Clarissa C. Potter Named IRS Deputy Chief Counsel (Technical)

The Internal Revenue Service has announced the appointment of Clarissa C. Potter to the position of Deputy Chief Counsel (Technical) effective Sept. 24, 2006. Potter will replace Heather Maloy, currently acting in the position and officially the Associate Chief Counsel (Passthroughs and Special Industries). Maloy is leaving the government to return to private practice.

“Clarissa Potter is a true asset to the Office of Chief Counsel,” said Donald L. Korb, IRS Chief Counsel. “Ms. Potter’s extensive tax law experience in government and academia and her substantial knowledge of Counsel’s technical functions make her an excellent selection for this critical position.”

The Deputy Chief Counsel (Technical) serves as alter ego to the Chief Counsel in the overall executive direction of the Office’s technical tax operations. The Deputy is responsible for planning and coordinating all non-litigation work related to the development, interpretation and application of Federal tax regulations, and serves as the Chief Counsel’s personal advisor on most national and international tax matters under his jurisdiction.

Since December 2005, Potter has been Senior Counsel to the Chief Counsel (Legislation), serving as program manager and senior advisor to the Chief Counsel and IRS executives on a broad array of issues related to legislation; fulfilling Counsel’s responsibilities to develop, review, and assist in shaping proposed legislation; and providing legal support to the IRS in fulfilling its legislative responsibilities. She joined Office of Chief Counsel in July 2005 from the faculty of Georgetown University Law Center, where she had been an Associate Professor teaching tax law since 1998. While there she served as director of the Georgetown University Law Center Tax Policy Workshop and as Director of Projects for the American Tax Policy Institute. She has previously held positions in the Treasury Department’s Office of Tax Policy, on the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation of the United States Congress, and in private practice.

Potter holds an A.B. from Miami University of Ohio and a J.D. from Yale Law School, where she was managing editor of The Yale Law and Policy Review.