Virtually all commercial transactions have tax implications. Corporate tax is thus one of the most important practice areas for any major law firm. Working in corporate tax involves advising on the most tax-efficient means of acquiring, divesting or restructuring assets, negotiating and documenting the transaction, and ensuring the smooth completion of the resulting deal. On the contentious side, corporate tax lawyers advise on all aspects of tax litigation and investigations, negotiate with tax authorities and conduct litigation in the civil courts.

Corporate tax lawyer Damien Crossley completed his training contract at City firm Macfarlanes in 2002 and made partner in 2009. The prospect of a career at the Bar had never overly appealed; he was certain from the outset that life as a solicitor would be the best fit for him. "I wanted to work closely with other people and be part of a team, so I was more interested in becoming a solicitor," he recalls. "I also wanted to be closer to transactions and get fully involved in cases. As a barrister, that's something you don't really do - their work can be quite disjointed because of the way they only handle certain aspects of a case."

At two years' qualified, Damien went on a year's secondment to the tax department of New York law firm Paul Weiss: "The year gave me exposure to a different tax regime, which was really interesting. During that time I worked on lots of high-profile transactions and learnt a lot by doing, which is by far the best way to learn."

Back in London, as a member of Macfarlanes' tax team, Damien advises on a broad range of corporate tax issues, specialising in private equity-related tax matters, such as the establishment of private equity and special situation funds and the structuring of pan- European investment transactions. In fact, the majority of his work involves structuring transactions in some way: "It could be an investment fund, merger, acquisition or reorganisation that I'm dealing with. Put simply, clients will come to me with a commercial idea, such as buying a business or reorganising an existing one, and I will tell them how to structure it." Tax lawyers are, in essence, problem solvers who try to find structural solutions for their clients. "I really enjoy looking for the answer," he enthuses. "It's what makes my job so interesting."

As far as Damien is concerned, tax lawyers get a great deal, in that they are cherry picked the premium corporate work while escaping some of the more mundane aspects of life as a commercial solicitor. "I like to think we get most of the advantages of being a corporate lawyer without any of the disadvantages," he says. "We manage to avoid most of the more boring work, such as due diligence and disclosure letters, and get to handle more ‘live' matters than general corporate lawyers. And the hours, while still long, are generally better and more predictable than those of a mainstream corporate lawyer."

To thrive in this field, you not only need to have a creative approach to solving problems, but must also boast in-depth specialist knowledge. "Experience really helps. I always say that the definition of a good tax lawyer is someone who's done it before," says Damien. "Early on in my career, when another tax lawyer came up with some brilliant solution to a problem, I'd be very impressed, but as I got more experienced I realised that they'd probably just dealt with a similar issue before. Experience counts for a lot in this field." And the body of knowledge required to make it as a tax lawyer is substantial: "A tax lawyer who doesn't know tax is useless, so you have to be committed to acquiring that knowledge. Consequently, the first couple of years in the field can be a hard slog; but it does get easier."

Law by its very nature is ever-changing, so this knowledge-building element never stops simply because you have reached a certain point in your career. Damien explains: "Keeping up to date is a constant challenge - you have to read around the subject and keep up with tax journals and publications. As our practice is very international, we also have to have a working knowledge of tax in other jurisdictions. We have two professional support lawyers who help us do that, but a lot of the onus is on us."

Specialist expertise aside, to be a good tax lawyer you need most of the usual skill set required to be a corporate lawyer: attention to detail, a willingness to work hard and a commercial outlook. Patience is also vital: "To do well in this area, you have to be someone who wants to find out the right answer and is prepared to go down as many dead ends as it takes to find out what that is."