Robert Rizzi

• rrizzi@steptoe.com
• vCard
• Washington Office

Robert Rizzi, a partner in Steptoe’s Washington and New York offices, is co-head of the firm's tax practice.  His practice covers federal and state income tax aspects of corporate and partnership business transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, reorganizations, work outs, and joint ventures, and advice to high-net-worth families on transactional and cross-border matters.  Mr. Rizzi has experience in tax planning for transactions in the financial services, telecom, real estate, technology, and hospitality sectors, primarily in international markets.  He also provides tax advice and structuring for mid-market and private equity transactions in the US and abroad.

Mr. Rizzi also represents prospective political appointees requiring Senate confirmation through the vetting process.  His clients have included cabinet and subcabinet members, administrators and commissioners of various agencies, and numerous ambassadorial appointees in both Democratic and Republican administrations.

Mr. Rizzi teaches government ethics at Harvard Law School, and has taught corporate taxation at Catholic University Law School, and government ethics at the Georgetown University Law Center.  He writes a bi-monthly column, “Corporate Organizations and Reorganizations,” for the Journal of Corporate Taxation and is a founding editor of Mergers and Acquisitions, The Monthly Tax Journal.  He also served in the Office of General Counsel at the Central Intelligence Agency from 1981-1982.

Noteworthy

• Legal 500 US, Tax: Domestic Tax, 2015
• Legal 500 US, Tax: International Tax, 2015
• Washingtonian Magazine's "Best Lawyers" in Tax, 2015

Select News & Events

• "Crash Course: the Political Appointment Process," Truman Center, November 3, 2016
• "Navigating the Political Appointment Process," Truman Project, June 24, 2016
• "Federal Tax Developments: Proposed Section 385 Regulations," Institute of International Bankers, June 22, 2016
• Steptoe Receives 26 Practice, 120 Individual Mentions in Legal 500 US 2016
• Hot Tax Topics: A Look Back at 2015 and a Preview of 2016, January 28, 2016, A Steptoe-sponsored event
• Washingtonian Names Steptoe Partners to ‘Best Lawyers’ List
• "Ethics," Insurance Tax Conference, November 13, 2015
• Steptoe Receives 26 Practice, 103 Individual Mentions in Legal 500 US 2015
• "Understanding Complex Investment Funds and Executive Compensation Arrangements," National Government Ethics Summit, September 10, 2014
• Steptoe Receives 18 Practice, 75 Individual Mentions in Legal 500 US 2014
• Law360 Quotes Bob Rizzi on Supreme Court Ruling on Recess Appointments
• Steptoe’s Tax Practice Adds Robert Rizzi

Selected Publications

• One Week Until the 2016 Election - Public Policy Implications
  November 2, 2016
• How the 2016 Election Will Affect Public Policy Developments - Part III
  October 20, 2016
• Ethics Rules Would Have Little Impact on a President Trump
  October 12, 2016, The Washington Post
• How the 2016 Election Will Affect Public Policy Developments - Part II
  October 11, 2016
• How the 2016 Election Will Affect Public Policy Developments
  September 27, 2016
• Presidential Transition Process Already Under Way
  June 29, 2016, Breitbart News
• Proposed Regulations for Foreign-Owned US LLCs Move Toward Increased Financial Transparency
  May 23, 2016
• The Politics of Tax Returns: From the Panama Papers to the 2016 Election
  May 16, 2016, Bloomberg BNA

More Publications »