Elise J. McGee advises high-net-worth individuals and business owners on all aspects of wealth-transfer planning, including estate and trust administration, leveraged wealth-transfer techniques, tax matters, cryptocurrency and QSBS planning, real estate transactions and closely held business matters. Elise has extensive experience working with owners of closely held businesses to develop governance and succession plans, and on corporate, tax and compliance matters relating to those businesses.

Elise specializes in the formation and operation of private trust companies, and has advised clients on these structures in multiple jurisdictions. Elise has worked with state regulators to develop customized private trust company structures for clients, including for international families. Most recently, she co-drafted Wyoming’s 2019 trust company legislation including 2021 legislative updates. Elise has analyzed SEC and regulatory compliance issues facing private trust companies, and has helped clients develop policies and procedures for their private trust companies. She also advises clients on the litigation and regulatory risks facing private trust companies and their decision-makers.

Elise works with clients, including registered investment advisers and multi-family offices, to establish and transition trusteeship to retail trust companies. She also advises retail trust companies on cryptocurrency custody matters. She helps clients structure the multi-jurisdictional relationships between trust companies, family offices and closely held businesses.

Elise speaks frequently on the subject of estate planning, state income tax strategies, digital assets and trust companies. She has lectured at the University of Wyoming College of Law and serves on the Executive Committee of the Chicago Bar Association Trust Law Committee.

While in law school, Elise was an executive editor for The Michigan Journal of Race & Law. Prior to law school, she worked as a senior research analyst for Lexecon, where she performed research and statistical analyses focusing on the application of economics to litigation.

Highly experienced advocate with 10 US Supreme Court arguments and 100+ appellate and trial court arguments nationwide

Secures major victories across administrative law, intellectual property, immigration, life sciences, securities, transportation, and energy, including landmark Supreme Court cases

Designs and leads high-impact affirmative litigation, often against federal and state agencies to achieve regulatory and policy wins

Handles complex appeals and challenges to government actions

Brian H. Jenn focuses his practice on US and international tax matters for US and foreign multinationals and other clients. As former Deputy International Tax Counsel (DITC) for the US Department of Treasury, Brian has extensive experience and insight on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), having been deeply involved in the process of issuing proposed and final regulations and other guidance implementing the TCJA. Brian also has significant insights on taxation of the digital economy, transfer pricing and US taxation of foreign currencies.

Prior to joining McDermott, Brian spent several years at the US Department of Treasury where he was an attorney advisor, and most recently DITC. While at Treasury, he served as co-chair of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Task Force on Digital Economy and as US delegate to the Committee on Fiscal Affairs. In this capacity, Brian led Treasury’s engagement at the OECD on digital tax issues, playing a central role in discussing tax challenges associated with the digitalization of the economy, as well as the development of new international norms for allocating tax rights among countries.

Brian also advises clients with international operations on transfer pricing issues, such as supply chain structuring and intellectual property planning. As US delegate to the OECD’s Working Party 6 throughout the G20-OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project, Brian negotiated major changes to international transfer pricing standards, including changes to the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines chapters on intangibles, cost contributions arrangements, risk and recharacterization, and low-value added services.

In addition, Brian was one of the primary drafters of a recently issued detailed set of regulations governing US taxation of transactions involving foreign currencies.

Before joining the Treasury, Brian spent several years in private practice, where he advised clients in various sectors, including technology, pharmaceutical, financial services and consumer products. He handled aspects of international tax planning including foreign tax credits, foreign currency issues, Subpart F, intangible property transfers, transfer pricing and treaty interpretation.

Prior to law school, Brian served as a staff economist to the White House Council of Economic Advisors where he assisted the chairman and members of the council in advising the president on tax policy and other public finance issues. In addition, he served as senior economist to the Joint Economic Committee of Congress where he advised the chair regarding tax policy, including issues related to the economic implications of potential international tax reforms.

Barry J. Quirke focuses his practice on international corporate tax matters, including planning for corporate acquisitions, dispositions, reorganizations, spin-offs, joint ventures, intercompany transactions and cross-border financings. He works extensively with multinational corporations on post-acquisition integration strategies.

Barry previously served as the chief tax officer of a NYSE-traded mobile industrial equipment manufacturer with operations in more than 160 countries. He has developed and implemented global effective tax rate planning strategies for outbound and inbound multinational companies. Barry has worked on structuring multi-jurisdictional acquisitions, post-acquisition integration, internal reorganizations and joint ventures in Europe, Latin American and the Asia/Pacific region.

Barry speaks frequently on international tax topics for various professional organizations. He previously served as an adjunct professor at the Northwestern University School of Law LLM Tax Program and is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois College of Law where he teaches international taxation.

Sandra McGill focuses her practice on international tax planning. Sandra works with US and non-US multinational companies, public and private as well as high net worth individuals and family businesses. Sandra has extensive experience advising clients on a broad range of cross-border tax issues, including the following:

• Foreign tax credit planning
• Subpart F and PFIC anti-deferral rules
• Source of income and withholding tax issues and compliance, including obtaining Treaty relief
• Foreign currency recognition rules under Sections 985-989
• US trade or business or local country permanent establishment (PE) issues
• Section 367 and other subchapter C issues related to cross-border restructurings, acquisitions and financings, including issues with respect to intellectual property

Sandra works with an extensive network of non-US lawyers on developing multi-jurisdictional business structures such as centralized sales and services and finance company structures.

Sandra is a co-founder of Tax in the City®: A Tax Roundtable, which consists of tax professionals who meet regularly to discuss substantive tax issues in a confidential setting.

Kristen E. Hazel has extensive experience representing clients in US and international aspects of federal tax matters, including international acquisitions and divestitures, international joint ventures, and capital plan design and implementation, including tax planning with respect to intellectual property. Her work includes both inbound and outbound transactions.

Kristen is the co-head of the Firm’s Captive Insurance Affinity Group. She regularly counsels clients with respect to the tax aspects of organizing, operating and defending captive insurance companies. She is head of the Firm’s New Business Committee and is a member of the Firm’s Professional Responsibility Committee.

Kristen frequently speaks on captive insurance, domestic and international tax topics for various professional organizations.

Kristen is a co-founder of Tax in the City: A Tax Roundtable®, which consists of tax professionals with an interest in discussing substantive tax issues in a collegial and confidential setting.