Jane Wells May > McDermott Will & Emery LLP > Chicago, United States > Lawyer Profile
McDermott Will & Emery LLP Offices
444 WEST LAKE STREET
CHICAGO, IL 60606-0029
ILLINOIS
United States
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Jane Wells May
Work Department
State & Local Tax
Position
Jane Wells May focuses her practice on state and local tax matters. She represents businesses in connection with tax controversies at the audit, administrative and judicial levels around the United States. Her clients include companies in manufacturing, retailing, pharmaceuticals, financial services, agribusiness, food and beverage, health care, energy, technology and insurance industries. Jane has served on the Firm’s Management and Compensation Committees, on the Executive Committee and as the global head of the Firm’s Tax Practice.
Jane has successfully litigated state and local tax matters raising a variety of statutory and constitutional issues. She has defended numerous internet sellers in several states against cases brought under state whistleblower statutes, including the Illinois False Claims Act, alleging fraudulent failures to collect and remit use tax. Jane also advises business clients on tax planning matters and represents athletes and entertainers in connection with employment contract issues.
Jane is a co-founder of Tax in the City: A Woman’s Tax Roundtable®, which consists of women tax professionals with an interest in discussing substantive tax issues in a collegial and confidential setting, and which meets regularly in Chicago and New York.
While in law school, Jane was senior articles editor of the Vanderbilt Law Review and a member of the Moot Court Board.
Lawyer Rankings
United States > Tax > US taxes: contentious
(Leading lawyers)McDermott Will & Emery LLP acts in IRS audits, administrative appeals, and trial and appellate litigation for high profile multinational clients, including numerous Fortune 100 companies. The department has strength in SALT matters and transfer pricing disputes, with key expertise in tax disputes in the digital market. Jane Wells May leads the department from Chicago. May focuses on SALT matters for major corporations in the manufacturing, retail, healthcare and energy industries, while Johnson has a practice focused on complex tax disputes, and has experience representing taxpayers in all stages of civil and criminal tax proceedings. Also based in Chicago is Catherine Battin, a SALT specialist with a history of defending internet sellers. Stephen Kranz, in Washington DC, is a key name for matters related to digital taxation, and has expertise in state tax reform. The San Francisco office houses Charles Moll, who is particularly active on SALT matters before the California tax authorities, and Troy Van Dongen, who is active nationwide, and has a background in property taxation. Boston-based Richard Call handles SALT litigation before administrative and judicial bodies.
United States > Tax > US taxes: non-contentious
Praised for its broad capabilities across transactional and advisory mandates, McDermott Will & Emery LLP solidifies its reputation with a steady stream of big-ticket instructions for Fortune 100 companies, as well as various public and private corporations. Washington DC-based co-head Tim Shuman focuses on cross-border acquisitions, dispositions, restructurings and liquidations, handling a significant number of internal spin-offs and tax-free reorganizations. Fellow co-head Jane Wells May anchors the firm’s state and local tax offering. Also in DC, Caroline Ngo‘s expertise further spans foreign tax credit planning and bilateral income tax treaties – an area in which David Noren excels. Lowell Yoder and Damon Lyon are noted for their cross-border M&A and global tax planning acumen, while the New York-based John Lutz specializes in structured finance, derivatives, and hedge funds. Other recommended individuals include the tech-focused Dominika Korytek in San Francisco, and international tax expert Jeffrey Maydew. All named lawyers are based in Chicago unless noted otherwise.
Lawyer Rankings
- Leading lawyers United States > Tax > US taxes: contentious
- US taxes: contentious United States > Tax
- US taxes: non-contentious United States > Tax
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Media, technology and telecoms > Technology transactions
- Healthcare > Health insurers
- Healthcare > Life sciences
- Media, technology and telecoms > Outsourcing
- Healthcare > Service providers
- Tax > US taxes: contentious
- Tax > US taxes: non-contentious
Firm Rankings
- Insurance > Advice to insurers
- Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: design
- Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: transactional
- Energy > Energy regulation: electric power
- Tax > Financial products
- Labor and employment > Immigration
- Tax > International tax
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: middle-market ($500m-999m)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: toxic tort
- Energy > Renewable/alternative power
- Intellectual property > Trademarks: non-contentious (including prosecution, portfolio management and licensing)
- Media, technology and telecoms > Cyber law (including data privacy and data protection)
- Labor and employment > ERISA litigation
- Dispute resolution > General commercial disputes
- Insurance > Insurance: non-contentious
- Labor and employment > Labor-management relations
- Antitrust > Merger control
- Intellectual property > Patents: prosecution (including re-examination and post-grant proceedings)
- Real estate > Real estate finance
- International Trade > Trade remedies and trade policy
- Labor and employment > Workplace and employment counseling
- Finance > Capital markets: equity offerings
- Antitrust > Cartel
- Antitrust > Civil litigation/class actions: defense
- Energy > Energy transactions: electric power
- Energy > Energy transactions: oil and gas
- Labor and employment > Labor and employment disputes (including collective actions)
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (full coverage)
- Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: defense
- Finance > Structured finance: derivatives and structured products
- Dispute resolution > Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Private equity buyouts: large deals ($500m+)
- Real estate > Real estate
- Finance > Restructuring (including bankruptcy): corporate
- Investment fund formation and management > Private equity funds (including venture capital)
- Dispute resolution > Appellate: courts of appeals / Appellate: supreme courts (states and federal)
- Finance > Commercial lending
- Investment fund formation and management > Alternative/hedge funds
- Government > Government contracts
- Finance > Fintech