Professor Sahel A. Assar is the Leader of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney’s Blockchain and Digital Asset Practice Group where she develops, monitors, and assesses all things blockchain, crypto, and digital assets and is recognized as a thought leader on matters pertaining to taxation of digital assets, specifically.

She is a seasoned U.S. tax lawyer, well-versed in the legal needs and legal issues of relevance to large international families and entrepreneurs with U.S. connections in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. She has extensive experience advising ultra-high-net-worth individuals and their closely held business interests and real property holdings with respect to domestic and international cross-border tax planning (inbound and outbound), international trusts and estates for families of substantial wealth, and compliance with U.S. tax reporting requirements. She also practices before the IRS on matters pertaining to tax controversy.

Foreign financial institutions, fiduciaries and family offices find her years as a practitioner in Zurich, Switzerland to be particularly helpful when it comes to providing them with advice related to U.S. tax reporting, regulatory, banking and international cross-border matters. Her practice also focuses on tax planning, structuring and related business advice for a wide range of corporations, LLCs, partnerships, trusts and individuals in both domestic and international tax matters. Sahel advises foreign individuals with respect to investments in the United States, pre-immigration planning, expatriation, the application of tax treaties, U.S. withholding obligations, offshore tax compliance, residency issues triggering U.S. taxation, and income, transfer tax and reporting obligations of foreigners.

Professor Sahel A Assar is frequently quoted by major outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Business Insider, Law360, Daily tax Report, Tax Notes Today, where her analysis has helped shape public understanding of IRS enforcement trends, OECD regulator frameworks, and the fiscal policy landscape affecting digital assets. Additionally, Sahel is a sought-after speaker and moderator for outlets covering digital assets and tax law, hosted by the American Bar Association, International Fiscal Association, Wharton Shook, Brookings, and others. She holds two LL.M. degrees from the Georgetown Law Center and has been recognized in the Best Lawyers in America (2023-2025) for tax law. In addition to English, Professor Sahel A. Assar is fluent in French, and Farsi, and semi-fluent in German and Spanish. Her global perspective leans on matters pertaining to U.S. federal income tax and a voice in the dialogue shaping digital finance.