J. Phillip Adams

J. Phillip Adams is a Professor from Practice at the University of Michigan Law School, where he has served on the faculty since 2012 after previously teaching as an adjunct for several years. He specializes in tax law instruction with a focus on business enterprise taxation.

His educational background includes:

• Louisiana State University, BA
• University of Michigan, JD
• New York University, LLM

Professor Adams' research and teaching expertise centers on complex tax domains:

• Corporate Taxation structures
• Income Taxation of Business Enterprises
• Tax Planning for Corporate Transactions
• Tax implications of Mergers & Acquisitions
• Partnership Tax frameworks
• Spinoff transaction taxation

His professional practice involved high-stakes corporate tax advisory work for Fortune 500 clients including IBM, News Corporation, General Motors, Pfizer, and Goldman Sachs. He held leadership roles as partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and served as General Tax Counsel for CBS Corporation.

Professor Adams teaches core tax courses including Corporate Taxation, Introduction to the Income Taxation of Business Enterprise, Partnership Tax, and Tax Planning for Corporate Transactions, translating decades of transactional experience into classroom instruction.