NERA Economic Consulting, a leading global provider of economic research and analysis in business, legal, and regulatory matters, has announced that[private] Takashi Asayama has joined as a Special Consultant in the firm’s Los Angeles office.
Mr. Asayama, a transfer pricing and tax specialist, has broad expertise in the economic analysis of international tax concerns for multinational Japanese firms. Project work for Mr. Asayama’s clients has included numerous US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) examinations, and bilateral and unilateral advanced pricing agreement programs between the US IRS and the Japanese National Tax Administration.
“Takashi’s perspective as an expert in transfer pricing strategies and his significant contributions to beneficially resolving disputes between the US and Japanese tax authorities are a welcome addition to NERA’s transfer pricing expertise,” said Dr. Harlow Higinbotham, Senior Vice President and Head of NERA’s Transfer Pricing Practice. “My colleagues and I are pleased that Takashi has decided to join NERA’s Transfer Pricing team.”
Prior to joining NERA, Mr. Asayama was a Partner with Ernst & Young LLP’s International Tax Department and a Partner in KPMG’s Tax Corporation in Tokyo. In addition to his position at NERA, Mr. Asayama is the managing director of his own consulting firm, Global Tax Advisory Office.
Mr. Asayama is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a degree in economics from Yokohama National University of Japan.[/private]
Private Client law firm Boodle Hatfield has helped the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) with its new qualification and education programme for financial advisers.
The STEP Certificate for Financial Services (Trusts and Estate planning) was launched on[private] 3 November and is the only trusts and estate planning qualification to address the common ground between trustees and those working in the financial services sector.
The qualification’s course material and textbook has been jointly written by Boodle Hatfield, one of the UK’s leading private client law firms, and Julie Hutchison, Head of Estate Planning at Standard Life. The qualification will be delivered by Central Law Training, a specialist provider of legal and financial training.
Emma Haley, the solicitor and head of Boodle Hatfield’s Private Client technical know-how team who has lead Boodle Hatfield’s involvement, said: “STEP is the leading organisation in the trusts and estates field and we were delighted to be asked to contribute to this important new qualification. We will continue to be involved in an advisory capacity ensuring the coursework and text book remains on top of all regulatory developments.”
STEP is expecting between 50 and 100 financial advisers to sign-up for the first course, beginning in January 2010. For more information on the qualification visit the STEP website. [/private]
About Boodle Hatfield
Boodle Hatfield is a 29-partner law firm, which practices from offices in central London and Oxford. Its main departments are property, private client and tax, corporate, family, litigation and employment.
Boodle Hatfield has strengthened its 30 strong Private Client practice with the appointment of contentious partner [private] William Twidale.
Will joins the firm on 1 December from Farrer & Co, where he is currently a partner in its Disputes team. He brings considerable experience and expertise in contentious trust and probate claims, advising a number of trustee bodies and national charities. He is a member of the Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists.
He is also recognised for his expertise in advising both regulatory bodies and individual professionals on regulatory and disciplinary matters. Will is a member of the Association of Regulatory & Disciplinary Lawyers and advised the former financial director of Mayflower Corporation PLC in the first Accountancy Investigation and Discipline Board Tribunal where his client was cleared of all charges.
Commenting on his appointment Will said: “I am delighted to be joining Boodle Hatfield and its enormously respected Private Client team. The firm has a terrific client base and an enviable reputation and I look forward to contributing further the firm’s contentious practice.”
Richard Maughan, Boodle Hatfield’s Managing Partner adds: “We are very exciting by Will’s arrival. He has an excellent reputation and a strong client following. We all look forward to the contribution he will make.”
Will is the third senior lateral hire the firm has made this year. In July the firm appointed James Ferguson, a partner of 20 years standing at Taylor Wessing, into the Family team, and in April James Black joined the Commercial Property team from Mayer Brown.
Richard adds: “Boodle Hatfield continues to invest and develop further its core practice areas in Private Client and Commercial Property and will look to continue to grow and develop these areas further over the next year or so.”[/private]
About Boodle Hatfield
Boodle Hatfield is a 28-partner law firm, which practices from offices in central London and Oxford. Its main departments are property, private client and tax, corporate, family, litigation and employment.
[private]Tania Reid, a taxation law specialist, has joined national and trans-Tasman firm Duncan Cotterill as an associate.
Christchurch-based Reid has in-depth experience, having previously worked with respected local taxation law specialist Stephen Tomlinson, who has retired from the partnership of Tominson Paull. She is well known for providing practical advice and solutions to clients and assisting accountancy and legal practices in providing specialist tax advice to their clients.
Reid has also worked in the corporate tax team of a leading international accounting firm. She is a member of the taxation committee of the New Zealand Law Society, Canterbury-Westland branch.
Reid will be working alongside leading taxation partner Grant Pearson who was recently involved in advising on the University of Canterbury’s philanthropic bond issue.
[/private]
Janice Fredric, chief executive of Duncan Cotterill, said the firm had an impressive taxation team which was attracting high calibre work throughout New Zealand.
“We believe there has been a gap in the market for highly technical and sophisticated taxation advice. The work undertaken on the philanthropic bond issue required an extremely innovative approach and underlines the expertise of our team.”
