. In the field, the Lead Attorney is often assisted by a trial team of attorneys. While these assisting co-counsel may participate in coordination, the Lead Attorney is principally responsible for coordination. Normally, a single Principal Associate Attorney will be assigned. Additional attorneys in Associate Chief Counsel offices may also play a significant role in coordination, especially if the issue for which the case was coordinated has elements or ramifications beyond the jurisdiction of the Associate Chief Counsel office of the Principal Associate Attorney and the input of an additional Associate Chief Counsel office or offices is needed. When this occurs, the Lead Attorney should work through the PAA and it remains the responsibility of the PAA to identify and involve necessary colleagues within the National Office as required, including colleagues in other Associate Chief Counsel offices, and ensure the Lead Attorney is included in all necessary discussion and communication. If a case contains separate and distinct issues each of which merits National Coordination, each such issue would have a Principal Associate Attorney from the relevant Associate Chief Counsel office.

Litigation Workplan. The litigation workplan is the mechanism through which case planning, development, trial preparation, trial, briefing, and appeal consideration are memorialized, reviewed, and approved. The litigation workplan should be a comprehensive, objective summary of the case that takes into account both parties’ positions and realistically identifies risk as well as strengths in the government’s position. While frequent informal coordination is expected between Division Counsel and Associate Chief Counsel attorneys in cases subject to National Coordination, regular review and approval of the litigation workplan by the responsible executives assures that the substantive legal positions are being developed in accord with the Office of Chief Counsel’s legal position and litigation decisions are considered at the required level. Workplans in National Coordination cases will be prepared using a prescribed template. SeeExhibit 31.2.1-1.

Workplan Preparation. The Lead Attorney is responsible for the initial workplan and all updates, in consultation with the Principal Associate Attorney. The Principal Associate Attorney provides technical expertise to ensure that the legal positions in the workplan reflect the position of the Office of Chief Counsel. The workplan is a dynamic document that is revised periodically to reflect newly developed facts, refinements to the government’s legal position, responses to the taxpayer’s arguments, required case development, and other future actions by the trial team. After the initial workplan, updates may be prepared at any time, but must be made at least every six months. The Lead Attorney must bring to the attention of the Principal Associate Attorney any material changes of fact as the case is developed for trial. The Principal Associate Attorney must promptly notify the Lead Attorney of any changes in the position of the Office of Chief Counsel as to the legal issues set forth in the workplan.

Workplan Approval. The initial workplan will be due to the Division Counsel executive assigned responsibility for the case 45 days after the answer is filed if the case is determined to be subject to National Coordination at the time of the petition, or 45 days after the determination is made if it occurs later, unless the 45 day deadline is extended by the Division Counsel executive. The Division Counsel executive assigned responsibility for the case will approve the initial workplan and send it to the Principal Associate Attorney 60 days after the answer is filed or the determination for National Coordination occurs. The Principal Associate Attorney will review the workplan and forward it for concurrence on the technical position by the Associate Chief Counsel or a delegate who is an executive. If the concurrence of the Associate or delegate is subject to qualifications or comments, these should be discussed with the Lead Attorney and Division Counsel officials as necessary, prior to the Associate’s or delegate’s concurrence. The Associate’s concurrence will occur within 30 days after approval by the Division Counsel executive, with extensions permitted by mutual agreement. After the initial workplan is approved, subsequent proposed updated workplans will be prepared and reviewed by both the Division Counsel and the Associate Chief Counsel executives at least every six months. The Principal Associate Attorney is responsible for assuring that the Associate Chief Counsel’s approval of each individual workplan and update, along with any revisions agreed to by the Division Counsel and Associate Chief Counsel offices during the Associate Chief Counsel’s 30-day review period, is documented and timely transmitted to the Lead Attorney. The parties may agree to extend the deadline to review and approve updates to the workplan.

