William “Willie” J. Kolarik, II Elected to Kean Miller Partnership

Kean Miller is pleased to announce that William “Willie” J. Kolarik, II has been elected to the partnership effective January 1, 2022. “We are proud to welcome Willie as a partner in our law firm.  He has demonstrated an incredible commitment to the legal profession, the tax bar, and is a trusted client resource for federal, state and local tax representation,” said Linda Perez Clark, Managing Partner.  

Willie has 20 years of experience advising major companies on tax-related matters. Willie has provided tax advice to many of the world’s largest businesses across multiple industry groups, including, energy, financial institutions, industrial products, retail, consumer goods, health care, entertainment, and utilities. He has handled every major aspect of corporate, state, and local tax matters, with a primary focus on state and local income, sales and use, gross receipts, property, payroll, and other transaction-based taxes.

Willie has significant controversy and tax planning experience related to the state and local taxation of commodities and derivative transactions for financial institutions, commodities traders, and energy companies and is familiar with the state and local tax consequences of both physical and financial transactions related to base metals, sugar, coffee, grains, natural gas, oil, and electricity. He also has extensive experience assisting public utilities with state and local tax matters and with the tax and tax-related regulatory accounting issues associated with public utility ratemaking, e.g., normalization and consolidated tax savings adjustments. Willie has also participated in numerous energy industry transactions for both private equity firms and strategic investors involving both regulated and unregulated targets.

Willie is well-versed in the state and local tax systems among the various states. He has provided critical commentary, research, and analysis on case law, administrative, and legislative developments in the areas of state and local taxation in connection with tax policy discussions for both commercial and governmental clients. Willie’s tax controversy experience includes representing clients before a variety of state and local taxing agencies.

In addition to his work assisting clients in tax advice and multistate tax planning, Willie is an accomplished author, having published substantive articles in The Tax Lawyer and State Tax Notes and co-authored a state and local tax column for CCH Corporate Business Taxation Monthly. Willie’s research has been cited in testimony before the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, a petition for a writ of certiorari and an amicus curiae brief to the United States Supreme Court, in an amicus curiae brief to the Illinois Supreme Court, and in several peer reviewed law journals.

Willie earned his B.B.A. in Accounting and M.P.A. from the University of Texas at Austin in 2000. In 2009 he earned his J.D./D.C.L., cum laude, from the LSU Law Center. He also earned his LL.M. in Taxation, with distinction, from Georgetown University Law Center in 2010. 

Kean Miller LLP is one of the largest and best recognized law firms in the Gulf South region. For nearly 40 years, the Firm has been innovating and growing, revolutionizing the standards for excellence in client service, and earning numerous awards for its market-leading practices and thoughtful and creative legal representation. Consistently named to the National Law Journal’s NLJ 500 and the Law 360 Top 400 lists, Kean Miller is Mansfield 4.0 certified, an honor bestowed for a select group of law firms which demonstrate a genuine commitment to diversity in the legal profession.  The Firm’s collaborative culture, people-first approach, and devotion to quality are foundational to the Firm’s continued success, reflecting its reputation in the market.  From the Firm’s eight offices in Houston, The Woodlands, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Lafayette, Shreveport, and Lake Charles, and with over 165 attorneys, Kean Miller delivers sophisticated and practical counsel to Fortune 500 leaders, national businesses, and local companies.

For more information, contact Steve Boutwell at 225.389.3736 or steve.boutwell@keanmiller.com.