Don Susswein

Don Susswein leads the Washington National Tax group in the areas of partnerships (subchapter K) and the taxation of debt and other financial instruments and products. Don’s consulting experience includes seven years as a tax partner in the Washington National Tax offices of KPMG and PwC, and over a decade as a partner at Thacher Proffitt and Wood, a Wall Street law firm with a market-leading practice in the field of mortgage and asset securitization. Don led that law firm’s work representing several major financial institutions in connection with the development and enactment of significant legislation and regulations affecting the tax treatment of asset securitization and the secondary mortgage market. Don’s government experience includes serving as majority tax counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance during a period in which the tax law underwent very substantial change. In that role he developed and drafted legislation relating to tax controversy and tax compliance issues, real estate partnerships and partnership tax shelters, original issue discount, coupon stripping, time-value of money, interest-free loans, stepped-rents, tax exempt financing, banking and savings institutions, and a variety of other financial institutions and products. His duties included advising the Chairman and Members of the Committee on tax issues and negotiating on tax issues with representatives of the Treasury Department, the IRS and the House of Representatives. Before working in the Senate, Don briefed and argued the government’s position in tax controversies before the United States Courts of Appeals, and selected state appellate and high courts, as an attorney in the Honors Program of the Appellate Section of the Tax Division of the Department of Justice. There he also participated in the review of adverse lower court decisions to determine the government’s position on appeal and prepared submissions to U.S. Supreme Court following appellate court rulings.