Resolution of Issues. The Issue Results Form is prepared to memorialize resolution of all National Coordination issues in a case. The form is part of the workplan template. See Exhibit 31.2.1-1.

Retention of workplan. The Lead Attorney and the Principal Associate Attorney will retain the most recent, updated version of the workplan that has been agreed to by executives, including any comments of the Associate Chief Counsel office relative to the version proposed by Division Counsel on which approval was conditioned after consultation with the Division Counsel office and mutual agreement. The most recent workplan will be stored to be readily accessible by executives. Prior iterations of the workplan will be archived in an accessible location. The final workplan will be retained in the case legal file.

National Projects. A National Project can contain only non-docketed cases, only docketed cases, or a mix of both. Due to the number of cases affected, National Projects typically are of importance to the Office of Chief Counsel and to executives at the highest levels. Besides the need for Division Counsel’s orderly management of the cases in the Project, sound legal positions developed by Division Counsel and Associate offices working together must be advanced consistently across the entire population of cases in the Project. As a Project evolves, new challenges are likely to emerge continually. There must be an active working partnership between the Division Counsel and Associate Chief Counsel offices for the duration of the Project to address a wide range of activities, including advice in non-docketed cases, test case selection, settlement strategies, pretrial development, trial, and briefing.

National Project Management. Each Project will have a Division Counsel executive who, along with the Project Coordinator and other assigned management officials, will define the parameters of the project. Each case within a Project will be assigned to a Division Counsel attorney or trial team; front-line management of each case will be determined based on the needs of the Project and case. At its inception, the Project will be assigned its own POSTSP ("Special Project-Post Filing") number in CASE-MIS and will be assigned a UIL (Uniform Issue List) number or other appropriate designation in any future case tracking system adopted by the Office of Chief Counsel. Each individual case in the Project should have this same UIL number or other issue identifier.

Project Workplans. Each group of National Project cases will have a Project workplan which will address all cases and activity in the Project overall in a collective manner. The "Project Coordinator" for the Project is responsible for timely preparing and updating of Project workplans, with assistance from assigned Division Counsel attorneys and the Principal Associate Attorney. Project workplans are subject to the same approval process as National Coordination Case workplans. All cases within the National Project will be handled consistently with the legal position and strategy set forth in the Project workplan and should follow processes and utilize resources identified by the Project Coordinator.

Handling of Cases within the Project. Consistent with expectations in all casework, an attorney assigned a case within a Project is expected to responsibly develop or otherwise handle the attorney’s individual case, under the supervision of the assigned front-line manager. Attorney responsibilities include keeping the Project Coordinator informed consistent with directions prescribed by the Project Coordinator as to manner and frequency of reporting and information required. In addition to adhering to the Project workplan, attorneys and front-line managers assigned to cases in the Project should understand and follow all process guides and other resources identified by the Project Coordinator. The Project Coordinator must notify Division Counsel attorneys with cases in a Project of any changes in the position of the Office of Chief Counsel as to the legal issue(s) involved, or whether the status of a case will change to a National Coordination case. See (5) below.

Lead Case(s) for the Project. At some point in the life of the Project, the Project Coordinator, in coordination with other Project decision-makers, may identify a docketed case, or small number of docketed cases, in the Project that is likely to be the first case in the Project to be presented in court, i.e., the "lead docketed case" (or cases). This may be the first case that becomes docketed, or another case identified for its particular characteristics or other reasons. Since the handling of the lead docketed case (or cases) will have broad impact, once identified, it will be considered a National Coordination case under the Significant Case Procedures and will be subject to those procedures. Any such lead case (or cases) for the Project will be among the cases in the Project inventory list in the Project workplan and will be mentioned in the discussion of the overall status of the Project. Extensive discussion of the particulars of the lead docketed case is not required in the Project workplan as such specifics are available in the workplan for the lead case. All other cases in the Project that are not the lead docketed case (or cases) will be covered as part of the Project workplan. There may be circumstances where a case within a Project moves forward faster in litigation than the original lead case. In such circumstances, the faster moving case should become subject to National Coordination procedures, either in addition to or in lieu of the original lead case.

