Microsoft has discontinued support for Internet Explorer. To access the Sullivan website, please install a modern browser like Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome.
Doug is an international tax partner in Sullivan’s Boston office and the leader of the firm’s Tax Practice Group. For nearly three decades, clients in a wide range of industries, including financial services, life sciences, manufacturing, private equity, and technology, have relied on him to structure outbound investments, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, financing strategies, and foreign holding company structures, with a particular emphasis on U.S.-based clients investing abroad and non-U.S. clients entering the U.S. market. His experience ranges from leading a worldwide team of advisors in a 20-country restructuring of the foreign operations of a $2 billion public manufacturer to advising sovereign wealth funds and foreign pension plans on their U.S. investments, and a transaction he advised on earned Cross-Border Deal of the Year honors at the 2021 M&A Advisor Awards. He is the author of International M&A and Joint Ventures: Key U.S. Taxation Issues (LexisNexis, 2026), a comprehensive treatise on the U.S. tax aspects of cross-border mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures. He also advises clients through Sullivan’s Fintech & Blockchain Group on the tax implications of multi-jurisdictional cryptocurrency and fintech ventures.
Doug’s work has earned recognition from the leading guides to the legal profession: he is ranked in Chambers USA, named a Leading Partner for International Tax by The Legal 500 U.S., recognized in International Tax Review’s World Tax guide for more than a decade, named a Thomson Reuters Stand-Out Lawyer based on nominations from senior in-house counsel, and repeatedly selected for Best Lawyers in America and Massachusetts Super Lawyers. Before joining Sullivan in 2007, he spent a decade in international tax at two leading global accounting firms. Doug is a Lecturer in Law at Boston University School of Law’s Graduate Tax Program, where he has taught Inbound International Taxation for the past fifteen years. Extensively published on U.S. international tax, he is also frequently quoted in leading tax publications, including Law360 Tax Authority, Bloomberg Tax, and International Tax Review. He has presented on international tax topics around the world, from Helsinki to Tel Aviv, for organizations including Tax Executives Institute, the American Bar Association, Financial Executives International, and the International Fiscal Association.
Doug is an international tax partner in Sullivan’s Boston office and the leader of the firm’s Tax Practice Group. For nearly three decades, clients in a wide range of industries, including financial services, life sciences, manufacturing, private equity, and technology, have relied on him to structure outbound investments, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, financing strategies, and foreign holding company structures, with a particular emphasis on U.S.-based clients investing abroad and non-U.S. clients entering the U.S. market. His experience ranges from leading a worldwide team of advisors in a 20-country restructuring of the foreign operations of a $2 billion public manufacturer to advising sovereign wealth funds and foreign pension plans on their U.S. investments, and a transaction he advised on earned Cross-Border Deal of the Year honors at the 2021 M&A Advisor Awards. He is the author of International M&A and Joint Ventures: Key U.S. Taxation Issues (LexisNexis, 2026), a comprehensive treatise on the U.S. tax aspects of cross-border mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures. He also advises clients through Sullivan’s Fintech & Blockchain Group on the tax implications of multi-jurisdictional cryptocurrency and fintech ventures.
Doug’s work has earned recognition from the leading guides to the legal profession: he is ranked in Chambers USA, named a Leading Partner for International Tax by The Legal 500 U.S., recognized in International Tax Review’s World Tax guide for more than a decade, named a Thomson Reuters Stand-Out Lawyer based on nominations from senior in-house counsel, and repeatedly selected for Best Lawyers in America and Massachusetts Super Lawyers. Before joining Sullivan in 2007, he spent a decade in international tax at two leading global accounting firms. Doug is a Lecturer in Law at Boston University School of Law’s Graduate Tax Program, where he has taught Inbound International Taxation for the past fifteen years. Extensively published on U.S. international tax, he is also frequently quoted in leading tax publications, including Law360 Tax Authority, Bloomberg Tax, and International Tax Review. He has presented on international tax topics around the world, from Helsinki to Tel Aviv, for organizations including Tax Executives Institute, the American Bar Association, Financial Executives International, and the International Fiscal Association.
The environmental technology company, Nederman Holding AB, represented by Sullivan, recently acquired a leading industrial air filtration company RoboVent, significantly strengthening its North American position by becoming the number one player within the U.S. weld fume extraction segment. Sullivan has provided acquisition advice to Nederman since 2017. Sullivan’s Environment & Natural Resources group handled preparation of environmental provisions of the purchase agreement and disclosure schedules and advised as to regulatory compliance at the target company.
Michael J. Student, Avinash R. Rao, Amy E. Sheridan, Erika L. Todd, Douglas S. Stransky and Ida J. Vanto
In November 2021, Sullivan together with its clients Merger & Acquisition Services, Inc., and International Transportation Marine Office, LLC (ITMA) received the Cross-Border Deal of the Year ($50 to $100 million) Award, at the 20th Annual M&A Advisor Awards in New York City. The award was given for the sale of ITMA to MS Amlin Underwriting Limited, a UK company. Don Kaitz retained his role as chairman of Arizona-headquartered ITMA, and the business continued to be led by Eric Kaitz, Chief Executive Officer. Earlier in 2021, Douglas Stransky and Michael Student, along with Merger & Acquisition Services Inc., advised ITMA and the Kaitzes.
Partner and head of Sullivan's International Tax Group, Douglas Stransky, commented, "We are thrilled to receive this honor and be together in-person with our clients and friends, Merger & Acquisition Services, Inc. and Don and Eric Kaitz, and proud to have collaborated with them on this sale."
