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Posted on November 30th, 2020

Carlsmith Ball Hires Attorney and CPA Vasana Chiu in Honolulu Office

Carlsmith Ball LLP has hired Vasana Chiu, CPA, as an associate in the firm’s Tax and Estate Planning practice group in Honolulu. 

Chiu received her J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Hawaii at Manoa William S. Richardson School of Law. As a law student, she served as an outside articles editor for the University of Hawaii Law Review and received CALI Excellence for the Future Awards in Federal Income Taxation, Trusts and Estates, Venture Capital and Startups, and Lawyering Fundamentals I. 

“We are excited to welcome Vasana as an associate of the firm, after having the pleasure of working with her as a summer associate,” said John Khil, chair of Carlsmith Ball’s tax practice group. “Her background as a CPA will be a tremendous asset to our tax practice, providing our clients with the heightened level of expertise they have come to expect from Carlsmith Ball.”

Prior to enrolling in law school, Chiu worked as a tax accountant in New York for 12 years, at companies like PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young. Most recently, she was assistant controller for The Resort Group, a luxury resort development consultancy, and was a tax manager in private equity for Fortress Investment Group, a global asset management firm. 

Chiu has a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and a Master of Science in taxation from Pace University. She received her CPA license in 2003.