Laura M. Barzilai

Laura Barzilai is a member of the firm’s Executive Committee and global leader of the Tax, Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation practice. She is a transactional tax and tax controversy lawyer with 30 years of experience. Her clients include Fortune 100 companies, U.S. and non-U.S. privately held companies, insurance companies, banks, private equity funds and sovereign wealth funds. Laura’s practice focuses on federal income tax matters, advising clients in the areas of domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, tax-free reorganizations, joint ventures, restructurings and other major transactions. Laura also advises insurance companies on the federal income tax aspects of alternative risk transfer transactions, including offerings of insurance-linked securities and formations of sidecars, and she represents clients in the federal income tax aspects of the formation of funds that invest in insurance-linked securities.

Laura is ranked in Chambers USA 2013–2018 in Tax, in which she is described as “willing to take a stand and can guide you to the right answer very effectively.” Clients also highlight her, “industry knowledge, strong technical skills and genuine focus on client service.” They say that, “she really makes an effort to understand the client, which results in higher-quality, more effective advice.” She also has been recognized by The Legal 500 US (2010–2017), in which she is described as “top-notch” and as having “a strong reputation in contentious matters,” was selected by her peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® (2012–2019) in the field of tax and has been named to Who’s Who Legal for Corporate Tax. In 2019, Laura was included in Crain’s 2nd Annual Notable Women in Law list.