Coordination. Coordination with the Associate Chief Counsel offices for Significant Cases subject to Division Coordination will be handled under the general Guidelines for Coordination set forth at CCDM 31.1.4.1, the provisions relating to legal advice at CCDM 33.1.1, and the Issues Requiring Associate Office Review at CCDM 35.11.1.1. Depending on the needs of the case and subject to agreement between the responsible Division Counsel and Associate Chief Counsel, an Associate Chief Counsel Attorney may be designated to work with the Lead Attorney over the life of the case.

Oversight. Executive oversight of cases subject to Division Coordination is provided by Division Counsel, or a delegate who is an executive. The responsible executive and structure of this oversight will be determined based on the needs of the case, as approved by the Division Counsel and memorialized in the case file.

General. Each Significant Case that is being handled by the Department of Justice will be assigned a Lead Attorney and Principal Associate Attorney, who may be assigned as Lead Attorney if the Significant issue is purely a question of law. The Lead Attorney and the Principal Associate Attorney are responsible for assuring an active working relationship with the Department of Justice on Significant Cases.

For Department of Justice cases classified as Significant, the Division Counsel office will designate a Lead Attorney to be primarily responsible for coordination with the Tax Division of the Department of Justice and the Associate Chief Counsel offices with jurisdiction over the issues, and for apprising Division Counsel management of developments, litigation strategy, and status updates. In certain cases, there may be Division Counsel attorneys assigned as Special Assistant United States Attorneys to handle aspects of the case.

The Lead Attorney prepares the defense, referral, or settlement letters to the Department of Justice, in coordination with the Principal Associate Attorney and other subject matter experts. In addition to review required by Division Counsel management when the Lead Attorney is a Division Counsel attorney, these letters are reviewed by the appropriate Associate Chief Counsel office(s) prior to delivery to the Department of Justice.

The Lead Attorney is responsible for remaining in close contact with the Department of Justice attorney assigned to the case as the case progresses in litigation. The Lead Attorney should be aware of the general status of the case, the key actions in case development, the overall litigation strategy, the milestones, and the timetables that are expected to apply. The Lead Attorney should also take responsibility for coordinating required action by the Office of Chief Counsel, such as clarification of office position on legal issues in the form of supplemental correspondence, assistance in the retention of expert witnesses, or assistance with further factual development. In certain Department of Justice cases classified as Significant, it may be appropriate for the Lead Attorney and the Principal Associate Attorney to use a workplan, or specific components of a workplan, to ensure close coordination within the Office of Chief Counsel on all aspects of the case.

Other Coordination Procedures Applicable to Bankruptcy Cases. The coordination procedures in this chapter supplement the large bankruptcy coordination procedures set forth in CCDM 34.3.1.3.

Reports on Significant Cases are an integral part of the Significant Case program as they enable the Chief Counsel, Deputy Chief Counsels and all appropriate Division Counsel and Associate Chief Counsel executives to monitor the Chief Counsel Significant Case program. The reports will contain the case status, issue(s), amount(s) at issue, tax year(s), statute of limitations for Significant Case under Examination, Lead Attorney, Principal Associate Attorney (if assigned), and Division Counsel and Associate Chief Counsel (if applicable) executive with oversight responsibility, as available in the Office of Chief Counsel time/inventory reporting system.

The Chief Counsel Finance and Management office, or any successor unit that provides support services to the Chief Counsel tax litigation business units, will generate the following reports using information reported in the Chief Counsel time reporting system:

Report Distribution. Within fifteen days of the end of the month, the Chief Counsel Finance and Management office (or any successor unit that provides support services to the Chief Counsel tax litigation business units) will distribute the applicable reports to the Chief Counsel, Deputy Chief Counsels, and all appropriate Associate office and Division Counsel executives.