COST/Paul Frankel Excellence in State Taxation Award

The COST/Paul H. Frankel Excellence in State Taxation Award was initiated in 2009 to honor Morrison & Foerster’s Paul Frankel and is presented annually to an individual to recognize outstanding and continuing contributions to the state and local tax profession.

Paul Frankel, the well-known SALT attorney often described as “the godfather of state and local taxation,” was the inaugural recipient of the eponymous Award. As a COST member with W.R. Grace, he organized and led the COST Lawyer’s Coordinating Committee, and initiated the renowned COST Audit Sessions that continue today as an invaluable venue for the sharing of audit information and networking. As a litigator with Morrison & Foerster, he represented COST members on many of the key transformative state tax cases and issues of the day. Until his passing, Mr. Frankel played an active role in the selection process of Award recipients in collaboration with the COST Board of Directors. Paul’s principles and values continue to be the guideposts COST uses in the selection process.

Recipients include:

2009	Paul Frankel
2010	Marilyn Wethekam
2011	James Buresh
2012	Chuck Drury
2013	Maureen Pechacek
2014	Professor Richard Pomp
2015	Fred Marcus
2016	Prentiss Willson
2017	Bruce Ely
2018	Bob Burgner
2019	Doug Lindholm
2020	Kendall Houghton
2021	Arthur Parham
2022	Lynn Gandhi
2023	Bill Backstrom
2024	Deborah Bierbaum