DLA Piper has announced that two economists have joined its Amsterdam office as transfer pricing experts. Ágata Uceda and Frank Schwarte have joined the tax group as economists.Ágata joins DLA Piper from the Amsterdam office of KPMG where she worked for almost nine years, advising multinationals on the management, design and implementation of their transfer pricing policies. She has extensive experience in all aspects of transfer pricing planning, dispute resolution and compliance, and has managed a wide range of assignments covering economic, management and fiscal aspects of transfer pricing. Ágata’s has extensive experience advising pharmaceutical and chemicals companies, but has also undertaken projects for high-tech and software, food and general industrial multi-nationals. Earlier in her career, Ágata spent two years in industry working as a consultant at the World Trade Center in the US and subsequently at the Argentinean Ministry of Economy in Los Angeles.

Frank also joins from KPMG where he worked as part of Ágata’s team. He specialises in transfer pricing, preparing transfer pricing documentation, defending clients in transfer pricing tax audits, and advising on the transfer pricing aspects of valuations and business restructurings. Frank’s main area of expertise is financing transactions, including interest rate analyses, spread analyses for intermediate financial services companies, debt capacity analyses and guarantee fees.

Ágata and Frank join the global transfer pricing team within the Tax group, and will work closely with co-heads of the US Transfer Pricing team, Bernhard Von Thaden and Clarke Norton. Their arrival brings the total number of economists within DLA Piper’s Transfer Pricing team to ten.

Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP (Gowlings) has announced that senior tax partner Timothy S. Wach has joined Finance Canada for a 20-month assignment as Director of Legislative Development and Chief Legislative Counsel.

Effective immediately, Tim has assumed his new role, which will include chairing the interdepartmental committee responsible for reviewing proposed federal income tax legislation. He will also participate in the development of tax policy initiatives.

This 20-month assignment at Finance Canada is part of the Interchange Canada program, a skills exchange initiative that facilitates the transfer of expertise between the private and public sectors.

“Gowlings welcomes the opportunity to sponsor Tim on this assignment. As one of our senior tax partners, Tim will be missed by colleagues and clients alike. But Gowlings has built a very strong tax practice over the past several years and will continue to provide the very best tax advice to our clients in his absence,” explains Scott Jolliffe, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Firm.

DLA Piper has stepped up its commitment to provide integrated, contentious and non-contentious tax advice in Italy with the appointment of a partner and two associates. Tax litigation specialist, Antonio Tomassini, will join the Tax practice in Milan as a partner, together with two associates.Antonio was partner and Head of Tax at Sciumé Zaccheo & Associati prior to joining DLA Piper.

He has an excellent reputation for handling tax litigation matters in Italy and has represented both national and international corporates and financial institutions on tax planning, compliance and litigation. Antonio has also advised on a range of international tax matters including transfer pricing, cost sharing policies, taxation treaties and tax havens. He joins DLA Piper with two associates also from Sciumé Zaccheo & Associati.

The arrival of Antonio and his team will add considerable strength to DLA Piper’s offering in Italy. In October last year partner Maricla Pennesi and five fee earners joined the Tax practice in Milan from Deloitte, expanding DLA Piper’s capabilities on the non-contentious side. Antonio’s appointment will complement the skills of the existing team, providing clients with a broader tax offering.

“We are committed to expanding our tax team in Italy and the arrival of Antonio and his team is crucial to our plans to build a strong, integrated Tax practice able to look after clients’ tax planning, and related contentious and non-contentious matters,” said Roderik Bouwman, EMEA Head of Tax at DLA Piper. “Our clients will increasingly face complex tax issues as tax authorities become more aggressive and with the team that we are establishing we will be able to meet these needs nationally and internationally.”

“I am delighted that Antonio is joining us. He has the skills and experience that we need to help us achieve our goal to build a tax team with a broader offering,” said Maricla Pennesi, Head of Tax for DLA Piper in Italy. “The arrival of Antonio and his team will be a huge asset, not just to clients in the Italian market but those supported by our colleagues around the world.”

