Practice areas: Tax
Licensed in New York since: 2000
Education: Vanderbilt University Law School
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2016 - 2025 Law Office of William M. Funk
43 W 43rd StSuite 344
New York, NY 10036 Phone: 212-973-1100 Email: William M. Funk Visit website
William “Bill” M. Funk concentrates his practice in tax planning and dispute work, focusing on individuals, businesses, funds and non-profit organizations.
Bill works with clients on structuring mergers and acquisition transactions from a tax perspective and drafting and negotiating tax provisions of agreements. He regularly advises foreign manufacturers, intellectual property businesses, private equity funds and hedge funds on their U.S. operations. Bill has experience with cross-border issues such as planning regarding anti-inversion rules, optimizing foreign tax credit utilization, structuring inbound and outbound investments, as well as advising real property developers on joint ventures with foreign investors. He also works with nonprofit corporations to organize and obtain determination of their tax exemption status and maintain compliance. He represents individuals, businesses and nonprofits before the Internal Revenue Service and in Tax Court proceedings regarding matters such as penalties for delinquent international filings, as well as audits, liens and levies.
Prior to joining the firm, Bill was a solo practitioner for 14 years where he focused on tax planning and successfully represented clients before federal and state tax authorities and in business negotiations. He has been recognized in New York Super Lawyers from 2016 – 2025.
Bill earned his J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law and received his LL.M. in Taxation from New York University School of Law. He also received his B.A. from the University of Chicago. He is a member of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York’s Committee on Taxation of Business Entities and the Committee on State and Local Taxation. He is also a member of the International Bar Association’s Tax Section.
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First Admitted: 2000, New York
Professional Webpage: https://www.funklawsite.com/about.php
Bar / Professional Activity
- New York City Bar Association: Committee on State and Local Taxation, 2014-present. International Bar Association, 2016-present.
Special Licenses / Certifications
- U.S. Tax Court, 2004
Educational Background
- New York University School of Law, L.L.M. (Taxation) 2004 Vanderbilt University School of Law, J.D. 1999 University of Chicago, A.B. 1993 Honors, 2001-2004
- Vanderbilt University School of Law J.D., 1996-1999
Scholarly Lectures / Writings
- Selected Publications: Tax Vehicles UnSAFE at Any Speed: What Startup Businesses Should Know About Convertible Debt and Other Instruments, N.Y.L.J. (Dec. 9, 2021). Impact of COVID-19 on NYC Area Solo and Small Law Firms, New York City Bar Association (2020). Eighth Amendment and License Suspension: Tax Enforcement in New York, 86 State Tax Notes 933, (Dec. 4, 2017). The Long-Awaited Return to the Fractions Rule: Proposed Regulations Under §514(c)(9)(E), 33 Tax. Mgmt. Real Estate. J. 91 (March 1, 2017). Report on New York State’s Driver’s License Suspension Program, New York State Bar Association (2016). Abandonment Doctrine and Its Discontents: Claiming Ordinary Losses after Pilgrim’s Pride, 31 Tax Mgmt. J. Real Est. 267 (Sept. 2, 2015). U.S. Taxation of Sovereign Wealth Fund Investments in Funds (and Real Estate): Where We Stand Today, 30 J. Tax’n Investments 43 (Summer 2013). Is the Trading Safe Harbor for Non-U.S. Taxpayers Compatible with the Section 475(f) Election? 115 J. Tax’n 74 (Aug. 2011). The Sun Also Sets: Making the Most of TIPRA’s Changes to FIRPTA While They Last, 9 Bus. Entities 5 (Sept./Oct. 2007). The ABCs of UBTI, 19 Prac. Tax Law. 43 (Fall 2004). The Thirty-Years Tax War, 24 Tax Notes Int’l 65 (Oct. 1, 2001); also published in 93 Tax Notes 271 (Oct. 8, 2001). Selected Presentations/Continuing Legal Education Programs: Tax Planning for Taking the Startup Through Boom (or Bust) and the OBBBA, Webcast at Practising Law Institute, (November 5, 2025). Tax Ethics for the Practicing Attorney, Webcast at New York City Bar Association, (September 18, 2024). Business and Investment Income Tax Planning for Immigration, Webcast at Practising Law Institute, (January 10, 2024). UBTI and IRAs: Reporting Unrelated Business Taxable Income, Webcast at Strafford Webinar (August 3, 2023). Tax Planning for Taking the Startup Through Boom (or Bust), Webcast at Practising Law Institute, (August 16, 2022). Nonprofit Earned Income Essentials, Webcast at Lorman Webinar (March 24, 2022). Identifying Tax Traps in Convertible Debt and SAFEs, Webcast at Celesq (February 23, 2022). Nonprofit Earned Income Essentials, Webcast at Lorman Webinar (November 23, 2020). Fundamentals of Cross-Border Taxation: Old and New Rules, Address at the Law Library Association of Greater New York (February 20, 2020). Tax Reform: Living in the New Tax Environment – Key Tips and Insights for Small Law Firms, Address at the New York City Bar Association, (February 13, 2019). U.S. Tax Rules for U.S. Individuals Living in Canada, Webcast at Lorman Webinar (January 9, 2020). Panel Discussion: Successful Expansion to the US Market, at the United States Consulate in Amsterdam, Museumplein 19, 1071 DJ Amsterdam, Netherlands on Wednesday, May 17, 2017.Basic Tax for Individuals and Businesses Coming to New York, Continuing Legal Education Program sponsored by the New York City Bar Association, New York City, December 8, 2015. Abandonment Doctrine and Its Discontents: Claiming Ordinary Losses After Pilgrim's Pride, Continuing Legal Education Program sponsored by Bloomberg BNA, July 2015, Bloomberg BNA Corporate Taxation Advisory Board Meeting, New York City, July 16, 2015. Tax Exempt Organizations in New York: Commercial Activities, Continuing Legal Education Program sponsored by Lorman Educational Services, New York City, April 22, 2014, and February, 15, 2013. New York Tax Ethics Update, Continuing Legal Education Program sponsored by Lawline, Webcast, August 2, 2012. You May Be a Tax Return Preparer (and Not Even Know It), Continuing Legal Education Program sponsored by the New York County Lawyers’ Association, New York City, September 13, 2010. Understanding the Tax Provisions of the Health Care Reform Legislation and the HIRE Act, Continuing Legal Education Program sponsored by the New York County Lawyers’ Association, New York City, June 9, 2010. Practical Business Tax Issues for Post-Crisis Economic Times, Continuing Legal Education Program sponsored by the New York County Lawyers’ Association, New York City, March 2, 2010.
Honors
- Vanderbilt Law Review, Associate Articles Editor
Office location for William M. Funk
43 W 43rd St
Suite 344
New York, NY 10036
Selections
- Super Lawyers: 2016 - 2025