Scott D. Michel is a member in Caplin & Drysdale's Washington, D.C. office, and has been at the firm since 1981.
Mr. Michel represents individuals and corporations nationwide in complex criminal tax fraud cases and in sensitive civil tax examinations, as well as federal and state voluntary disclosures, especially those involving previously undeclared foreign assets or accounts. He has substantial experience in federal administrative and grand jury criminal tax investigations and in IRS civil tax examinations where fraud issues may arise. He has handled numerous tax shelter matters, such as multifaceted criminal and civil penalty examinations of tax shelter promoters and professionals. He has also supervised substantial corporate internal investigations, represented clients in other complex, non-tax white collar matters, and advised clients concerning matters before the IRS Office of Professional Responsibility and in criminal and civil tax disputes with DC and various states.
He is the former Chair of the ABA Tax Section’s Committee on Civil and Criminal Tax Penalties, and is its current Vice-Chair for Legal Developments. He previously served as Chair of the Committee's Task Force on Lawyers and Section 6050I and Vice-Chair of its Subcommittee on Criminal Tax Policy. He is the incoming Vice-Chair of the Standards of Tax Practice Committee and also serves on the Committee on Appointments to the Tax Court. Mr. Michel is also the Co-Chair of the Subcommittee on Tax Fraud within the ABA’s Criminal Justice Section, White Collar Crime Committee, and is a Fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel.
He has written and lectured extensively on numerous topics relating to criminal tax enforcement. His more recent publications include:
Criminal Tax Investigations and Current Year Returns: New Thoughts on a Perennial Issue, 19 WHITE COLLAR CRIME REPORTER 3 (Dec. 2004);
Corporate Tax Departments and the New Focus on Corporate Criminality, THE TAX EXECUTIVE (November/December 2003);
Advising A Client With Secret Offshore Accounts - Current Filing And Reporting Problems , JOURNAL OF TAXATION (September 1999). (Many of his articles may be accessed on the firm’s web site.) He has also lectured at panels sponsored by the American Bar Association, the University of Virginia School of Law, the NYU Tax Institute, other universities, and the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce on numerous topics relating to tax enforcement.
Mr. Michel is a co-founder and Director of Buildable Hours, Inc., a Washington, D.C. non-profit group that coordinates contributions and volunteer activities from law firms nationwide and local Habitat for Humanity organizations. Prior to joining Caplin & Drysdale, Mr. Michel was a law clerk for the Honorable Joyce Hens Green, U. S. District Court for the District of Columbia.