Elizabeth Kanyer is a tax controversy associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Latham & Watkins.
Ms. Kanyer advises companies and high net-worth individuals in all stages of civil tax disputes, from exam and appeals to litigation in the US Tax Court, US Court of Federal Claims, US district courts, and state courts. Ms. Kanyer represents clients across a wide range of industries, including private equity, insurance, oil and gas, technology, and international financial institutions.
Prior to joining Latham, Ms. Kanyer was a trial attorney with the US Department of Justice, Tax Division, where she was responsible for handling all aspects of civil tax litigation, from motions to discovery to trial, on a variety of issues involving tax shelters, complex refund suits, and oil and gas transactions. She served as lead or co-counsel in several federal court trials in disputes ranging from a few thousand dollars to US$1 billion dollars. For her service, the Department of Justice awarded her the Outstanding Attorney Award in 2019 and in 2021.
From 2015 to 2017, Ms. Kanyer served as a law clerk to the Honorable Judge Ronald L. Buch of the United States Tax Court.
Ms. Kanyer graduated magna cum laude from the Seattle University School of Law, where she externed with IRS Office of Chief Counsel and IRS Office of Appeals as well as with the University of Washington Low Income Taxpayer Clinic as a student attorney. Ms. Kanyer obtained her LL.M. in taxation from New York University, where she served as a summer editor for the New York University Tax Law Review.
Ms. Kanyer currently serves on Steering Committee for the Federal Bar Association, Tax Section, and is a member of J. Edgar Murdock Inns of Court.