Ms Anna-Liza Harris > Katten > Washington DC, United States > Lawyer Profile

Katten
1919 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Suite 800
Washington, DC 20006-3404
United States

Work Department

Structured Finance and Securitization

Position

Anna-Liza Harris advises clients on tax issues related to asset-backed securitizations, residential and multifamily mortgage-backed securitizations, derivatives, and domestic and cross-border financing transactions. She is national co-chair of Katten’s Structured Finance and Securitization practice and a partner in the Tax practice.

An important aspect of Anna-Liza’s practice is designing innovative securitization structures. These include many “first of their kind” transactions that require both creativity and extensive market knowledge to develop. Anna-Liza has worked with a broad range of financial assets including distressed and non-performing debt, debt secured by esoteric assets, synthetics and debt issued in revolving structures.

Anna-Liza works with clients ranging from first-time issuers to frequent market participants. She counsels clients on the taxation of investment vehicles, including REMICs, grantor trusts and offshore funds. Anna-Liza also has experience with the tax concerns of private equity funds and hedge funds. She is a past chair of the Structured Finance Association’s (SFA’s) Tax Policy Committee and is a member of the SFA’s Executive Committee.

Education

JD, Georgetown University Law Center, 1989; BSFS, Georgetown University, 1983

Lawyer Rankings

United States > Finance > Structured finance: securitization

Katten advises clients on traditional and non-traditional securitizations transactions, including mortgage loan facilities, warehouse facilities and auto loans. The firm is strong in regulatory matters, supporting captive finance companies, independents and banks. Anna-Liza Harris, who heads the practice out of Washington DC, concentrates on tax matters surrounding a swathe of securitizations, including ABS, RMBS and multi-family mortgage-backed securitizations at a domestic and international level. Fellow practice head Howard Schickler sits in New York and is expert in numerous types of asset-backed transactions, from mortgages, credit card receivables and small business loans to auto loans, equipment leases, medical receivables and royalties. Strengthening the New York practice, Chris DiAngelo advises banks, government entities and financial institutions on novel transactions across industries. In June 2023, Claudine Chen-Young left the firm, whilst in August 2023, Dallas-based Emmanuel Mevs was made partner.