McDermott Will & Emery LLP

McDermott Will & Emery LLP has a deep bench of tax controversy specialists across the US, with in-depth understanding of federal, state and local, and international matters. Tim Shuman in Washington DC and SALT specialist Cate Battin in Chicago lead the practice. Battin successfully represented 3M and Orthofix in a South Carolina sales tax dispute challenging the constitutionality of a tax exemption that applied only to companies based in the state. Susan Ryba in Chicago, who joined from Baker McKenzie LLP in 2024, has a federal tax controversy practice that focuses on clients in the technology, healthcare, and pharmaceutical sectors, as well as high-net-worth individuals. In New York, Michael Hilkin focuses on SALT matters, and Michael Scarduzio in handles civil and criminal tax litigation. Stephen Kranz in DC and Charles Moll in San Francisco are also key member of the firm’s highly regarded SALT practice. Based in Houston, Shawn O’Brien focuses on tax disputes and controversies involving state, federal and international tax authorities.   He is currently acting for Apache Corporation in a case concerning specified liability loss carryback of more than $200m and research and development tax credits of over $100m.