3 Senior Tax Lawyers join Caplin & Drysdale: Peter Barnes, Anne O’Brien and J Clark Armitage

Caplin & Drysdale has announced the addition of three high-profile lawyers:

Peter A. Barnes, who after 22 years as Senior International Tax Counsel for General Electric Co. (GE), joins the firm’s International Tax Group as Of Counsel on October 1, 2013;

Anne J. O’Brien, an esteemed trust and estate lawyer, will be a Member in the Private Client Group starting on September 30, 2013; and

J. Clark Armitage, a leader in the transfer pricing sector, who joins the firm on September 30, 2013 as a Member in the International Tax and Tax Controversies Groups.

Firm President Scott D. Michel remarked, “It is an extraordinarily positive step for Caplin & Drysdale to bring in three lawyers of such high caliber at the same time.  Peter, Anne, and Clark bring to us tremendous experience, enormous intellectual talent, and outstanding judgment in very technical, but increasingly active, areas of tax law.  Their arrival will enable us to continue to provide efficient and sophisticated tax advice to our clients in the U.S. and around the world.  We are delighted that they are joining the firm.”

Mr. Barnes brings over 30 years of experience in the international tax arena, and will focus his practice on assisting multinational corporations in their global tax planning programs, including matters related to transfer pricing, trademark licensing, and dispute resolution.  He will also serve as a Senior Fellow at the Duke Center for International Development (DCID) at Duke University, where he will be teaching in Duke University’s International Tax Program.

The cornerstone of Ms. O’Brien’s practice will involve advising domestic and international private clients on safeguarding their personal and business interests.  She offers counsel on matters concerning estate planning, trust and estate administration, and related areas of federal and state tax law.  These areas include transfers of family wealth to succeeding generations, settlement negotiations in large estate controversies, family trust matters, and charitable tax planning. Additionally, Ms. O’Brien assists high-net-worth individuals and families in structuring their U.S. and global holdings, as well as the transfer of those holdings to family members, trusts, charitable organizations, and other entities.

Mr. Armitage’s core practice will be advising multinational corporations on transfer pricing in all contexts, from planning to cross-border dispute resolution. He has particularly strong capabilities working with tax authorities on advance pricing agreements (APAs) and Competent Authority matters for corporations in a wide range of industries.  Mr. Armitage spent eight years in the IRS Advance Pricing Agreement Program, serving as Deputy Director from 2008 to 2010, where he both experienced and oversaw the full spectrum of Program activities.  He also served a special detail as the Tax Treaty Manager responsible for Canadian Competent Authority cases.  Drawing on his combined background in government and private practice, Mr. Armitage will play a key role in helping clients address transfer pricing, valuation, permanent establishment, and other international tax issues and controversies.