About the Speaker

Kathleen E. "Katie" Gerber focuses her practice on corporate, partnership and cross-border tax matters. She has significant expertise regarding the tax aspects of both taxable and tax-free mergers and acquisitions, partnership allocations, S corporations, publicly traded partnerships, financial instruments, debt restructurings, foreign tax credit, income tax treaties and FBAR compliance. Ms. Gerber has extensive experience negotiating and drafting tax provisions in a variety of transactional documents.

Ms. Gerber also advises nonprofit clients, including public charities, family and company foundations, social welfare organizations, Section 527 organizations and social clubs.

Alan Granwell is a tax attorney with more than 45 years of experience in the area of international taxation, resident in Holland & Knight's Washington, D.C. office. In his long and wide-ranging career, Mr. Granwell has had the opportunity and privilege to work in the public and private sector.

Mr. Granwell's tax practice encompasses counseling both corporate and private clients. He represents multinational corporations and high-net-worth individuals. Mr. Granwell also has served as an expert witness in international tax controversy matters. With the recent enactment of U.S. tax reform legislation, Mr. Granwell has been active in counseling clients on the legislation's impact on existing international transactions and structures, new planning opportunities and pitfalls.

Over the past few years, Mr. Granwell also has advised financial institutions and their clients on international tax enforcement initiatives, with special emphasis on the U.S. Department of Justice Swiss Bank Program, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and the Common Reporting Standard (CRS).

His administrative practice includes representing clients before the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Department of the Treasury. 

In the early 1980s, Mr. Granwell was the International Tax Counsel and Director in the Office of International Tax Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. 

Mr. Granwell began his career working at Wall Street law firms. He then moved to Washington, D.C.,  to accept his government appointment to work for the Treasury Department. Thereafter, he returned to private practice in Washington, D.C. Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Granwell was a tax attorney for a boutique international tax law firm.

Mr. Granwell is a well-known, frequent commentator and lecturer on international tax matters. He has authored articles for publications both in the United States and abroad. Mr. Granwell has made presentations for the American Bar Association, Section of Taxation, the International Bar Association, the International Fiscal Association, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and other organizations in numerous countries around the world. He has been active in participating in programs on the international provisions of the recent U.S. tax reform legislation sponsored by the American Bar Association, Section of Taxation; Tax Analysts and local sponsors, in England, Ireland, Italy and the Netherlands; the Irish Tax Institute; STEP; and others.