Antonio has degrees in both law and economics from the University of Rome and is due to finish his PhD in tax law from Rome University at the end of 2009. Prior to working for Sciumé Zaccheo & Associati, Antonio was a tax advisor at Ernst & Young for six years and before that he was a tax officer with the Italian tax police.

Antonio officially joins DLA Piper on 30 June 2009.

Fraser Milner, the Canadian Law Firm, has hired David Spiro from Blake Cassels.

David practises corporate income and commodity tax litigation in the Tax Court of Canada, Federal Court of Appeal, Supreme Court of Canada and the provincial superior courts. He has extensive experience in international tax disputes and tax treaty questions, tax avoidance issues and statutory interpretation. In addition to the litigation side of his practice, David devotes considerable time resolving controversies at the administrative level with federal and provincial tax authorities.

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The future is bleak for perpetrators of federal tax fraud scams, according to Dallas-based plaintiff’s firm, Baron & Budd, P.C., which has announced the establishment of a co-counsel relationship with the former head of the Internal Revenue Service, Margaret Milner Richardson.

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Hogan & Hartson LLP has announced that Olga Boltenko  has joined the firm’s London office as a tax counsel, focusing on UK, Russian, and international tax matters.

Boltenko has substantial experience providing a broad range of tax advice to companies on all stages of transactions, beginning with tax planning and structuring, through preventive tax measures via interactive communication with tax authorities, and finally, in the course of possible disputes with the tax authorities.

“Olga is an outstanding tax lawyer who provides insightful guidance on all tax aspects of investment funds, from establishing and structuring the fund, to debt finance, investments, and exit strategies,” said Garry Pegg, Managing Partner of the London office. “Her experience in preparing companies for IPOs and other fundraising initiatives are highly valuable skills for our firm and the clients we represent.”

Commenting on her move to Hogan & Hartson, Boltenko said: “I am very eager to begin working with my new colleagues at this firm and to offer tax guidance to its clients. This move provides me with the necessary resources along with a global platform to expand my practice.”

Boltenko joins Hogan & Hartson from Dewey & LeBoeuf, where she was a senior associate in the firm’s tax practice, handling international, Russian, and UK tax matters.

Boltenko has degrees from Wolfson College at Cambridge University, majoring in International Tax in 2004, and from the BPP Law School, where she received her degree in 2003. She also earned degrees from the College of Law in London in 2001 and from Saratov Law Academy in 1999. She is a qualified Russian Federation tax inspector and a qualified solicitor of England and Wales. A native of Russia, Boltenko is fluent in English and is a frequent contributor of articles and regularly speaks at conferences on tax issues.

Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP has announced today that Robert Culbertson, Michael Caballero and Kurt Baca have joined the firm’s Global Tax Practice, in the Washington, D.C. office. The team has extensive international tax planning, controversy resolution, and government experience, and will significantly enhance the firm’s capabilities in international taxation.

Allen & Overy LLP announced today it will open a new office in Munich in October 2008. With its existing offices in Düsseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg and Mannheim, Allen & Overy will be represented in five of Germany’s key economic centres. The new office will be developed by tax partner Dr Gottfried E. Breuninger and M&A partner Dr Astrid Krüger, who will join Allen & Overy.

“The addition of a Munich office significantly bolsters Allen & Overy’s presence in Germany”, comments Dr Cornelius Fischer-Zernin, Senior Partner at Allen & Overy Germany. “The Bavarian state capital is one of the most important locations in the German legal market and is also one of the major European economic centres. A presence on the ground in Munich will enable us to provide an even better service to our clients in the region. Gottfried Breuninger and Astrid Krüger enjoy an excellent reputation in Munich and beyond. They form a great start-up team, which I am convinced will prove a real asset to our practice in Germany.”

