Mary Bennett is a partner in Baker & McKenzie's Tax Practice Group. She has more than 30 years of international tax experience, including senior positions with both the U.S. Treasury and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Ms. Bennett has been recognized as one of America’s leading tax lawyers by Chambers USA. Ms. Bennett advises U.S. and foreign based multinational clients on international tax planning, controversy, and policy matters. She has particularly deep experience in tax treaty, transfer pricing, and international dispute resolution issues. She previously served as the Head of the Tax Treaty & Transfer Pricing Division at the OECD, leading that organization’s work to achieve international consensus on policies to avoid double taxation and to apply the arm’s length principle. She also served as the U.S. Treasury’s Deputy International Tax Counsel, with responsibility for heading tax treaty negotiations with numerous countries and developing U.S. legislative and regulatory policy on international tax questions. In her more than 20 years of private practice, Ms. Bennett has advised companies on the structuring of international operations and represented clients in private letter ruling, competent authority, and tax controversy matters before the IRS and in tax policy matters before the Treasury Department, Congress, and the OECD. She has also participated in litigating foreign tax credit, captive insurance, and other issues in the courts.

Caroline Silberztein is a partner in the Paris office’s Tax Group. She led the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) work on
transfer pricing from 2001 to 2011, including the development of the new guidance on the transfer pricing aspects of business restructurings. In 2010, she launched the OECD project on the transfer pricing aspects of intangibles and the review of the administrative aspects of transfer pricing which are currently ongoing. She has been an observer to the EU Joint Transfer Pricing Forum since its creation and is a member of the United Nations Subcommittee on Transfer Pricing. She is also actively involved in policy dialogue with non-OECD economies including China, India and African countries. Ms. Silberztein’s practice focuses on transfer pricing and general tax planning. She has advised multinational enterprises from a range of industry sectors, including the pharmaceutical, consumer goods, electronic, software, computer and automotive industries.

Joshua Odintz is a partner in Baker & McKenzie’s North American Tax Practice
Group. Mr. Odintz has over 12 years of tax experience, including high-level government positions with both the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Senate Finance Committee. He is a frequent speaker at ABA Tax Section, NY
State Bar Tax Section, Practicing Law Institute and Federal Bar Association tax meetings and conferences. Mr. Odintz specializes in tax controversy and tax policy matters. He previously served as a Senior Advisor for Tax Reform to the Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, where he advised Senior Treasury officials on tax reform options and issues. Mr. Odintz also served as the Chief Tax Counsel to the President’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, and was instrumental in formulating the tax proposals that were contained in the Commission’s report, entitled the Moment of Truth. Additionally, Mr. Odintz served as the Acting Tax Legislative Counsel at the Treasury.

Alexander Chmelev is a partner in the Moscow office of Baker & McKenzie. He heads the CIS Tax Practice Group. Mr. Chmelev advises on tax planning and structuring issues for both foreign and domestic companies operating in Russia and other CIS countries and international tax considerations of companies with interests in the CIS. Prior to joining Baker & McKenzie’s Moscow Office in 1994, Mr. Chmelev practiced tax law in New York.  
 

 Melinda R. Phelan (moderator) is a Principal in the Houston offices of Baker & McKenzie and has been involved in numerous restructuring, global transfer pricing projects and advance pricing agreements. She spends a significant amount of time dealing with the design and implementation of numerous structures to minimize global taxation, and has also been involved in numerous domestic and international mergers, acquisitions and reorganizations. Ms. Phelan’s practice includes dispute resolution, and she has represented various multinational clients at the audit and appeals levels.

John M. Peterson, Jr. joined Baker & McKenzie in 1977 and has practiced in the area of corporate tax law, with a heavy emphasis on structuring of international operations and international tax planning generally, intercompany pricing, high technology tax issues, and federal income tax controversies. Prior to joining the San Francisco/Palo Alto office in 1981, Mr. Peterson practiced in the Firm’s Chicago office for three and one-half years. Mr. Peterson is the former Chair of Baker & McKenzie’s Global Tax Practice Group and a frequent speaker on intercompany pricing and international tax issues in general.

Dr. Richard (Dick) Boykin is a principal economist in Baker & McKenzie's global transfer pricing group and divides his time between the Washington, DC and Palo Alto, CA offices. Dick’s experience in transfer pricing includes APAs; several substantial intercompany pricing dispute resolution cases; dozens of transfer price planning and documentation projects; and the valuation of intangible assets in the food, apparel, electronics, scientific instruments, hotel, restaurant, financial services, and software industries.