Former Treasury and IRS counsel joins Covington & Burling

International Tax Review is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Garden, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2026

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Former Treasury and IRS counsel joins Covington & Burling

Lee Kelley, who has had senior roles in the US Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), has joined Covington & Burling as a partner in the firm’s tax practice. She will focus on corporate tax matters, including structural and transactional planning.

While deputy tax legislative counsel in Treasury’s Office of Tax Policy, her most recent role, Kelley developed legislation, regulations and administrative guidance on corporations and their shareholders, partnerships, exempt organisations, and tax credits for low income housing and historic rehabilitations. Before that, she was deputy associate chief counsel for corporate taxation at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), where she oversaw the issuance of taxpayer-specific guidance and participated in the development of the government's positions in matters of tax controversy.

She also advised clients on domestic and cross-border corporate tax issues during stints at KPMG and Deloitte.

more across site & shared bottom lb ros

More from across our site

Shiny new offices like Ryan’s in London Bridge aren’t just a cost – they signal that a firm is willing to align with its clients’ interests
Darren Graves will succeed Richard Houston, who is set to lead Deloitte EMEA; in other news, Morgan Lewis hired a three-partner tax team in New York
India also signed its first-ever bilateral APAs with France, Ireland, Indonesia and Sweden last year, the CBDT revealed
Chile’s revamped GAAR marks a shift toward structural scrutiny, pushing MNEs to strengthen tax governance, economic substance and compliance strategies
New reforms represent the most seismic shift in Canadian TP legislation since its enactment and a clear inflection point for MNEs, ITR has heard
Spain did not transpose EU VAT rules for SMEs or works of art; in other news, an increased VAT threshold came into force in South Africa
While the IBS incorporates taxable events previously covered by state and municipal taxes, its governance and operational logic represent a significant departure from the legacy model
The new office on the fourth floor of 4 More London will span 14,230 square feet, with the potential to expand to the first and second floors
MNEs now face a shift from modelling to execution as the side‑by‑side deal forces tax teams to upgrade systems, harmonise data, and prevent costly pillar two mismatches
As recent surveys suggest a disconnect between AI adoption and employee engagement, the big four risk digging themselves into a strategic hole
Gift this article