Mark E. Holcomb Memorial Fund in State & Local Taxation

Mark Holcomb devoted his legal career to state and local tax law, and became a recognized expert in the field. He obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of Florida as a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Golden Key National Honor society. He graduated from the Florida State University law school with high honors and membership in Order of the Coif. He set for himself, and then accomplished, the goal of becoming a leader in major state-and-local-tax organizations such as The Florida Bar Tax Section, the Paul J. Hartman Memorial State and Local Tax Forum, the Institute for Professionals in Taxation, Tax Counsel Network, Independent SALT Alliance, National Multistate Tax Symposium, NYU Annual Institute on State & Local Taxation, and the Georgetown Advanced State and Local Tax Institute. He received The Florida Bar Tax Section’s Gerald T. Hart Outstanding Tax Attorney of the Year award for 2014-15. He was recognized for expertise and excellence in Best Lawyers in America (including Tallahassee’s Tax Lawyer of the Year in 2012), Chambers USA Leading Lawyers in Tax, Florida Trend Legal Elite, and Florida Super Lawyers.

Mark’s tax practice encompassed high-stakes, high-end tax planning and controversies. As but one example, he took a refund claim from state circuit court through two levels of state appellate review, and ultimately prevailed on his petition for writ of certiorari at the United States Supreme Court without even having to file merits briefs. Newsweek, Inc. v. Fla. Dep’t of Revenue, 522 U.S. 442 (1998). He also successfully represented four nationwide online travel companies fighting against the claims of multiple Florida counties and tax collectors that the companies owed very substantial additional tourist development tax revenues. Alachua Cnty. v. Expedia, Inc., 175 So. 3d 730 (Fla. 2015).

Running parallel to Mark’s high-end tax practice and organizational leadership, he always represented people and companies who could not afford to pay his customary rates. That commitment to pro-bono legal work was a family trait. Mark was a third-generation Florida lawyer, the grandson of Lyle D. Holcomb (“Lyle”), and the son of Lyle Donald Holcomb, Jr. (“Don”), both of whom practiced in the Miami area. When Mark eulogized his father in 2015, he revealed the impact he felt from his father’s commitment to pro-bono legal work as well as community involvement:

The most important thing dad taught us as a lawyer was a tireless commitment to helping those less fortunate. Dad devoted much of his time and legal skills to those in need. … A friend of mine once said dad reminded him of Atticus Finch, which I think is just about the highest compliment you can pay a lawyer.

Like his father, Mark was an Atticus Finch. In addition to community involvement, Mark relished the opportunity to help level the playing field between regulatory authorities on the one hand, and individuals and small businesses on the other. He approached these pro-bono and reduced-fee representations with his customary dogged determination, attention to detail, vast knowledge, creativity, and penchant for persuasion.

Mark believed in doing the right thing, in helping others, in making the world a better place. And, he loved the Florida Gators with an enduring passion through thick and thin. The Mark E. Holcomb Memorial Fund in State and Local Taxation at the University of Florida is a fitting recognition of Mark’s remarkable life and career.