How the Brotman Law Team Works Your Case

What happens when you call

The first call is 15 minutes with our intake team, and it is free. You describe the letter or the problem. We ask enough questions to identify the agency, the stage, and the deadline. Then we tell you honestly whether this is a matter that needs a lawyer, and if it is, roughly what representation looks like and costs. If it is not, we say that too, and where we can we point you somewhere useful. Nobody on the intake team is paid to sign you up.

If the matter fits, the next step is a strategy session with an attorney, sometimes paid depending on the depth required, where we look at the actual documents and give you a plan and a number. Engagement letters spell out scope and fee before any work starts. Most clients are on a monthly flat fee that we price for the whole engagement and pause while we are waiting on the agency; the structure is on the pricing page.

Who does what on your file

• Legal strategy: Sam Brotman, founder and managing attorney. I decide the theory of the case, the response strategy, and the settle-or-appeal calls on every matter the firm takes. Clients hire the firm to get that judgment, and that is what they get. I am not the person answering every email, and you would not want me to be.
• Running the matter: a senior attorney. Carlos Gomez, Sahar Bijan, and Jialin Dykstra lead audit, collections, and state agency matters. Tara Pullano leads the ERC practice. Rojin Bijan and Ricardo Laureano support those teams as associate attorneys. The senior attorney on your file is the person who talks to the auditor, drafts the petition, and prepares you for anything you have to attend.
• Keeping you informed: a case manager or legal assistant. Jordyn Ross and the operations team track deadlines, collect documents through the client portal, and send updates so you are not left wondering what happened to your case. Sara Masood manages the ERC docket.
• Keeping the firm running: Michael Gough, Director of Legal Operations. Mike owns the systems: intake, onboarding, case management, technology. He is the reason a client who calls on a Tuesday gets the same experience as one who called in March.
• Getting you scheduled: Ashley Brunson, executive assistant.

The full directory with bios is on the team page.

What you can expect, week to week

• A response within one business day. Not a resolution within a day, a response. If we are waiting on the agency, we tell you that we are waiting and when we expect to hear.
• Updates you do not have to ask for. When something happens on the file, you hear about it from us. When nothing has happened for a while, you hear that too, because silence from a tax agency is not the same as silence from your lawyer.
• One place for documents. The Clio client portal holds every document, every message, and the current status of the matter. You can see the file at midnight if you want to.
• No meter. On a flat fee, you can call with a question without wondering what the call costs. That is the point of the structure. Clients who are afraid of the bill stop calling, and that is when mistakes get made.
• Straight answers about the odds. Tax disputes are not uniform, and I will tell you what I think the realistic range of outcomes is at the start, not after.

Why a team instead of one lawyer

Because the work is front-loaded and the deadlines are real. Most tax matters need heavy work in the first 60 days: the power of attorney, the transcript pull, the records, the first response. One person cannot do that for thirty clients at once and also think carefully about any of them. Two or three people on a file means someone is available when you call, someone owns the deadline, and two sets of eyes are on every number before it goes to an agency. For tax issues, two heads are genuinely better than one.

It also means the file does not stall when someone is in a hearing. In our practice the most common complaint we hear from clients who came from another firm is that they could not get a call back. That is a staffing problem, and we solved it with staffing.

The people behind the numbers

Since December 2013 the firm has represented 400+ clients in audits, eliminated more than $100 million in tax penalties and interest, resolved 2,200+ matters, and handled $160M+ in ERC claims. Those are firm-wide numbers earned by the people on this page, one case at a time. What they represent is pattern recognition: after this many audits and this many revenue officers, we usually know what the agency will do next. What they do not represent is a promised outcome, and nobody here will promise you one.

Frequently asked questions

Who will actually handle my case?

A senior attorney runs it day to day, a case manager keeps you informed, and Sam Brotman sets and oversees the legal strategy throughout. You will know all three by name before the engagement starts.

Will I talk to Sam Brotman?

Yes, at the strategy stage and at every decision point that matters. The day-to-day contact is your senior attorney and case manager, which is what keeps the firm responsive.

How quickly do you respond?

Within one business day, and usually faster. If the answer is that we are waiting on the IRS or the state, we tell you that rather than going quiet.

Can I meet in person?

Yes. The office is at 12636 High Bluff Drive, Suite 300, in the Del Mar Heights area of San Diego. Most matters, including hearings, can be handled entirely by phone and video, and most of our clients never need to come in.

Do you use paralegals or enrolled agents for the legal work?

No. Attorneys handle the legal work and the agency contact. The operations team handles scheduling, documents, and communication, which is what they are best at.