SCOTT HEYMAN is a senior counsel in Sidley’s Chicago office. He represents clients in state and local tax controversies, planning and transactional consulting, and in unclaimed property counseling and litigation. His state and local tax practice focuses on state income, franchise, sales, use, telecommunications and utility taxes. He has represented clients before state and local departments of revenue and in state and federal courts.
As a member of the firm’s Escheat Counseling and Litigation group, Scott regularly represents clients in unclaimed property audits initiated by states and third-party audit firms and in related litigation. He also counsels clients with respect to compliance issues.
Scott is a frequent speaker on a variety of state and local tax issues and unclaimed property topics. He is recommended in The Legal 500 US (2009–2012, 2014) for Tax Controversy. Scott has also been recognized in the 2016–2025 editions of The Best Lawyers in America in the area of Tax Law and was recently named 2024 Tax “Lawyer of the Year” for Chicago.
Recent representative matters include:
State and Local Tax
- Representation of Hartney Fuel Oil Company from trial through the Illinois Supreme Court in successfully defending a $23 million assessment of local sales taxes that the Illinois Department of Revenue alleged should have been sourced to Cook County.
- Representation of United Airlines and American Airlines in a challenge to their Illinois local sales tax sourcing brought by the Regional Transportation Authority.
- Representation of Qualcomm in a successful challenge in the Washington Supreme Court to the application of a higher Business and Occupation tax rate to one of its services.
Unclaimed Property
- Representation of life insurance companies in Verus multistate unclaimed property examinations and related litigation.
- Representation of eight health insurance companies and a diagnostic laboratory in Verus multistate healthcare unclaimed property examination.
- Representation of telecommunication companies, banks, manufacturing companies, and other insurers in examinations by Kelmar, Verus, Xerox (UPCH), Audit Services, and PRA Government Services in unclaimed property examinations.
- Representation of multiple clients in negotiating unclaimed property voluntary disclosure agreements.