Dr Gottfried E. Breuninger specialises in national and international corporate tax law, with a particular focus on M&A transactions and post-acquisition structures, tax-driven restructurings and the tax structuring of hybrid and cross-border financings. Before joining Allen & Overy, he headed the Munich office of Shearman & Sterling for more than three years. Furthermore, he became head of German tax at Shearman & Sterling in 2002 and co-head of their global tax group last year.

Dr Astrid Krüger also joins Allen & Overy from Shearman’s Munich office, where she has been a partner since 2006. She specialises in national and cross-border M&A transactions, as well as in corporate restructurings and in the implementation of tax structurings.

“Astrid Krüger perfectly complements our existing M&A practice. By winning her for our team, we have clearly demonstrated both to our clients and our competitors that we are committed to continuing to pursue our strategy of expanding our corporate/M&A practice”, says partner Dr Helge Schäfer, head of Allen & Overy’s corporate practice in Germany.

Partner Eugen Bogenschütz, head of Allen & Overy’s German tax practice, adds: “I am very pleased that Gottfried Breuninger has decided to join our team. The arrival of one of the leading German tax-law experts presents a unique opportunity for us to strengthen our international tax practice.”

Last year Allen & Overy increased its presence in Germany with the addition of two new offices in Düsseldorf and Mannheim. Cornelius Fischer-Zernin adds: “The integration of our Düsseldorf and Mannheim teams into our German practice and our international network has been extremely successful. I am convinced that the integration of the Munich office will be just as smooth.”

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Morrison & Foerster LLP has announced that noted tax lawyer Joseph Fletcher has joined the firm as a partner in its national tax department, based in the San Francisco office. Mr. Fletcher has 18 years of tax law experience, and focuses on corporate and international taxation issues.Mr. Fletcher has advised Fortune 500 companies as well as start-ups on all aspects of corporate and partnership taxation. He counsels on a wide range of tax matters including: corporate and partnership business formation; formation and taxation of venture capital and investment funds; and cross-border acquisition of foreign companies by U.S.-based or foreign-based multinational corporations. Mr. Fletcher regularly advises companies on tax issues that arise in connection with securities offerings, as well as the licensing and sale of intellectual property.

Mr. Fletcher will be active in Morrison & Foerster’s cross-border tax practice, providing tax-planning and organizational strategies to clients with multinational ownership and operations. “A significant amount of client tax work in our San Francisco office arises from cross-border business relationships,” said Thomas A. Humphreys, co-chair of the Tax Department and head of the firm’s Federal Tax Practice Group. “Joe has a thorough understanding of U.S. tax implications associated with international M & A and corporate restructurings, as well as IP transactions. We’re happy to welcome him, and are certain he’ll enhance the firm’s tax capabilities in key markets in Asia and Europe.”

An educator and frequent speaker on business tax issues, Mr. Fletcher teaches tax law at Golden Gate University, as an adjunct professor in the Master of Laws in Taxation Program. He has taught courses such as “Taxation of Mergers and Acquisitions” and “Taxation of Intellectual Property.” Mr. Fletcher was also a panelist on the topic of “Living With Emboldened Tax Authorities: International Trends in Tax Investigations and Audits,” as part of the April 2008 Inter-Pacific Bar Association Annual Conference. He will speak at New York University’s 67th Institute on Federal Taxation on November 13. His expected topic: “By the Numbers: Coping with U.S. Tax Reporting for International Matters.”

He was formerly a partner in the San Francisco office of Holland & Knight LLP.

Mr. Fletcher earned his LL.M. in taxation from Georgetown University (1993), and his J.D. from the University of San Diego Law School (1990), where he was senior editor of the Journal of Contemporary Legal Issues. He received a B.A. in biology (with a minor in chemistry) from the University of Pennsylvania (1986). Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Fletcher was a trial attorney for the Internal Revenue Service.