July 15, 2010 — John Harrell, who has served in the Office of Tax Policy at the U.S. Department of Treasury for the past three years, has rejoined Vinson & Elkins LLP as a partner in its global tax practice effective immediately.
John was Senior Counsel in the Office of Tax Policy at the U.S. Department of Treasury. During his tenure there, he was involved in legislative and regulatory developments in the international area and participated significantly in the regulatory and legislative response to the financial crisis, including advising the Assistant Secretary (Tax Policy) with respect to the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA) and expedited guidance related to economic stabilization. He had significant involvement in the development of the international provisions contained in the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act of 2010, including those relating to the tax treatment of total return swaps and securities lending transactions. He also played a significant role in the creation and development of the international tax provisions contained in President Obama’s 2010 and 2011 Budget Proposals.
George Gerachis, global head of V&E’s Tax practice, said, “We are delighted to welcome John back to the firm. He is a very talented tax lawyer who has always been a great client lawyer, whether handling a transaction or resolving a dispute. With his experiences in industry and at the Treasury, he is able to bring the kind of multi-dimensional perspective to tax issues that clients appreciate.”
Prior to working at the Treasury, John was an in-house tax counsel at a large, U.S. multinational corporation, where he focused on international tax planning. He is a graduate of Yale Law School.
John’s practice includes planning and negotiation of domestic and international business transactions, and the resolution of tax controversies. He counsels multinational corporations, partnerships, and other entities on a wide range of domestic and international tax issues. John has broad-based experience, particularly with respect to the tax treatment of inbound transactions, capital markets, subpart F planning, foreign tax credit planning, the tax treatment of foreign currency transactions, and transfer pricing.
John is the ninth new lateral partner hired by Vinson & Elkins since January this year, and his arrival closely follows that of Sami Al-Louzi and Ahmed el-Gaili in the UAE, Jay Kolb in Asia, Michael Thompson in London, and James Hanna, Rita Glavin, Chuck Ebertin, and Jonathan Frels in the United States.
V&E is a global law firm with more than 770 lawyers across 14 offices worldwide.
If you have any questions, please contact John Harrell at +1.713.758.4678 or jharrell@velaw.com, or you may contact Mark Curriden at +1.214.220.7879 or mcurriden@velaw.com.