US Department of Treasury Tax Lawyer, Stephen Shay, goes back to school

Harvard Law School has announced the appointments Stephen Shay as Professor of Practice.

Shay, a longtime practitioner of tax law, is currently Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Tax Affairs in the U.S. Department of the Treasury. At HLS he will teach basic, international and other taxation courses.

Said Minow: “Our students and faculty will benefit enormously from Steve Shay’s extraordinary expertise and 35 years of practice in tax law and policy. We are beyond fortunate that he has decided to bring his talents and experience to Harvard. He possesses a terrific combination of skills and wisdom, a treasury of knowledge of domestic and international tax law and policy, a profound understanding of government and the budgeting process, wide experiences in counseling individual and multinational corporate clients, and a superb record of written scholarship. He will bring great knowledge and ideas to our students and to his new colleagues on our faculty.”

Shay said: “I am honored to join the Law School’s distinguished faculty as a Professor of Practice. I look forward to teaching and sharing my public policy and practice experience with the Law School’s extraordinary students.”

Since joining the Treasury Department in 2009, Shay has worked to develop and oversee implementation of U.S. international tax policy. He played a significant role in the development of proposals for the FY 2011 budget, was instrumental in structuring foreign account information reporting provisions passed as part of the 2010 HIRE Act, and helped develop international tax anti-abuse proposals that were passed as part of the 2010 Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act.

Shay also has served as the United States delegate to the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes.

Previously a partner for 22 years at Ropes & Gray, LLP, Shay has extensive tax counseling and controversy experience advising multinational companies, private equity funds, financial institutions, global institutional investors and foreign governments on cross-border taxation matters and transfer pricing.

While in private practice, Shay regularly published scholarly and practice articles relating to international taxation, and testified for law reform before Congressional tax-writing committees.

Prior to joining Ropes & Gray in 1987, Shay spent five years as International Tax Counsel at the Treasury Department.

Shay has been active in the American Bar Association Tax Section as a council director and chair of the Committee on Foreign Activities of U.S. Taxpayers; the American Law Institute as an associate reporter; the American Tax Policy Institute as a member of the Board of Trustees; the New York State Bar Association Tax Section; and the International Bar Association Taxes Committee.

He was recognized as a leading practitioner in Chambers Global’s “The World’s Leading Lawyers,” Chambers USA’s “America’s Leading Lawyers,” “The Best Lawyers in America,” Euromoney’s “Guide to The World’s Leading Tax Advisers” and Euromoney’s “Guide to The Best of the Best.”

Shay is a 1972 graduate of Wesleyan University, and he earned his J.D. and his M.B.A. from Columbia University in 1976.