James Roberts is a gifted tax litigator and, at this point, a firm fixture in our office (no pun intended). He began working with us as a summer student in 2016, helping to research and write three “Practical Insights” sections that Thomson Reuters had asked Peter and Yoni to contribute to its Tax Disputes & Resolution Centre; he learned a lot about tax shelters, judicial review, and civil tax penalties, and he learned a lot about Counter.
Apparently, he liked what he found because we never quite managed to evict James. Even when he’s in school, he can still be found working alongside the team in the office. But we don’t mind letting him squat: James is always ready to do whatever is necessary to pull out a win for Counter, and we’re grateful. Competition, relentlessness, and teamwork are all second nature to him after a lifetime of playing hockey and rugby, and any number of hours digging through case files is still a lot less painful than rugby.
Having used some of the best lawyers in their fields, over many years, I was singularly impressed with the highly professional and efficient manner in which Counter managed my file.
— AT, Client
I have a Six Sigma Green Belt, and we wanted a law firm with a similar innovative and focused approach. We were thrilled and impressed with Counter’s systems, process, and constant updates.
— Aly Rajab, CLLC, Founder & CEO
Another lesson James took from his sports background? When everyone’s expecting you to zig, make sure you zag. He eschews conventional wisdom and loves nothing so much as figuring out how to make something work, especially when the naysayers take a different view. Take, for example, his decision to focus on tax law. It’s the rare starry-eyed law student who walks into his first class determined to battle tax injustice, but James was smart enough to realise early in his law school journey that no other kind of law offers so many opportunities.
James appreciates that tax litigation allows him to exercise the business acumen that first drove him to study commerce, where he spent his nights brainstorming startup ideas with his roommates, while still allowing him to really dig into the specifics of a case, always seeking that one clue that will help him pull everything together. Certainly, no other area of the law can claim to be as universally relevant to everyone—tax law has even inspired a few revolutions. James likes to think that he brings some of that same revolutionary fire to every case (but don’t worry: no tea was harmed in the making of this law firm).
And, like any great revolutionary, James—well, he likes to get things done, and he can be impatient about it. He navigates traffic jams like a pro, never fearing to call out bad driving with his horn, and he picks up the phone when texting isn’t getting him the results he’s looking for.
Essentially, James cannot rest until he has accomplished whatever mission is animating him at a given moment. It’s yet another face of the determination that characterizes everybody at Counter, and it’s what makes him such a valued member of the team.
James is one of us.
As long as he leaves his hockey gear at home.
