Ropes & Gray LLP
One International Place
Boston, MA 02110-2624
+1 617 951 7026
+1 617 235 0668

Secretary: +1 617 854 2049

As a summer associate at Ropes & Gray, I had the opportunity to work on a broad range of projects in different practice areas.  I was initially a bit daunted by tax (having only taken basic tax at the time), but after doing a couple of tax projects, I found that I truly enjoyed the problem-solving nature of the assignments and the research and writing involved.  When I started at Ropes in 2001, I decided to join the Tax & Benefits Department, and have developed a great practice working primarily with tax-exempt organizations like schools, universities, health care organizations and family foundations.  I advise on many types of  issues, including conflicts of interest, joint ventures, unrelated business taxable income, executive compensation, charitable giving, and IRS audits.  My day goes by very quickly.  At any given moment, I could be drafting a response to an IRS information request, reviewing an application for tax-exempt status for a pro bono client, researching a client question on the tax rules applicable to private foundations, responding to a call from another Ropes & Gray attorney about state filing requirements for charities, or preparing a presentation for a conference.  One of the greatest things about working at Ropes is being able to draw upon the resources and expertise available at the firm, and my work involves consulting with attorneys in other practice areas on a regular basis, including the private client group, health care, corporate, and labor and employment.  Outside the firm, I serve as co-chair of the Boston Bar Association's Tax-Exempt Organizations Committee and I also co-chair (with Ropes partner Lorry Spitzer) the annual nonprofit law conference sponsored by Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education.

Before attending law school at Harvard, I served as Assistant Director of Development Planning for Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, earned a master’s degree from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, and worked with disabled citizens in Cambridge, MA seeking access to municipal services. I graduated from Harvard College with a joint degree in Government and East Asian Studies.  Although I have lived in the Boston area for a long time, I still consider myself a Nova Scotian, having been born and raised in Canada's beautiful Martime provinces.

When not working, I am kept busy by the antics of a precocious toddler and an endlessly curious preschooler.

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