Ken is an experienced and recognized transactional tax lawyer who advises clients on a wide range of international tax, structuring and business issues. He also advises clients on structuring captive insurance companies, their tax impacts and audit issues.
Ken focuses on worldwide tax planning, transaction structuring and a number of tax issues related to mergers & acquisitions, IP licensing, employee relocation, and international franchising. He has extensive experience dealing with compliance for all federal, state and foreign taxes, expatriate tax issues, audits, appeals proceedings, controversy management, negotiation and litigation, foreign bank account reporting (FBARs) and voluntary disclosures.
Ken also helps clients with insurance matters including strategic design, tax structuring and implementation of captive insurance companies, including evaluation of micro-captives and nonadmitted insurance obligations, advising on insurance programs, analysis of domiciles, loss prevention, managing and negotiating claims, and advising on broker RFPs.
Prior to joining Fredrikson, Ken was a partner with another large Minneapolis law firm where he led the international tax and captive insurance company taxation practices. He also worked with KPMG as the managing director of the Midwest region in the captive and warranty practice. Prior to these roles, Ken held executive positions with Northwest Airlines, where he was responsible for the Tax and Insurance Departments and served as CFO and chief strategy officer of the Cargo Division, and with Marriott Corporation, where he was responsible for international project finance and for federal and international tax matters, audits/appeals, and federal tax legislative matters. Ken also served as Assistant Branch Chief in the Office of Chief Counsel at the Internal Revenue Service, Washington, D.C., and was a special advisor to the U.S. Department of Justice on the Project Haven Federal grand jury investigation.
Ken previously taught the graduate level international tax course in the LL.M. (Tax) program at Georgetown University Law Center for nine years, and now teaches the international tax course at the University of Minnesota Law School. He has been an expert witness in Federal court on international tax matters and is a frequent speaker and author on various international tax matters.