Washington, D.C., tax attorney Scott Michel named chair of ABA Section of Taxation

Scott D. Michel, a tax attorney with Caplin & Drysdale in Washington, D.C., has been named chair of the nearly 12,000-member American Bar Association Section of Taxation. He took office at the ABA’s Annual Meeting earlier this month in Denver.

Michel, who served as president of Caplin & Drysdale for eight years, has more than 40 years of experience in complex and sensitive tax controversy matters. He has been active in the Section of Taxation his entire career. Michel has served as the vice chair for Committee Operations, a section council director and as the chair of the section’s committees on Civil and Criminal Tax Penalties and Standards of Tax Practice. He also served as a mentor in the
ABA Rule of Law Initiative, advising government officials responsible for tax enforcement in the Croatian Ministry of Finance.

He is an adjunct professor of law at the University of Miami School of Law Graduate Program in Taxation, a current fellow and former regent for the Federal Circuit for the American College of Tax Counsel, a member of the board of trustees of the American Tax Policy Institute and a member of the International Fiscal Association.

Michel is also a co-founder and director of Buildable Hours Inc., a Washington, D.C., nonprofit group that coordinates contributions and volunteer activities between law firms nationwide and local Habitat for Humanity organizations.

Michel was a law clerk for Judge Joyce Hens Green of the U.S. District Court, District of Columbia. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University and a law degree from University of Virginia School of Law.