Diane Ryan

Diane Ryan joined Skadden, Arps in 2011 as an of counsel in the Chicago office. With more than 30 years of experience at the Internal Revenue Service, she last held the position of national chief of appeals, where she was responsible for providing leadership to the independent administrative dispute resolution forum for tax controversies (with more than 2,000 employees and relevant to 159 million taxpayers and business entities). She also served as director of technical services, where she led three nationwide critical technical functions of Appeals (Technical Guidance, International, and Tax Policy and Procedure). Previously, she worked as director of technical guidance at the Appeals Division. Ms. Ryan has extensive experience in cost-sharing transactions, taxation of hybrid instruments, alternative dispute resolution methodologies and appellate resolution of major tax cases. Her work with the IRS was recognized with various awards, including the Commissioner Outstanding Award, the Commissioner LMSB Award and the National Chief’s Award. Ms. Ryan also worked in private practice, where she focused on establishing and pursuing bankruptcy/receivership claims in Asia and other foreign jurisdictions for emerging market investment firms. In addition to her tax practice, she has held several teaching positions, including at St. Louis University Law School, Southwestern Illinois College and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.