Michael Dallo

About CEO & Principal Attorney Michael Dallo

A professional headshot of Michael Dallo, a man with dark hair and a neatly groomed beard, wearing a navy blue suit and a maroon patterned tie.

Michael Dallo

CEO And Principal Attorney

Overview

CEO And Principal Attorney


Phone Icon(619) 795- 8000


Email IconMdallo@dallolawgroup.com

Double barreled representation: Tax Attorney and CPA

Michael Dallo, CPA, JD, LL.M., the founder of Dallo Law Group in San Diego, California, is both a tax attorney and certified public accountant (CPA). Unlike most tax attorneys who usually only have a J.D., the basic law degree, he also holds a masters of law degrees (LL.M.) in tax, is a Certified Tax Law Specialist, and is an adjunct professor of taxation in the Masters of Tax program at the University of San Diego. His dual background in both law and accounting, his dedication to the tax profession, his passion to educate in tax, and his persistence in the face of difficult challenges give Michael a winning, strategic advantage that enables him to represent clients far better before the IRS and state tax agencies than the vast majority of tax attorneys.

As an attorney trained in the law, and specifically tax law, Michael has an exceptional track record of prevailing in hardball negotiations with the IRS. As a certified public accountant, he understands the detailed ins and outs of tax forms, which makes it impossible for the IRS to take him unaware.

Determination to Win

Michael’s practice focuses on tax problem solving, including representing clients for tax audits, audit appeals, settlements for back taxes, catching up on reporting foreign bank accounts and a myriad of other issues. He has saved both individual and business clients millions, performing such feats as getting a $100,000 IRS debt reduced to $0, getting a $500,000 debt reduced to $50,000 to be paid on easy payments, and getting a $35,000 debt reduced to $1,000. These are not unusual results for Michael Dallo. Michael is dedicated to his clients’ best interests, and he meets with every single client who walks through the doors of Dallo Law Group and oversees strategic development of their cases.

Lifelong Passion for Tax

Michael’s deep education, his extensive experience and his law practice are all focused on tax. He is aware of every minute change in the law that could affect his clients’ cases. Before he was an attorney, Michael founded a CPA firm where he prepared tax returns for individuals and small businesses, building an outstanding winning record representing clients in tax audits. Before that, he worked as a certified public accountant (CPA) in the Tax Department of Sempra Energy, a multi-national Fortune 500 Company, where he helped to resolve multi-million dollar tax disputes. He also worked in the Tax Department of PricewaterhouseCoopers in Paris, France and the Tax Division of the United States Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. In addition to working at Dallo Law Group, Michael serves as general counsel for Dallo & Co., Inc. a conglomerate of 13 grocery stores in San Diego (Jonathan’s, Harvest Ranch and Foodland Markets), where he advises on tax issues, contract and lease negotiations and employment issues for over eight-hundred employees.

Finally, Michael is proud to serve as a Professor of Taxation at the University of San Diego (his alma mater), where he teaches tax research in the Masters of Tax program. In his course, Michael teaches aspiring tax professionals the ethics of tax practice and how to utilize research skills to efficiently and effectively advocate for their clients.

Education

Michael holds a master of laws in taxation degree (LL.M) from New York University, which is the highest ranked and most prestigious graduate tax program in the nation. His law degree (J.D.) is from the University of San Diego School of Law, where he graduated order of the coif, magna cum laude (Top 5%) and received the Ralph Gano Miller Tax Award for the highest overall grade point average in the area of taxation in his graduating class. As an undergrad, Michael obtained two bachelor degrees, one in accounting and one in business administration, from the University of San Diego where he graduated magna cum laude.

Michael is fluent in Spanish and Chaldean-Aramaic.

Certifications

  • Certified Tax Law Specialist (State Bar of California)
  • Certified Public Accountant (California)

Awards and Recognitions

  • Leader of Influence in Law – San Diego Business Journal (2024)
  • Super Lawyers (2024-2026)
  • Rising Star Award – Super Lawyers (2018 – 2024)
  • Accounting Advisory Board at USD
  • Top Business Leader 40 Under 40 – San Diego Business Journal (2023)
  • Top 100 Leaders in Law – San Diego Business Journal (2021-2023)
  • CEO of the Year Award – San Diego Business Journal (2020, 2021, 2025)
  • CFO of the Year Award – San Diego Business Journal (2017 – 2022 & 2024)
  • Top Lawyer – San Diego Business Journal (2018)
  • Martindale-Hubbell: AV Preeminent- Highest Level of Professional Excellence by Martindale-Hubbell (2016-2023)
  • Law Firm Challenge award for having 100% Alumni Donation Participation within our firm (2018)
  • “Top Law Firm” San Diego Business Journal (2017)
  • “San Diego’s Favorite” by the Union Tribune Readers Poll (2017)
  • Most Admired CEO Award by San Diego Business Journal (2016 -2018)
  • Attorney of the Month by Attorney Journal Magazine (2017)
  • U-T San Diego’s Best: Tax Law Firm (2014 – 2017)
  • Best of the Bar – San Diego Business Journal (2015, 2016)
  • San Diego’s Top General Counsel (2015)
  • San Diego’s Top Young Attorney (2013)
  • Ralph Gano Miller Award in Taxation (2011)

Court Admissions

  • United States Tax Court
  • United States District Court for the Southern District of California
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Speaking Engagements & Publications

  • 40th UCLA Tax Controversy Institute – The New IRS Collection Process – The Best Ways to Resolve an IRS Dept (2024)
  • USD School of Law – RJS Law Tax Institute – ERC: The Aftermath of the Employee Retention Tax (2024)
  • Journal of Tax Practice & Procedures – “The New IRS Collection Process: The Best Ways to Resolve an IRS Dispute” (2024)
  • USD School of Law – Tax Law Society – Tax Law Research 101 (2024)
  • 39th UCLA Tax Controversy Institute – The New IRS Collection Process – The Best Ways to Resolve an IRS Dept (2023)
  • USD School of Law – Tax Law Society – Tax Law Research 101 (2023)
  • USD School of Law – Tax Controversy Institute – Alter Ego, Successor in Interest, and Nominee (2018)
  • USD School of Law – RJS Law Tax Controversy Institute Exposure – Panel speaker – July (2018)
  • San Diego County Bar Association – Fintech Seminar, How the IRS treats Cryptocurrency Now and How That Might Change in the Future – March (2018)
  • KOGO AM 600 – The DeMaio Report – Tax Resolution Expert (2018)
  • San Diego County Bar Association – The Ongoing Evolution of FinTech (2018)
  • San Diego County Bar Association – Tax Thoughts for Start-up Companies (2017)
  • USD School of Law – Panel speaker – RJS Law Tax Controversy Institute – The Trust Fund Recovery Penalty: A Thorough Analysis of The 4180 Interview – December (2016)
  • San Diego County Bar Association – Taxation Tips for Startup Clients – November (2016)
  • USD School of Law – Tax Controversy Institute – Overview of the Trust Fund Recovery (2016)
  • USD School of Law – Are you Ready for Taxmageddon? (2012)
  • California Society of Tax Consultants – Overview of the IRS Collection Process (2013)
  • USD School of Law – What Every Tax Practitioner Needs to Know About the (2014)
  • California Tax Lawyer – FTB Retroactively Denies Tax Benefits for “Qualified Small Business Stock” (2013)
  • Tax resolution expert discussion on 1700 am ESPN Radio

Memberships & Affiliations

  • San Diego County Bar Association
  • American Bar Association – Taxation Section
  • California Bar Association
  • American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
  • California Society of Certified Public Accountants