Burnie Maybank – former S.C. Revenue Director and veteran tax attorney – joins Adams and Reese IBG Practice

Burnie Maybank III, a former two-time director of the South Carolina Department of Revenue and a prominent state and local tax law and economic development attorney, has joined Adams and Reese in the Intersection of Business and Government Practice Group. Maybank will join the law firm’s Columbia and Charleston offices.

Maybank represents public/private businesses, commercial real estate developers, manufacturers, and nonprofits in state and local tax (SALT) controversy issues, and economic development incentives. He has additional experience in tax exempt issues, charitable giving, conservation easements, alcohol beverage control, and regulatory work before the Public Service Commission.

“If you’re a business wanting to move into South Carolina or expand within our state, Burnie has had his hands on the tax laws, codes, and economic development incentives that have created those opportunities,” said Ed McMullen, Adams and Reese Senior Policy Advisor and IBG Practice Member in the Charleston office. “He is one of the most prominent state and local tax lawyers in South Carolina. We look forward to Burnie growing our economic development team’s full suite of services across our regional footprint of corporate site selection, incentive negotiation with local and state governmental entities, and federal, state, and local tax advice.”

Maybank said he was attracted to Adams and Reese by previously interacting with McMullen, a former Ambassador of the United States to Switzerland and Liechtenstein, and David King, Adams and Reese Senior Policy Advisor and founding member of the Central Carolina Economic Development Alliance (Central SC Alliance). McMullen and King each have more than 30 years guiding businesses in local, state, regional, national, and foreign direct investment.

“I have known Ed and David for a long time and interacted with several Adams and Reese attorneys throughout my career,” said Maybank. “This is an exciting opportunity to blend my practice with attorneys and advisors who essentially provide a one-stop shop for businesses starting up, expanding, or relocating, and are in need of legal services from tax, economic development, and public finance, to government relations, construction, and real estate, among several others.”

Maybank co-authored economic development incentives and released S.C. Department of Revenue policy documents on the incentives when he served as Director under governors Mark Sanford (2003-2005) and David Beasley (1995-1999). Maybank also co-authored “South Carolina Tax Incentives for Economic Development,” the guide used by the Department of Revenue to educate companies interested in locating or expanding in South Carolina.

State and local tax controversy work is a large area of Maybank’s practice. He represents taxpayers in Administrative Law Court, Court of Appeals, and South Carolina Supreme Court cases, as well as writing amicus briefs for various local and state tax councils, business chambers, and manufacturing alliances.

Maybank comes from a legacy of leaders who have shaped the Palmetto state’s economy. Burnie’s grandfather (Burnet Rhett Maybank) was a U.S. Senator, South Carolina Governor, and Charleston Mayor. Burnie’s father (Burnett Rhett Maybank Jr.) was an attorney and politician, serving in the State House of Representatives, on Charleston City Council, and as Lt. Governor.

Maybank served two terms as Chair of the Job Development Credit Act Subcommittee of the South Carolina Coordinating Council for Economic Development. He was a part of several statewide transition teams and agencies for South Carolina governors and treasurers, including the Transportation Infrastructure Study Committee on the benefits of public/private partnerships to improve the state’s roads, highways and bridges, and the Tax Realignment Commission, serving as chair to oversee the comprehensive state tax restructuring plan.

“From generating public and private partnerships to merging business and government interests, and implementing tax codes and policies, Burnie has played a major role over the last 40 years in growing South Carolina’s economy,” said Bill McElveen, Adams and Reese Corporate Services Practice Group Leader and Columbia Partner. “Burnie is an experienced and integral resource for businesses across all industries, not only in South Carolina, but for corporations across markets throughout our footprint looking to expand internationally, nationally, regionally, and locally.”

About Adams and Reese: Adams and Reese, founded in 1951, is a multidisciplinary law firm with nearly 300 attorneys and advisors strategically located throughout the United States and Washington, D.C. The American Lawyer includes Adams and Reese on its distinguished list of the nation’s top law firms, the Am Law 200. The National Law Journal also includes the firm among the top 200 on the NLJ 500 list of the nation’s largest law firms.