Wendell Bird

Wendell Bird (born Atlanta, Georgia) is the author of Press and Speech Under Assault (Oxford University Press 2016),^[1] and of legal history articles.^[2][3] He earned his D.Phil. in legal history at University of Oxford, and his J.D. from Yale Law School.^[4] He is a Visiting Scholar at Emory University School of Law.^[5]

After three decades practicing in Atlanta, Georgia primarily in litigation and in tax laws affecting exempt organizations, he is a senior partner at an Atlanta law firm.^[6][7] He graduated from Vanderbilt University (B.A., summa cum laude, 1975).^[6][7] While at Yale Law School, he served on the Yale Law Journal Board of Editors.^[8]

He is a member of the American Law Institute,^[9] a fellow of the American Bar Foundation,^[10] a member of the American Bar Association, and co-chair of its Subcommittee on Charitable Contributions.^[11] He is listed in Who's Who in America and Who's Who in the World.^[12]

Nonprofit Organization Law

He has been an annual faculty member of the Washington Non-Profit Legal & Tax Conference for over 30 years,^[13] and is a member of the Board of Advisors of the RIA Thomson Reuters publication, Taxation of Exempts.^[14] He has published three tax chapters and more than 20 articles on the laws affecting nonprofit organizations and charitable giving.^[6][15] He has been a member of the Board of Advisors of New York University School of Law's National Center on Philanthropy and the Law.^[16]

Litigation

In litigation Mr. Bird primarily has represented securities claims, such as a suit against Merrill Lynch and its Focus Twenty Fund,^[17] or a suit against TH Lee Putnam Ventures and Merrill Lynch,^[18] both of which resulted in favorable decisions; and charitable fraud and diversion claims, such as a suit on behalf of the M. L. Simpson Foundation^[19] or a suit against the Chatlos Foundation.^[20]

In 2004, Mr. Bird represented APA Excelsior III (owned by predecessor to APAX Partners) and other large Wall Street private equity funds (managed by APAX Partners) in a federal court lawsuit alleging numerous securities law violations in connection with a sale to Healthfield Holdings, Inc.^[21]

In 2000-2002, he represented the Bengard Group in a trial and appeal, winning in excess of $44 million.^[22][23][24]

In the early 1980s, Mr. Bird worked for the predecessor to Atlanta's Womble Carlyle law firm, and also served as a special assistant attorney general for Louisiana in a case for six years.^[25] As a special assistant he defended the state's "equal time" law, which was ruled to be unconstitutional by the U.S. Court of Appeals,^[26] and a rehearing en banc was narrowly denied by an 8-7 decision at the appellate level.^[27] He argued the case for Louisiana to the U.S. Supreme Court, which affirmed the law's unconstitutionality in Edwards v. Aguillard by a 6-1-2 vote.^[28]

Nonprofit Organization Law Chapters and Articles

• Wendell R. Bird, "Religious Organizations and Tax Law," Federal and State Taxation of Exempt Organizations, Chapter 4, Warren Gorhan & Lamont Publishers, 1994.^[6]
• Wendell R. Bird & Russell Reach, "Unrelated Debt-Financed Income," 8 CCH's Federal Tax Service J: Chapter 6 (1995).^[6]
• Wendell R. Bird & Russell Reach, "Debt-Financed Income," Bender's Federal Tax Service J: Chapter 6 (1988).^[6]
• Wendell R. Bird, "No Relief But Much Red Tape for Charities and Foundation," 17 Taxation of Exempts 201 (2006).^[15]
• Wendell R. Bird, " IRS Offers Guidance on "Election Year Issues" for Exempt Organizations," 15 Taxation of Exempts 269 (2004).^[15]
• Wendell R. Bird, "Charitable Giving Techniques and Other Estate Techniques," J. of Retirement Planning at 9 (Nov.-Dec. 2003).^[29]
• Wendell R. Bird, "The Shape of Charitable Gift Planning After 'Repeal' of the Federal Estate Tax," 14 Taxation of Exempts 114 (2002).^[15]
• Wendell R. Bird, "Political Activities and Exempt Organizations," 12 J. of Taxation of Exempt Organizations 243 (2000).^[15]
• Wendell R. Bird, “Exempt Organizations Rules on Political Activities," 7 J Tax Exempt Organizations 195, (1996). [31]
• Wendell R. Bird & Harvey Koning III, "Exempt Organizations Face Sales and Use Taxes in the Aftermath of Quill," 6 J Tax Exempt Organizations 16 (1994).^[15]
• Wendell R. Bird & Timothy W. Townsend, “Current Developments in the State and Local Taxation of Exempt Organizations”, 4 J. Tax'n Exempt Org. (WGL) 20 (1992).^[15]
• Wendell R. Bird & Timothy W. Townsend, "Sales Tax Relief Not Automatic for Tax-Exempt Entities," 2 J Multistate Taxation 203 (1992).^[15]
• Wendell R. Bird & T.O. Kotouc, "Exempt Religious Organizations Have Strict Limits", 48 Taxation for Accountants 207 (1992).^[15]

References