Douglas S. Stransky and Michael J. Student
Douglas S. Stransky, partner and leader of the Tax Practice Group, has published a new post on the LexisNexis blog examining a recurring problem in cross-border acquisitions: entity classification errors discovered in tax due diligence. Using a hypothetical fact pattern in which a target’s foreign subsidiary never filed its check-the-box election, the post explains why classification mistakes persist, how a missing Form 5471 can leave the assessment statute open indefinitely under
New York City Department of Finance (“NYC DOF”) recently began notifying property owners by mail that they may be subject to the City’s new Non-Primary Residence Surcharge, which will be imposed annually on certain high-value residential properties that are not used as primary residences.[i] Although the surcharge is commonly referred to as the “Pied-à-Terre Tax,” it applies to a broader range of non-primary residences. Receipt of a notice does not necessarily
On July 29, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") notified Nasdaq that it had received notices of intention to petition for review of the SEC's July 22, 2026 order approving Nasdaq's proposed rule change requiring listed companies to maintain a minimum Market Value of Listed Securities ("MVLS") of $5 million. Pursuant to Rule 431(e) of the SEC's Rules of Practice, the July 22, 2026 approval order has been
Sullivan partner Tehila Levi Lati will speak at a webinar held in collaboration with Amazon and Digate titled "Going Live in China" on September 8, 2026. Designed for decision-makers and technical leaders navigating regional expansion, the program will explore key technical, legal and operational considerations for launching in China, including cloud infrastructure, local licensing, data privacy and corporate risk management. During the webinar, Tehila will leverage her deep experience leading Sullivan's China and
Simon Cook, in his role as ITFA's Head of Education, will jointly moderate a Q&A on “The next generation: Three emerging leaders, three ideas”, together with Charlie O'Mulloy, chair of ITFA’s Emerging Leader Committee and Associate Banker at EBRD, at ITFA’s 52nd Annual International Trade and Forfaiting Conference in Split, Croatia on September 9. The Q&A will follow the presentations made by the finalists of the 2026 ITFA Emerging Leader
John Graham was quoted in the article "IRS Proposed Rules for Trusts Eliminate Reporting Headaches," published by Bloomberg Tax [sub. req'd] on August 17, 2026. The article focuses on proposed IRS rules that would ease reporting requirements for trusts with certain charitable deductions, helping them avoid late-filing penalties while simplifying the process for both taxpayers and the IRS. “It’s favorable to taxpayers,” John said, summing up the benefit of the proposed rules.
Since the publication of this Client Alert on July 30, 2026, several significant developments have affected the implementation of NYC’s Non-Primary Residence Surcharge (the “Pied-à-Terre Tax”), including the NYC Department of Finance (“NYC DOF”) extending the deadline for property owners to submit exemption applications to September 18, 2026. On August 7, 2026, three NYC homeowners filed a lawsuit challenging the City’s implementation of the surcharge, including the City’s process of identifying
Geoffrey Wynne will participate in a panel discussion at ITFA's 52nd Annual International Trade and Forfaiting Conference alongside Ailsa McNeil, Director at Texel, and Hernan Mayol, Board Member and Representative of ITFA Americas and Chair of ITFA’s Latin America Regional Committee (LARC). The session, titled “Financing the future: From defence to critical raw materials,” will be moderated by Clarissa Dann, Editorial Director at Deutsche Bank AG. The session will explore how trade
Sullivan & Worcester represented Datavault AI Inc. (Nasdaq: DVLT), an Artificial Intelligence Platform company focused on data monetization, tokenization and digital asset technologies, in its acquisition of NYIAX, Inc., a pioneer in blockchain-enabled exchange technology and contract management infrastructure. The acquisition adds NYIAX's institutional-grade exchange technology, blockchain settlement infrastructure and portfolio of intellectual property assets to Datavault AI's platform, strengthening the company's capabilities across the digital asset and real-world asset tokenization
Douglas S. Stransky, partner and leader of the Tax Practice Group, has published a new post on the LexisNexis blog examining a recurring problem in cross-border acquisitions: entity classification errors discovered in tax due diligence. Using a hypothetical fact pattern in which a target’s foreign subsidiary never filed its check-the-box election, the post explains why classification mistakes persist, how a missing Form 5471 can leave the assessment statute open indefinitely under
New York City Department of Finance (“NYC DOF”) recently began notifying property owners by mail that they may be subject to the City’s new Non-Primary Residence Surcharge, which will be imposed annually on certain high-value residential properties that are not used as primary residences.[i] Although the surcharge is commonly referred to as the “Pied-à-Terre Tax,” it applies to a broader range of non-primary residences. Receipt of a notice does not necessarily
On July 29, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") notified Nasdaq that it had received notices of intention to petition for review of the SEC's July 22, 2026 order approving Nasdaq's proposed rule change requiring listed companies to maintain a minimum Market Value of Listed Securities ("MVLS") of $5 million. Pursuant to Rule 431(e) of the SEC's Rules of Practice, the July 22, 2026 approval order has been
Sullivan partner Tehila Levi Lati will speak at a webinar held in collaboration with Amazon and Digate titled "Going Live in China" on September 8, 2026. Designed for decision-makers and technical leaders navigating regional expansion, the program will explore key technical, legal and operational considerations for launching in China, including cloud infrastructure, local licensing, data privacy and corporate risk management. During the webinar, Tehila will leverage her deep experience leading Sullivan's China and
Simon Cook, in his role as ITFA's Head of Education, will jointly moderate a Q&A on “The next generation: Three emerging leaders, three ideas”, together with Charlie O'Mulloy, chair of ITFA’s Emerging Leader Committee and Associate Banker at EBRD, at ITFA’s 52nd Annual International Trade and Forfaiting Conference in Split, Croatia on September 9. The Q&A will follow the presentations made by the finalists of the 2026 ITFA Emerging Leader
