Paul Schmidt is Chair-elect of BakerHostetler. Drawing on decades of experience, Paul counsels multinational corporations, private equity and hedge funds, publicly traded partnerships, master limited partnerships (MLPs), along with industrial, energy and commodities business, on all facets of taxation, from controversy to transactions to planning, with a particular focus on international taxation. As former legislation counsel to the Joint Committee on Taxation, Paul has a unique understanding of corporate and international tax matters, and significant experience handling issues in connection with examinations by the Internal Revenue Service and frequently advises clients on issues raised by foreign tax authorities. Paul regularly deals with tax issues in connection with the hospitality industry, including hotel groups, timeshares and fractional interests. He also has worked extensively on tax issues associated with intellectual property, supply chain management, contract manufacturing, and structuring inbound and outbound global joint ventures.
Paul chairs BakerHostetler's national Tax Group, which has grown 24% under his direction, and has served as the leader of the firm’s International Tax team. Paul is also a member of the firmwide Policy Committee, the firm's governing body. Paul is ranked in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, is listed in The Best Lawyers in America© and appears on the Washington, D.C., "Super Lawyers" list. Paul is the U.S. vice chair of the American Bar Association Tax Section Foreign Lawyers Forum and also a member of its Government Relations Committee, and formerly served as the chair of the AICPA International Taxation Technical Resource Panel. Paul is a certified public accountant in Virginia and served as an adjunct professor of law, teaching international tax at Georgetown University from 2004-2017.