Overview
(January 20, 2015, Washington, DC) — Steptoe & Johnson LLP is pleased to announce that Lisa Zarlenga is returning to the firm as co-chair of Steptoe’s Tax Group and a member of the firm’s Government Affairs & Public Policy Group. For the past three years, she has served as tax legislative counsel in the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Tax Policy. Ms. Zarlenga will reside in the firm’s Washington office, where she was first elected partner in 2003.
As tax legislative counsel, Ms. Zarlenga advised Treasury’s assistant secretary for tax policy on a broad range of tax policy issues, including individual, corporate, partnership, tax-exempt organizations, financial products, estate & gift, income tax accounting, energy, excise taxes, and procedure and administration. She supervised a staff of 16 lawyers in preparing administrative guidance, including regulations, revenue rulings, revenue procedures, notices, and announcements to ensure that Treasury’s policies were incorporated into such guidance. She also oversaw the office’s development of the administration’s legislative proposals. In her role as tax legislative counsel, Ms. Zarlenga also gained extensive experience with Treasury’s implementation of the Affordable Care Act.
Ms. Zarlenga joined the Office of Tax Policy in April 2011 as deputy tax legislative counsel for regulatory affairs. In 2011, she was awarded the Treasury Special Act Award in recognition of her leadership and commitment to coordinating the 2011-2012 Priority Guidance Plan, which sets forth more than 300 guidance projects annually that the government intends to prioritize its time.
Prior to joining Treasury in 2011, Ms. Zarlenga practiced at Steptoe for 15 years, handling a wide range of corporate tax planning and tax controversy matters. She assisted clients in structuring tax-free and taxable acquisitions and dispositions, and spin-offs, including providing opinion letters and seeking advance rulings from the IRS, and assisted clients in restructuring financially troubled businesses. She also advised clients with respect to special rules governing consolidated groups. With regard to tax controversy matters, Ms. Zarlenga assisted clients during the audit process, prepared protests, participated in IRS appeals conferences, responded to requests for technical advice, and assisted with litigation matters in various federal courts.
An active member of the tax community, Ms. Zarlenga has held many leadership positions, including chair of the DC Bar Tax Section and vice chair of the Corporate Tax Committee of the ABA Tax Section. In addition, at Steptoe, she co-chaired the firm’s Professional Training Committee.
“We are delighted to welcome Lisa back to Steptoe,” said firm Chair Phil West. “Having worked closely with Lisa, I have seen first-hand what a great talent she is, making me especially pleased she is returning. While at Treasury, she broadened her substantive knowledge and developed greater practical insight into how tax policy issues are developed and resolved through administrative guidance and legislation. This experience will be of tremendous value to clients as the pressure grows for tax reform and when proposals arise to increase tax on multinationals.”
Ms. Zarlenga commented: “Serving at Treasury has been the greatest privilege of my professional life. But I am looking forward to returning to Steptoe, a firm that has been my professional home for my entire private practice career. I am also looking forward to working with Bob Rizzi in my new role as co-chair of one of the most acclaimed tax practices in the world.”
Steptoe’s Tax Group brings clients decades of consulting, transactional, and advocacy experience in all substantive areas of federal and state taxation. The team includes former senior government officials from congressional offices, the IRS, Treasury, and the Justice Department, who have vast experience in sophisticated tax planning, audit, and controversy work. The highly regarded group has earned rankings and recommendations from the prestigious legal directories Chambers USA, Chambers Global, and The Legal 500, among other publications.
Ms. Zarlenga earned both her law degree and undergraduate degree, summa cum laude, from The Ohio State University. She then clerked for the Honorable Robert P. Ruwe on the US Tax Court. While an associate at Steptoe, she completed a master of laws in taxation, with honors, from Georgetown University Law Center.
About Steptoe
Steptoe & Johnson LLP is an international law firm widely recognized for vigorous advocacy in complex litigation and arbitration, successful representation of clients before governmental agencies, and creative and practical advice in guiding business transactions. The firm has more than 500 lawyers and other professionals in offices in Beijing, Brussels, Century City, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York, Palo Alto, Phoenix and Washington. For more information, visit www.steptoe.com.
