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Stu Bassin serves as the Leader of BakerHostetler’s Tax Litigation Practice—which has been ranked in Tier 1 ranking by U.S. News – Best Lawyers® in the 2013 “Best Law Firms” list. His own practice focuses upon representation of both corporations and individuals in tax litigation before a variety of federal courts. He has tried several cases involving multiple experts, international discovery and parallel civil/criminal litigation, appearing before the Court of Federal Claims, several different federal district courts and federal courts of appeals. He also represents taxpayers in audit and other administrative disputes with the Internal Revenue Service.

Prior to joining BakerHostetler, Stu served as Senior Litigation Counsel with the U.S. Department of Justice, Tax Division. In that capacity, he successfully litigated several of the most important and precedent-setting tax cases of recent years. He served as lead counsel on the first trial involving a Son of BOSS transaction, Jade Trading LLC v. United States; the first bench trial involving a sale-in/lease-out (SILO) transaction, AWG Leasing Trust v. United States; and in the first decided case involving the contingent liability transaction, Coltec Industries, Inc. v. United States. While at the Justice Department, Stu received six Outstanding Attorney Awards.

Both inside and outside the Government, Stu has worked extensively with Internal Revenue Service audit teams, Industry Specialists, Appeals Officers, Area Counsel and many separate components of the IRS National Office. His work has involved United States Attorneys, the Joint Committee on Taxation, the Office of Tax Legislative Counsel and Revenue Service Representatives in several countries. Stu has published several articles on tax law and litigation topics and he regularly appears as a panelist on presentations at bar association and judicial conferences, recently co-chairing the 37th Annual Federal Bar Association Tax Law Conference. Stu is a frequent contributor to BakerHostetler blogs on e-discovery (Discovery Advocate.com) and tax controversies (Issues in Tax Controversy).

Illustrative Representations at BakerHostetler

• Lead counsel for taxpayers in federal district court action arising out of IRS challenge to distressed asset transaction
• Lead counsel for estate in Court of Federal Claims dispute involving erroneous refund of tax deposit paid by estate to the wrong person
• Counsel for public corporation in federal district court action involving overpayment of employment taxes imposed on supplemental unemployment benefit payments
• Counsel for medical institutions in federal district court actions involving imposition of employment taxes on stipends paid to medical residents
• Counsel for non-profit organization in audit dispute with IRS
• Counsel for estate in family limited partnership dispute with IRS

Illustrative Representations During Government Service

• Lead counsel in AWG Leasing Trust v. United States, 592 F.Supp. 2d 953 (N.D. Ohio 2008) (first bench trial involving sale-in/lease-out (SILO) transaction)
• Lead trial counsel in Jade Trading LLC v. United States, 80 Fed. Cl. 11 (2007) (first trial involving Son of BOSS tax shelter)
• Lead counsel in Coltec Industries, Inc. v. United States, 454 F.3d 1340 (Fed Cir. 2006), rev’g 62 Fed. Cl. 716 (2004)(bench trial involving contingent liability transaction)
• Lead counsel in Rite Aid Corp. v. United States, 46 Fed. Cl. 500 (2000) (summary judgment on validity of consolidated return regulations)
• Lead counsel in Lockheed Martin Corp. v. United States, 42 Fed. Cl. 485 (1998) (summary judgment on research and development tax credit issues)
• Lead trial counsel in Kidde, Inc. v. United States, 40 Fed. Cl. 42 (1998) (trial on factual and legal aspects of captive insurance issue; separate trial on informal claim issues)
• Defended taxpayer appeals in B.F. Goodrich Co. v. United States, 94 F.3d 1545 (Fed. Cir. 1996); Lockheed Martin Corp. v. United States, 210 F.3d 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2000); and Rite Aid Corp. v. United States, 255 F.3d 1357 (Fed. Cir. 2001)

Published Articles

• “The Limits of Mayo Foundation v. United States: Retroactive Regulations,” Tax Notes (April 18, 2011)
• “Developments in Economic Substance: How Codification and New Case Law Will Change the Rules,” BNA Tax Management Real Estate Journal (April 7, 2010)
• “Managing Tax Accrual Workpapers after Textron,” Tax Notes (May 4, 2009)

Bar Association Presentations

• Conference Co-chair: Federal Bar Association Annual Tax Law Conference (February 2012)
• Panelist: “Developments involving Economic Substance Doctrine,” D.C. Bar Association Tax Section (December 2011)
• Panelist: “Shelter Controversies and Penalties,” Federal Bar Association Tax Conference (March 2010)
• Moderator: “Debating Codification of Economic Substance Doctrine,” D.C. Bar Association Tax Section (November 2009)