McDermott Will & Schulte, a global law firm

Richard C. Call focuses his practice on a broad range of state and local tax matters, including litigation, advisory, and transactional work. He represents clients in proceedings before administrative bodies, trial courts, and appellate courts across multiple jurisdictions.

Corporate Income Tax Litigation and Transactions: Richard has significant experience with all major areas of corporate income tax, advising clients on complex issues such as nexus, apportionment, addbacks, transfer pricing, and combination . He represents clients on transfer pricing and alternative apportionment issues in various states, including Alabama, Louisiana, and South Carolina. He also regularly works with clients to evaluate and efficiently structure state income and franchise tax related to mergers, acquisitions, and other strategic transactions.

Sales Taxes and Company Business Models: Richard advises clients on sales tax issues that are affecting their overall business models, helping companies structure transactions to mitigate sales tax exposure, which often results in significant savings. As states increasingly expand the taxation of software, digital products, and services, he assists companies in identifying and managing their exposure to such taxes, particularly in advance of mergers, acquisitions, and other liquidity events.

Personal Income Tax Residency: Richard routinely advises clients on residency for various states, including New York, Massachusetts, California, and Illinois

Speeches and Publications: Richard frequently speaks on state and local tax issues and has presented before organizations such as the NYU SPS Annual Institute on State and Local Taxation, the Council On State Taxation, the Tax Executives Institute, and the Practising Law Institute. He also publishes frequently on state and local tax topics, with articles appearing in several publications, including Tax Notes State, Bloomberg BNA Weekly State Tax Report, Bloomberg BNA Multistate Tax Report, Tax Executive, Journal of State Taxation, Boston Business Journal, and NYU SPS Annual Institute on State and Local Taxation.

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.

Michael Hilkin represents clients in all aspects of complex state and local tax matters. He has a particular focus on tax controversy and transactional issues relating to state and local income, franchise, sales and use, gross receipts, and other business taxes. Michael has extensive experience handling state and local tax issues before US administrative and judicial systems, including arguing cases before state courts and state supreme courts.

Michael frequently speaks on concerning state and local tax issues before the Council on State Taxation, Tax Executives Institute, the New York University Institute on State Taxation, the Paul J. Hartman SALT Forum, and the Institute for Professionals in Taxation.

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.