Carolyn’s practice encompasses a full range of executive compensation and employee benefits issues as well as a variety of federal tax regulatory and legislative matters.
Carolyn brings to her practice a unique blend of technical and policy experience. Prior to joining Alston & Bird, Carolyn was Associate Deputy Chief of staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation, U.S. Congress. During her 20+ years on the Joint Committee staff, she was responsible for major pension, health, and tax legislation from the Tax Reform Act of 1986 through the Pension Protection Act of 2006. Recent provisions for which she had primary responsibility include the PPA funding and cash balance provisions, Code Section 409A, HIPAA rules, and Health Savings Accounts. She was a primary author and project manager of Congressional reports on Federal tax issues, including the Joint Committee staff reports relating to the investigation of the tax and compensation practices of Enron and simplification of the tax laws. She served as technical and policy adviser to the members and staffs of the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees on a broad spectrum of Federal tax issues. She also worked closely with the Department of Treasury, the Internal Revenue Service, the House Education and Labor Committee, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and the Department of Labor.
Carolyn’s practice encompasses a full range of executive compensation and employee benefits issues as well as a variety of federal tax regulatory and legislative matters.
Carolyn brings to her practice a unique blend of technical and policy experience. Prior to joining Alston & Bird, Carolyn was Associate Deputy Chief of staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation, U.S. Congress. During her 20+ years on the Joint Committee staff, she was responsible for major pension, health, and tax legislation from the Tax Reform Act of 1986 through the Pension Protection Act of 2006. Recent provisions for which she had primary responsibility include the PPA funding and cash balance provisions, Code Section 409A, HIPAA rules, and Health Savings Accounts. She was a primary author and project manager of Congressional reports on Federal tax issues, including the Joint Committee staff reports relating to the investigation of the tax and compensation practices of Enron and simplification of the tax laws. She served as technical and policy adviser to the members and staffs of the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees on a broad spectrum of Federal tax issues. She also worked closely with the Department of Treasury, the Internal Revenue Service, the House Education and Labor Committee, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and the Department of Labor.
\Carolyn capitalizes on her prior experience in her current practice by offering cost effective strategic and creative solutions. She assists clients not only in compliance, but in planning for and keeping ahead of the increasingly changing and dynamic regulatory, legislative, and economic environments.
Before joining the Joint Committee staff, Carolyn was in private practice, focusing on executive compensation and employee benefits. She served as a law clerk to Judge Samuel Conti of the Northern District of California.
Carolyn received her J.D. from the Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley, where she was editor of the Industrial Relations Law Journal. She received her B.A., summa cum laude, in economics from the University of California, San Diego where she was awarded the Seymour E. Harris Award for Excellence in Economics.
In recognition of her achievements while working for the Congress, she was featured in the National Journal’s 2007 Special Report on “The Hill People.”