Sibel Owji is Of Counsel in the Palo Alto office of DLA Piper, a global law firm with more than 3,600 lawyers and a presence in more than 25 countries. Sibel’s practice centers on advising U.S. and foreign multinational clients on international tax planning, restructuring, and optimization. She began her tax career in the International Tax Services group of Deloitte & Touche as a Manager in

San Jose and Washington, D.C., and then as Senior Manager in San Francisco. Preceding Deloitte & Touche, Sibel had her own practice as an Attorney at Law in Ankara, Turkey where she conducted general civil litigation for corporations and individuals. Sibel received her LL.M. in Taxation and her LL.M. in Comparative Law from the University of Florida. She earned her LL.B. in Civil Law from the University of Ankara School of Law in Ankara, Turkey.

KJ- What motivated you to specialize in international tax matters?

SO- My decision to specialize in international tax is impacted by both my educational and personal background. By the time I decided to focus on international tax and pursue an LL.M. degree in Taxation, I had already practiced in another country for six years and had an LL.M degree in Comparative Law which gave me a good understanding of international law and appreciation of the differences between various legal systems, cultures and laws of different countries.  In addition, the mind-provoking, global and puzzle-like nature of international tax was an important factor motivating me to specialize in international tax.  In order to be a good international tax practitioner, one must both have a strong comprehension of the “big picture” and be able to diligently deal with the small pieces of the puzzle to achieve the big picture. This is not only tax efficient but also addresses the client’s business and operational needs and is very much like solving a complex puzzle.  These factors motivated me to specialize in international tax.      


KJ- What areas of international tax do you particularly enjoy?SO- I particularly enjoy helping clients with planning and structuring their global business expansion and/or operations.  From start up companies to big public companies, assisting clients with achieving an optimal global structure from both tax and operational perspective, while addressing their business needs is a challenging and rewarding journey which I enjoy greatly. It is important to be able to address all aspects (i.e. operational, business, legal and tax) of a client’s international structuring or expansion. One must establish themselves as a trusted business advisor (not only a tax advisor) who understands their client’s business and challenges very well.  This aspect keeps me excited about my job everyday.


KJ- What does client service mean to you? SO- Client service means being reliable, perfection, responsiveness, promptness, sense of urgency, active listening, being involved in and understanding of client’s business and being proactive.  I think of each of my client's business as my own business and approach it from the angle of being involved in what is going on with my client's business and raising as well as addressing the issues proactively, rather than waiting for clients to approach me with an issue.


KJ- What was one of the most interesting tax restructuring projects of your career to date?SO- This is a difficult question as each project has its own charm.  That being said, I think one of the most interesting tax structuring projects in my career was a global tax and operational structuring project of a public company.  This project was very interesting and exciting because it involved very complicated tax issues as well as complex operational and business challenges.  Therefore, we had to not only address the tax issues in almost all possible jurisdictions in the world, including the U.S., but also create an operational and tax structure which could overcome the business challenges of this huge public company.  This project was a very interesting and challenging exercise.


KJ- What advice would you give anyone considering entering the tax profession?

SO- Set your goals to become a good business advisor to your clients. Focus on developing all essential skills that are required to serve your clients including the tax technical, client relationship, mentoring, team-building and effective management skills. Always strive to understand the big picture when you are dealing with the little pieces of the puzzle. You should mentor someone and be a protege. It is important that you also enjoy doing your job!

KJ- Sibel, thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. Your perspective is valuable to the Tax Intelligence Report readers around the world and we genuinely appreciate the time you gave to share your experiences.

Kathleen Jennings (KJ)
Editor, The Tax Intelligence Report
Kathleen@etsearch.com

Sibel Owji (SO)
Of Counsel, DLA Piper - Palo Alto, CA
If you would like an introduction to DLA Piper or if you would like to send a private email to Sibel, please contact Kathleen Jennings at Kathleen@etsearch.com.