Skadden’s tax practice had already included attorneys in New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, London and Paris. The attorneys in Palo Alto, together with their colleagues in other offices, will focus on transactional matters, controversy and litigation, and planning, including cross-border integration and transfer pricing. The addition of tax capabilities in Palo Alto also will complement the firm’s Executive Compensation and Benefits Group, which is led on the West Coast by Joseph M. Yaffe, who is resident in Palo Alto and Los Angeles.
Ms. Kazaks has extensive experience representing corporations and individuals in all phases of tax litigation and controversy, including federal court proceedings, IRS audits and appeals, and alternative dispute venues. She counsels clients in the financial services, pharmaceutical, energy, technology and transportation industries, and participates in litigation before the U.S. District Courts, the U.S. Tax Court, the U.S. Courts of Appeal and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Ms. Lam counsels corporations and individuals on a broad range of tax controversy, tax accounting and other matters. She returned to Skadden in 2010 after almost three years of government service as an attorney advisor in the Office of Tax Policy at the U.S. Treasury Department. While at the Treasury Department, Ms. Lam handled issues relating to partnerships, other pass-through entities and Section 1031 like-kind exchanges, as well as matters relating to exempt organizations and charitable giving.
Mr. Kramer has worked for the Advance Pricing Agreement Program at the IRS since 2001, most recently as special counsel. Focusing in the semiconductor and technology industries, he negotiates transfer pricing matters between foreign governments and multinational corporations and the IRS regarding intangible transfers, cost-sharing transactions and platform contribution transactions.
“Skadden has the best tax group in the country, and bringing that expertise to Palo Alto will provide invaluable assistance to our clients, who are facing increasingly difficult U.S. and international tax controversy and transactional issues,” said Palo Alto Office Leader Kenton J. King.
Skadden’s Tax Group is ranked as a top-tier practice in the 2012 editions of Chambers Global, Chambers USA and the Tax Directors Handbook. Chambers USA named the practice its “Tax Department of the Year” in two of the last three years, and the group received the “North America Banking Tax Firm of the Year” honors at the 2011 International Tax Review Americas Tax Awards. Lawyers in the practice also have been named as leaders in their field in Chambers USA, Chambers Europe and Legal 500.
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