Michael Cavalier Durney

1943 - 2026

Michael Cavalier Durney
05/20/1943 - 01/10/2026
Michael Cavalier Durney, onetime Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Department of Justice, Tax Division and prominent criminal tax attorney, died peacefully on January 10, 2026, at his home in McLean, Virginia. Mike was 82 years old.
Born on May 20, 1943, in Oakland, California to Camille Cavalier Durney and Lt. Cmdr. James Joseph Durney, Mike lived briefly in New York City during World War II while his father was in the Navy. Mike grew up in Piedmont, California, where he attended Piedmont High School before attending and graduating from Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut in 1961. Mike graduated from the University of California, Berkeley (Class of 1965), where he was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. Upon graduation, he attended the University of California, Hastings College of Law (Class of 1968), where he was a member of the editorial board of the Hastings Law Journal. Mike was admitted to the California Bar in 1968. He was briefly married to Linda Lee Johnson, a fellow U.C. Berkeley student.
Mike moved to Washington, D.C., in 1968 to work as a trial attorney at the Department of Justice, Tax Division as part of the Attorney General's Honors Program. After several years in the Tax Division, he joined the Washington, D.C. law firm of Hamel & Park. In 1986, Mike was appointed Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Department of Justice, Tax Division, where he later served as Acting Assistant Attorney General. After two years, he returned to private practice. During his lengthy career, Mike became known as one of Washington, D.C.'s leading tax attorneys, assisting clients on hundreds of civil and criminal tax matters before the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Justice. He was a former Chairman of the Tax Section of the Federal Bar Association, former member of the Court Procedure and Civil and Criminal Penalties Committees of the American Bar Association Tax Section, and former Master of the J. Edgar Murdock (U.S. Tax Court) American Inn of Court, Washington, D.C. Considered an expert in his field, Mike co-authored one of the best-known manuals on criminal tax procedure.
Mike was married to Ann B. Durney, a fellow Tax Division attorney who preceded him in death, for 30 years. They shared one daughter, Christine D. Mason. He later married Carla V. Durney, with whom he had a son, James M. Durney.
A horseman, bagpipe player, and swimmer in his younger days, Mike grew to be an avid skier and golfer. He devoured any book on World War II. Mike was a 33 year member of Burning Tree Club, where he could be found most weekends. He was also a longstanding member of the Metropolitan Club and Congressional Country Club, and he was Chairman of the Board of Trustees of St. Patrick's Episcopal Day School from 1989 to 1992. Mike devotedly supported many charities, including Samaritan Ministry of Greater Washington and the Naval Institute Foundation.
Mike is survived by Carla, his beloved wife of 23 years; daughter, Christine (David); son, James; sister, Camille S. Durney; two grandchildren, Brady D. Mason and Priven A. Mason; father-in-law, Robert O. Voetsch; brother-in-law, Robert J. Voetsch (Chandra); and nieces, nephew, and cousins.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, February 7 at 11:00 am at St. Patrick's Episcopal Church, 4700 Whitehaven Pkwy, Washington, DC, 20007. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Wildlife Center of Virginia.