Jennifer advises clients with respect to local, state, federal and international tax issues and is well versed in all legal aspects of the formation and operation of small and emerging growth business enterprises. With respect thereto, she has prepared and negotiated a wide variety of commercial contracts, including asset and stock purchase agreements, merger agreements, stockholders' agreements, and organizational documents, including limited liability company agreements.
In addition, Jennifer assists bankruptcy clients with matters relating to local, state, and federal tax issues, as well as bankruptcy transactions such as asset sales and licensing. She is involved in many of the tax-related aspects of the bankruptcy cases of many of the firm's debtor clients. For example, Jennifer has worked with numerous debtors to resolve claims filed by the Internal Revenue Service and state and local taxing authorities. She has successfully argued on several occasions that a taxing authority’s failure to comply with its own administrative procedures for assessment provides a defense for a claim in bankruptcy. The claims resolution process, with which Jennifer is intimately familiar, can include negotiations with the applicable taxing authorities, as well as prosecution of claims objections through both discovery and oral argument. Jennifer also advises clients in connection with other tax aspects of bankruptcy, including, among other things, (i) the income tax effect of cancellation of indebtedness, (ii) audit issues during the bankruptcy process, (iii) treatment of net operating losses during the bankruptcy process and post-confirmation, (iv) tax discussions in disclosure statements and plans, and (v) tax issues arising in connection with sales of assets through the bankruptcy process. She has been involved in adversary proceedings seeking refunds from state and local taxing authorities on behalf of debtors in the bankruptcy cases of KB Toys, Inc., Buffets Holdings, Inc., e.spire Communications, Inc., and General Datacomm Industries, Inc. She has also handled numerous refund requests through various administrative processes, including reviews by the Joint Committee on Taxation, for debtors including QUTI Corporation (f/k/a Questron Technologies, Inc.), and The Multicare Companies, Inc.
Jennifer is a past Chair of the Delaware State Bar Association Tax Section. Jennifer is a frequent speaker on issues relating to bankruptcy taxation. She participated in a panel presentation at the 2009 ABI Winter Leadership Conference about cancellation of debt and the effect of bankruptcy thereon. In 2007, she moderated a panel discussion about the preservation of net operating losses (NOLs) in bankruptcy at the ABA Tax Section Mid-Year Meeting. Jennifer has spoken at several past Delaware Tax Institutes about various topics, including the effect of bankruptcy on net operating losses and current developments in business and individual income taxes, and has addressed other organizations regarding tax issues in bankruptcy and the tax effect of settlements and verdicts.