News

Sonya Jindal Tork
- E jindal@taftlaw.com
- T (513) 357-9335
- T (513) 357-9335
- F (513) 381-0205
Summary
Sonya advises individuals, businesses, hospitals, health care organizations, corporate executives, physicians, nonprofits, foundations, and corporate fiduciaries with all aspects of their tax, estate, charitable, governance, asset protection, business succession, transactional planning needs.
Sonya also has extensive experience representing individuals, estates, trusts, business and tax-exempt organizations in connection with state and federal civil and criminal disputes, audits, investigations, examinations, collection and settlement matters before the Internal Revenue Service, the United States Tax Court, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, and the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.
Sonya earned her J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School and her Masters in Tax Law from Northwestern University. Leveraging her tax expertise, Sonya provides clients with practical, creative, and business-oriented solutions to achieve their goals in a tax efficient manner.
Sonya serves as co-chair of Taft’s Gender Advancement Committee, which works to develop, promote, and advance women attorneys within Taft, the legal profession and the community.
Representative Experience
Tax, Business Succession, and Estate Planning
- Advises clients on tax and non-tax business structuring issues in connection with transactions, including partnership, corporate, real estate, international and business succession transactions.
- Advises on wealth transfer planning for individuals and families, including implementation of sophisticated wealth transfer techniques, such as transferring of interests in family owned entities.
- Advises family owned businesses in succession planning and related estate planning issues.
- Advises corporate executives and businesses on structuring equity and incentive plans and award agreements.
- Advises clients on structuring transactions to utilize various tax incentives including opportunity zones.
- Advised executor, trustee and beneficiaries in connection with estate, gift and income tax related to valuation of closely-held businesses.
Tax Controversy and Civil and Criminal Tax Investigations
- Represented a senior level partner at a major accounting firm indicted for violations of federal tax law. Following a five-week jury trial in January 2013 the partner was acquitted of all charges.
- Represented partnership before U.S. Tax Court and IRS Appeals in connection with IRS’s challenge of partnership transaction that generated more than $173 million in deductions and $1.3 billion in losses and obtained extremely favorable settlement for client.
- Represented individuals with undisclosed foreign financial accounts and handle IRS voluntary disclosures, civil audits, and criminal investigations with respect to such offshore matters.
- Represents clients at all stages of civil and criminal tax matters, including investigations, pleading, sentencing, settlement and appeals stages.
- Represents clients in government examinations of complex tax shelters and other tax-advantaged strategies.
Nonprofit and Tax-Exempt Organizations
- Represents nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations and foundations in all aspects of their organization and operation including formation, governance, mergers and restructurings, unrelated business income tax matters, intermediate sanctions, joint ventures, endowment funds, fundraising, charitable giving and planned giving programs, and compliance with state law charity registration requirements.
- Represents hospital systems and health care entities in connection with restructurings, joint ventures with for-profit entities, acquisitions of for-profit entities, conversion of for-profit entities to non-profit, unrelated business income tax issues, and supporting organization issues.
- Advises family and corporate private foundations with respect to private foundation tax law restrictions and limitations related to self-dealing, excess business holding, taxable expenditures, program-related investments, and minimum distribution requirements.
- Represents nonprofit organizations and executives in audits and investigations before the IRS and the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.
- Represents nonprofit organizations in connection with obtaining and maintaining bingo licenses.
Awards
Taft Excellence in Pro Bono Award
(2022)
"Forty Under 40" Honoree, Cincinnati Business Courier (2021)
Profiled in Indian Hill Connection magazine (2020)
Featured among the “Women Who Move Cincinnati” in Cincinnati Magazine (2020)
Cincy Magazine, Leading Lawyer (2018 - 2020)
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Honoree, Leading Lawyers, Tax (2018 - present)
Honoree, Ohio Super Lawyers Rising Stars, Tax (2014 - 2019)
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Taft Legacy Award Honoree, Taft (2018)
Top 100 Trial Lawyers Honoree, The National Trial Lawyers, Criminal Defense (2014)
Cincinnati’s Finest Young Professional Award, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (2010)
Chancellor’s Law Scholar, Vanderbilt University Law School
Scholastic Excellence Award, Vanderbilt University, International Business Transactions
Legal Aid Society Public Interest Service Award Honoree, Vanderbilt University
Member, Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society
All Service Areas
Education
- Vanderbilt University Law School (2007)
- Northwestern University School of Law (2007)
- Xavier University (2003)
Admissions
- Federal - U.S. Tax Court
- Federal - Southern District of Ohio
- State - Ohio
News
Jindal Tork Named to Chamber Leadership Cincinnati Class 46 News
Fifty-One Taft Attorneys Named 2022 Leading Lawyers by Cincy Magazine News
Jindal Tork Joins Greater Cincinnati Minority Counsel Program Board News
Taft Announces 2022 Pro Bono Award Winners
Past Events
Professional Affiliations
- American Bar Association
Member, Taxation Section
- Cincinnati Bar Association
Vice President, Nonprofit Law Committee
- National Trial Lawyers
Member
- Leadership Cincinnati
Member, Class 46
- Leadership Council on Legal Diversity
Fellow (2022)
Community Involvement
- American Cancer Society
Member, Board of Directors
Member, Discovery Ball Board of Ambassadors (2015) - Boy Scouts of America
Member, Professional Leadership Network
Former Executive Board Member - Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park
Member, Board of Directors
- Greater Cincinnati Minority Counsel Program
Board Member
- Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber C-Change Leadership Development Program
Member, Class 7
- Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati Volunteer Lawyers Project
Volunteer
- Nashville Pro Bono Program
Volunteer
- The Ndukwe Foundation
Former Board Member
- Women Writing for (a) Change
Former Member, Advisory Council