TROY, N.Y. – Law firm associates who receive a fee separate from their salary for referring cases to their employer can be deemed independent contractors for state tax withholding purposes, an Administrative Law Judge has held.
Dennis M. Galliher, in a matter involving the Manhattan personal injury firm Fuchsberg & Fuchsberg, determined that the Division of Taxation wrongly held that the practice was responsible for withholding and remitting income taxes. Central to the finding was the fact that Fuchsberg & Fuchsberg associates are not required to refer cases to the firm, and “were hired as legal practitioners and not as sources of client referrals.”
