Designs, amends, and administers pension, profit sharing, 401(k), employee stock ownership, and 403(b) plans, as well as nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements

Counsels plan fiduciaries on ERISA Title I matters, including investment policies, private equity, hedge funds, and other alternative investments

Advises multinational clients on global employee benefits and compliance issues

Represents clients before the IRS, Department of Labor, and PBGC on benefit plan audits, corrections, and plan terminations

Stephen (Steve) P. Kranz is a tax lawyer who solves tax problems differently. Over the course of his extensive career, Steve has acquired specific skills and developed a unique approach that helps clients develop and implement holistic solutions to all varieties of tax problems. He combines strategic thinking with effective skills for the courtroom, the statehouse and the conference room.

Steve helps clients prevent and resolve tax problems throughout their life cycle, starting with tax planning, compliance, financial statement implication analysis, audit defense and litigation, legislative monitoring and advocacy, and the formation and leadership of taxpayer coalitions. Steve developed many of these techniques as a litigator for the US Department of Justice, Tax Division, as chief counsel for the District of Columbia’s Office of Tax and Revenue, and further refined them during his tenure as general counsel for the Council on State Taxation (COST).

Steve practices at the forefront of state and local tax issues, including developments in the world of cloud computing, artificial intelligence such as ChatGPT and digital goods and services. He helps clients understand tax threats and opportunities, and develop holistic solutions, no matter the tax issues or jurisdiction. He also brings this same skill set to the highly challenging world of unclaimed property.

Steve represents Fortune 100 companies in litigation while working to address the larger tax policy questions through state legislatures, the US Congress, the National Conference of State Legislatures, the National Governors Association, the Multistate Tax Commission and the Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board. His background has taught him that standalone litigation is not always the most efficient manner of solving a tax problem or preventing its spread – thus, he often works to address problems by taking advantage of tax policy points of entry offered by state and local governments.

Steve has authored articles for professional publications, speaks at national conferences and is interviewed frequently by journalists covering state and local tax developments. He has appeared before the US House Judiciary Committee as an expert on alternative approaches to the Internet Sales Tax issues, and in a similar capacity before other government agencies. Steve serves as outside counsel on state tax and unclaimed property matters for the Entertainment Software Association, the National Retail Federation, the Retail Industry Leaders Association and CompTIA.

Advises boards and senior executives on multidisciplinary executive compensation and employee benefits matters

Counsels clients on compensation strategy, governance, and regulatory compliance

Represents clients in executive compensation and employee benefits litigation

Guides organizations through complex compensation and benefits matters

Catherine (Cate) A. Battin is the head of McDermott Will & Schulte’s State & Local Tax Practice Group and has practiced at the firm for more than 20 years.

Cate represents clients in all aspects of state and local tax matters, including controversies at the audit, administrative, and judicial levels across several jurisdictions. She advises on national state tax strategies involving a broad range of issues, such as income tax apportionment, sourcing, nexus, transfer pricing, combination and sales tax characterization of products and services, and other local excise tax issues. She has a particular focus on state and local tax controversies and has litigated cases throughout the United States, successfully arguing cases before state appellate and supreme courts.

Cate regularly speaks on state and local tax issues and has presented before organizations such as the Tax Executives Institute, the Council on State Taxation, the Taxpayers’ Federation of Illinois, and The Chicago Tax Club.

Prior to joining McDermott, Cate worked at a major international accounting and consulting firm, where she focused exclusively on state and local taxes.

Mary Kay McCalla Martire focuses her practice on a wide variety state and local tax issues. She advises clients on matters related to sales tax, with an emphasis on the sale of digital products. In addition, she advises business clients on income tax apportionment and remote employee withholding obligations. Mary Kay counsels individual clients on residency and income sourcing questions, and frequently advises captives and their insureds on direct procurement tax issues. She also has experience with state and local utility and telecommunications tax matters.

