Powerful practice. Proven results.
 

Tanja H. Castro

Biography

Tanja H. Castro is a co-founder of CastroHaase PLLC and is included in the 2013, 2014 and 2015 editions of Washington, DC & Baltimore’s Best Lawyers. Her practice is focused in the areas of commercial real estate valuation and taxation issues, including property tax assessment appeals. She advises clients on minimizing their real estate tax obligations. Ms. Castro is experienced in reviewing, analyzing and obtaining reductions in the assessments of all types of commercial properties including office buildings, hotels, apartment buildings, retail properties and mixed-use properties in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. She has experience in litigating appeals from the administrative levels through appellate courts in the local jurisdictions. She has participated in over 70 trials involving assessment appeals, and won reductions in all but one of them.

 

Ms. Castro also handles real estate tax exemption matters for non-profit real estate owners in the District of Columbia. Her clients include associations, religious organizations, and foreign governments.

 

Ms. Castro has extensive litigation experience in real property disputes and probate matters. She has litigated eminent domain cases, decedent’s estates, and conservatorships for the elderly. In addition, Ms. Castro has served as court-appointed conservator for several elderly individuals and guardian for several children.

Ms. Castro was selected to serve on the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue Advisory Group to represent commercial property owners on tax policy in the city. She is a member of the Superior Court Tax Rules Committee, which re-wrote the rules of procedure for the Tax Division of the District of Columbia Superior Court.

 

Previously, Ms. Castro held several leadership positions within Holland & Knight. She was co-coordinator of the Holland & Knight Women’s Initiative for the Washington D.C. office. She also served as Treasurer of the Holland & Knight D.C. Political Action Committee. Ms. Castro was a member of the Steering Committee of the D.C. Practice Specialty Team of Holland & Knight.

 

After law school, Ms. Castro practiced law with Amram and Hahn, PC for 14 years as an associate then partner. She was Managing Partner of the firm from 1988 to 1999.

Education

  • American University, Washington College of Law, J.D.
  • Vassar College, A.B.

 

Bar Admissions

  • District of Columbia
  • Virginia
  • Pennsylvania

 

Honors & Awards

  • Best Lawyer, Real Estate Washington, DC & Baltimore; 2013, 2014 & 2015
  • Thurgood Marshall Center Trust, Inc. Outstanding Work and Dedicated Service 2012

 

Memberships

  • Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW), President, DC Chapter 1999 – 2000
  • District of Columbia Building Industries Association (DCBIA), Director and Co-Chair, Taxes and Impositions Committee
  • CulturalDC, Board of Directors, President 2013 – 2015
  • Leadership Greater Washington, Class of 2001

Speaking Engagements

  • CREW DC Welcomes Mayor Muriel Bowser, CREW Washington, D.C., January 29, 2015
  • Vincent C. Gray, A City United: A Unique Q & A with CREW DC, CREW Washington, D.C., March 17, 2011
  • What the Real Estate Community Needs to Know About the Latest D.C. Government Initiatives, D.C. Building Industry Association, November 19, 2009
  • Positioning Yourself in a Challenging Market, CREW Washington, D.C., November 18, 2009
  • Back to Basics: An Introduction to D.C. Real Property Taxation, D.C. Bar Association, October 14, 2009

 

Publications

  • Practice Insights D.C. Code and D.C. Municipal Regulations, Lexis, April 2007