[private]Timothy Burley has joined as a partner within the Tax practice at New York-based accounting firm, Weiser LLP.
With offices in both the firm’s New York City and Edison, New Jersey locations, Mr. Burley will offer his expertise in domestic and international taxation and tax operations. Specifically, he will assist with both client portfolios (with an emphasis on C corporations) and practice development aimed towards large corporations and tax advisory, accounting, and outsourcing services.
Prior to accepting the position with Weiser, Mr. Burley spent 28 years with Ernst & Young LLP where he served as a Tax Account and Practice Leader in New York and Philadelphia, coordinating delivering and ensuring client satisfaction for federal, state, and international tax services and financial reporting for both publicly and privately owned companies. Industries he served included: life sciences, pharmaceutical, technology, manufacturing, financial services, and consumer products. During his career, he also spent five years working abroad in Geneva, Switzerland where his work focused on assisting companies in establishing European operations.
Mr. Burley is a CPA (licensed in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania) and holds both a Bachelor of Science in Accounting, Cum Laude, from Canisius College, and a Master of Arts in Philosophy fro California State University – Dominguez Hills.[/private]
[private]Richard Sultman, partner, advises on corporate taxation, with emphasis on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, capital markets and financial products. He advises debtor groups and lenders on the international tax aspects of corporate restructurings, such as the U.K. schemes of arrangement for the Vita Group and TI Automotive. Richard joined the firm’s London office in 2004 and was a resident in the firm’s New York office from 2006 to 2007, after which he returned to London. He has represented ArcelorMittal in several matters, including its acquisition of London Mining South America Limited and in the structuring and implementing of the company’s 2008 Employee Share Purchase Plan. He was also counsel to ArcelorMittal Finance, as borrower, along with ArcelorMittal, as guarantor, in an unsecured $4 billion revolving credit facility. He advised Vale in its $1.6 billion acquisition of mining assets from Rio Tinto and recently represented Tata Steel in connection with its offering of global depository receipts, which was accompanied by the listing of the company’s GDRs on the London Stock Exchange, complementing the existing listing of its shares in India. The transaction was the largest Indian GDR ever to be listed in London. He is a solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales.[/private]
About Cleary Gottlieb
Founded in 1946 by lawyers committed to legal excellence, internationalism and diversity, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP is a leading international law firm with approximately 1,100 lawyers around the world.
[private]Fiona Sutherland joins Halliwells from Hammonds where she was a partner and head of the firm’s tax department in Manchester. At Halliwells, she will work closely with the firm’s head of tax Bernard McIlroy, a former colleague with whom she worked at Hammonds for nine years.
Commenting on her arrival, Fiona Sutherland said:
“This role is particularly exciting because of its huge potential.
“There are excellent opportunities to leverage off the firm’s well established corporate and property client base as well as generating business from outside the firm.”
Said Bernard McIlroy:
“We are delighted to have appointed a tax partner of Fiona’s calibre.
“Her arrival is a huge boost to our tax practice and enhances the resources and skill set of the team.
“Offering a well resourced and highly skilled one stop shop for tax and legal advice provides the firm with a competitive advantage in the marketplace.”[/private]
Sterling Bancorp (NYSE: STL), parent company of New York City-based Sterling National Bank, today announced the appointment of [private]Carolyn Joy Lee to the Boards of Directors of Sterling Bancorp and its bank subsidiary. Ms. Lee’s appointment increases the size of the Sterling Bancorp Board of Directors to 10 members.
Ms. Lee is a partner in the New York office of Jones Day, a global law firm with more than 2,400 lawyers in 32 locations, which represents more than half of the Fortune 500. She is widely recognized for her expertise in state and local taxation, particularly with respect to mergers, acquisitions and other transactions, restructuring, taxation of special entities, and tax planning for high net worth individuals. Ms. Lee has served as chair of the Tax Section of the New York State Bar Association and as chair of the State and Local Tax Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. Having served as a member of various New York State and New York City tax-related advisory panels, she is a coauthor of several publications and a frequent speaker on topics relating to state and local taxation.
“We are pleased to welcome Carolyn Joy Lee to Sterling’s Board of Directors, and we look forward to benefiting from her experience and insights. Her presence will be a valuable complement to the talent, acumen and professionalism of our existing Board members,” stated Louis J. Cappelli, Sterling Bancorp’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
Ms. Lee earned a B.A. degree with honors from The Johns Hopkins University and received her J.D. degree from the Columbia University School of Law, where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. She was admitted to the Bar of the State of New York in 1981.[/private]
About Sterling Bancorp
Sterling Bancorp (NYSE: STL) is a New York-based banking and financial services company with assets of $2.1 billion. Established in 1929, the Company’s principal banking subsidiary, Sterling National Bank, has successfully served the needs of businesses, professionals and individuals in the NY metropolitan area and beyond. Now in its 80th year, Sterling is well known for its focus on business customers, an extensive and diverse product portfolio and a high-touch, hands-on approach to customer service.
Sterling offers working capital lines, asset-based financing, factoring, accounts receivable financing and management, payroll funding and processing, equipment leasing and financing, commercial and residential mortgages, import trade financing, a wide array of depository products and cash management services, trust and estate administration and custodial account services.