Mary Kay has an extensive litigation background in state and federal court, as well as administrative tribunals. She has particular experience in the defense of qui tam (whistleblower) claims filed in the state tax arena and has won the dismissal of many Illinois False Claims Act cases. Mary Kay played a key role in many of the reported decisions issued by the Illinois appellate court in this area. She also has experience defending clients against class action and consumer fraud claims.

Mary Kay also has represented clients in a number of state insurance tax litigation matters, including serving as the principal trial attorney for a group of insurance companies that successfully challenged the constitutionality of the Illinois Privilege Tax (Milwaukee Safeguard Ins. Co. v. Selky, 179 Ill.2d 94 (1997)).

Mary Kay serves as Co-Chair of the Chicago Office Pro Bono Committee. She is actively engaged in a number of pro bono matters, including the representation of not for profits seeking sales and property tax exemptions, and serving as a guardian ad litem in child custody disputes. In 2014, Mary Kay was awarded one of McDermott’s Chicago Office pro bono service awards. In addition, she is an editor of the Firm’s State Tax Blog, InsideSALT.com.

Eric D. Carstens focuses his practice on state and local tax matters, assisting clients with state tax controversy, compliance and multistate planning across all states for a variety of tax types and unclaimed property. Eric engages in all forms of taxpayer advocacy, including litigation, legislative monitoring and audit defense. He works closely with several of the Firm’s taxpayer coalitions focused on specific state tax policy issues such as the taxation of digital goods and services and unclaimed property.

Eric has co-authored a number of articles in publications such as State Tax Notes and the Journal of Multistate Taxation and Incentives on various state tax issues and is an active contributor to the
Inside SALT blog.

Stephen (Steve) P. Kranz is a tax lawyer who solves tax problems differently. Over the course of his extensive career, Steve has acquired specific skills and developed a unique approach that helps clients develop and implement holistic solutions to all varieties of tax problems. He combines strategic thinking with effective skills for the courtroom, the statehouse and the conference room.

Steve helps clients prevent and resolve tax problems throughout their life cycle, starting with tax planning, compliance, financial statement implication analysis, audit defense and litigation, legislative monitoring and advocacy, and the formation and leadership of taxpayer coalitions. Steve developed many of these techniques as a litigator for the US Department of Justice, Tax Division, as chief counsel for the District of Columbia’s Office of Tax and Revenue, and further refined them during his tenure as general counsel for the Council on State Taxation (COST).

Steve practices at the forefront of state and local tax issues, including developments in the world of cloud computing, artificial intelligence such as ChatGPT and digital goods and services. He helps clients understand tax threats and opportunities, and develop holistic solutions, no matter the tax issues or jurisdiction. He also brings this same skill set to the highly challenging world of unclaimed property.

Steve represents Fortune 100 companies in litigation while working to address the larger tax policy questions through state legislatures, the US Congress, the National Conference of State Legislatures, the National Governors Association, the Multistate Tax Commission and the Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board. His background has taught him that standalone litigation is not always the most efficient manner of solving a tax problem or preventing its spread – thus, he often works to address problems by taking advantage of tax policy points of entry offered by state and local governments.

Steve has authored articles for professional publications, speaks at national conferences and is interviewed frequently by journalists covering state and local tax developments. He has appeared before the US House Judiciary Committee as an expert on alternative approaches to the Internet Sales Tax issues, and in a similar capacity before other government agencies. Steve serves as outside counsel on state tax and unclaimed property matters for the Entertainment Software Association, the National Retail Federation, the Retail Industry Leaders Association and CompTIA.

Charles (Chuck) Moll focuses his practice on state and local tax (SALT), primarily concentrating on the resolution of tax controversies. He regularly appears before the various California tax authorities—including the State Board of Equalization, the California Franchise Tax Board, the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, and the Office of Tax Appeals—as well as local authorities such as assessors and assessment appeals boards. He has litigated at all levels of California’s courts, the US Tax Court, and the US Supreme Court.

Chuck’s practice includes tax matters in other states, as well as federal tax controversies, including representation of clients in federal courts and at appellate hearings before the Internal Revenue Service.