Michael A. Pearl has more than thirty years of experience in all aspects of state and local taxation, including the handling of a wide range of tax controversies, audits and legislative matters, and consulting on multistate tax planning and state tax implications of complex business transactions.

Prior to joining Morrison & Foerster in April 1993, Mr. Pearl provided state and local tax consulting services for two major accounting firms. Prior to that, he was a General Attorney serving as in-house state tax counsel for J.C. Penney Company for almost fifteen years where, in addition to state tax planning responsibilities, he handled a wide range of state tax controversies before administrative tribunals in more than fifteen states. Mr. Pearl also served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Liberia, West Africa, where he assisted the Legal Counsel of the Department of Planning and Economic Affairs and lectured at the University of Liberia Law School.

Mr. Pearl He is a member of the State and Local Tax Section of the American Bar Association and the State Tax Committee of the New York Bar Association.