Overview
Christa works with corporate and individual taxpayers, legal counsel, and tax professionals navigating the full spectrum of federal and state tax controversy matters. Her work spans Appeals proceedings, IRS and state-level examinations, penalty defenses, refund claims, procedural relief, and collection alternatives. She supports clients across industries and entity types, with a focus on technically complex, multi-jurisdictional, or high-exposure cases.
Experience
Her specialties include full-cycle case management across all stages of tax controversy, from collections and audits to appeals. Christa provides technical analysis and drafts claims on issues such as NOL carrybacks, depreciation and recapture, corporate restructurings, state residency and nexus challenges, partnership allocations, S-Corp elections, trust and estate tax matters, and international information return penalties. Moreover, she designs and optimizes controversy-specific systems for case tracking, workflow management, intake protocols, and communication mapping, integrating these processes with firm infrastructure.
Throughout her career, Christa has successfully resolved more than 2,000 federal and state controversy matters for taxpayers ranging from low-income individuals to multinational consolidated filers. She brings a methodical and systems driven approach to tax controversy, combining deep technical fluency with structured case design and precise execution. Her background spans issue-development, legal response strategy, and implementation of department-wide process architecture for controversy operations. Previously, she developed a comprehensive tax controversy representation model and presented it at the Taxpayer Advocate Service’s Annual LITC Conference in Washington, D.C.
Since joining Aprio in March 2025, Christa has managed over 150 active tax controversy matters and supported the abatement of more than $5 million in penalties. Within the firm, she serves as a technical and coordination lead, overseeing factual development, legal position framing, and formal response strategy. She also drafts IRS and state correspondence, reviews filings and notices, and manages communication with taxing authorities. Christa also supports team members and assists with improving workflow consistency across the unit.
Education & Affiliations
Christa holds a J.D. from Florida Coastal School of Law, where she earned a Certificate in Government and Public Policy and graduated with Dean’s Honors. She also earned a B.A. in Political Science from Christopher Newport University, graduating Magna Cum Laude with minors in Business Administration and Philosophy & World Religions, and a B.S. in Paralegal Studies from Kaplan University, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude.
Christa is admitted to the United States Tax Court Bar and is authorized to practice before the IRS under Treasury Department Circular No. 230. Christa is also a member of the Florida Bar Association’s Tax Section and the American Bar Association’s Senior Lawyers Division and Taxation Section. Outside of work, she volunteers at Low-Income Taxpayer Clinics (LITC).