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defense, including complex income tax and employment classi cation audits, trust and o shore/foreign issues, and related white-collar crime such as money laundering, gold, and Bitcoin issues. A recognized expert at O ers in Compromise and other collection alternatives, Nathan also handles administrative appeals, Collection Due Process Hearings, and U.S. Tax Court litigation. Additionally, he defends DOJ suits to reduce tax debts to judgment and foreclose on real property.
Nathan’s childhood memories are virtually identical to Scott’s, highlighted by the numerous opportunities to travel and the excitement of witnessing his father in the courtroom.
“I had a wonderful childhood,” he says. “Not only did we get to attend many of my father’s trials, but we were also included when he and the clients would go out to dinner. I always found those dinner conversations fascinating, learning about the di erent backgrounds and experiences of each client, the issues and strategies of the case, and seeing many of these same clients and their cases in the news when we went home or back to the hotel. Now I am raising my children the same way, traveling with me and meeting my clients, even taking my rstborn to visit clients from Bank of America in Luxembourg (they loved it and I became their favorite attorney!). In the past six months we’ve been to 25 states visiting clients. My father discipled me, and I am now discipling my children.”
Perhaps most notable among this young international lawyer’s recollections is the trip from Phoenix to the Grand Cayman Islands in a chartered jet. “I was 12 and my father was representing a young man in his 20s accused of running an o shore Ponzi scheme; he ew us to the Caymans to meet with his o shore bankers. is case is probably one of the reasons I ended up majoring in nance in college, something that helps me turn tax issues into opportunities for my clients.”
Nathan may enjoy the adventure of global travel, but like his father, is steadfast and immovable when it comes to family and faith. He and his wife recently celebrated their 16th
wedding anniversary, they classically homeschool their three sons, ages 6, 8, and 10, and Nathan is an elder of their Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod parish.
When describing his father, Nathan’s words are remarkably similar to Scott’s. “He’s a pit-bull,” he says. “He’s tenacious and relentless. He eats, breathes and sleeps tax law, especially criminal defense, and analyzes cases from every possible angle, like playing 3D chess. at’s what we mean by ‘holistic tax solutions.’ We look at the big picture and every aspect, every possible iteration. at has been true throughout my father’s career, and now e MacPherson Group has two generations of tax defense attorneys carrying on the tradition of service to clients.”
RYAN
Mac’s second son Ryan attained a Ph.D. in History and Philosophy of Science from the University of Notre Dame in 2003. He serves as a legal researcher and nancial advisor to e MacPherson Group. In addition to assisting the rm in appellate litigation, Ryan also authored an amicus curiae brief in the California Proposition 8/Marriage Amendment case, Perry v. Brown (9th Cir. 2012) on behalf of a nonpro t ministry he founded, e Hausvater Project (www.hausvater.org), which mentors Christian parents.
Ryan teaches courses in American history, legal studies, and philosophy at Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, Minnesota, where he serves as Chair of the History Department and was instrumental in launching the B.A. in Legal Studies. Since 2017, he has served as an adjunct faculty member for the M.A. in the eological Studies program at Martin Luther College. He is author of several books, including Rediscovering the American Republic: A People’s Quest for Ordered Liberty.
In 2012, Ryan and his wife estab- lished Into Your Hands LLC to “ex- pand the ability of their own family to serve other families through research, consulting, publishing, training and advocacy consistent with natural law.” Currently, the couple is collaborating on a book o ering help and support to parents who homeschool.
“As with Nathan’s family, we also
are homeschooling our children in the classical model: history, literature, and even Latin,” says Ryan, who has six children, ages 1 to 13. “ e older three work at our book table when I speak at conferences.”
PASSING THE TORCH
Today, Mac still maintains an o ce home in Glendale, Arizona. Scott and his family live nearby, while Nathan resides in Idaho and Ryan in Minnesota. anks to today’s technology, this works seamlessly with the help of their Phoenix-based paralegal and another in Wyoming.
“Truthfully, only about one percent of docketed civil tax cases ever make it to trial in the U.S. Tax Court,” Mac explains. “As to criminal tax cases in U.S. District Court, o en the lion’s share of the work is plea negotiation, resulting in a plea agreement and perhaps one or two trips to the courthouse.”
us, in 2019 the nationwide prac- tice of e MacPherson Group does not mean, as it did when Mac tried 55 cases in 25 states, considerable court appearances. In recent years Mac re- motely negotiated plea agreements for cases in Portland, Tucson and Kansas City, and is presently consul- tant on another Portland case.
Having substantially reduced his case load, Mac now mainly serves as consultant to Scott and Nathan.
“ erein lies the solution to the changing of the guard,” he says. “Working together, Scott and Na- than developed independent prac- tices in the spirit and tradition of e MacPherson Group. ey each have a erce — and stubborn — sense of independence, no doubt attributed to their MacPherson Scottish heritage.”
It was undoubtedly a bit emotional when in 2008 Mac sold his historic o ce building in Glendale and transitioned to his virtual home o ce practice, but the move dovetails perfectly with the holistic, national civil and criminal tax practice he has built. Clients continue to range from medical doctors to truck drivers. And, regardless of locale, thanks to the next generation of MacPhersons, it’s a guarantee the proud legacy of e MacPherson Group will continue on for a long, long time.
For more information, visit www.Beat-IRS.com.
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