Meet Scott

Scott Barnes, a Certified Tax Specialist, joined Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd in 2013. Backed by more than 48 years in the profession, Scott’s practice currently focuses on limited liability companies and partnerships, like kind exchanges, conservation easements, the tax implications of these situations and state and local property taxation. He also works with clients to advise and assist with structuring Opportunity Zone (OZ) investments and related transactions and operations, and the creation of OZ entities including the Opportunity Fund, Qualified Opportunity Zone Businesses and other entity participants in the OZ transaction.

Scott is a former Chairman of the South Carolina Bar Association Tax Section, a Member of the American Bar Association Tax Section and Partnership Subcommittee and a Fellow of the American College of Tax Lawyers. He served on the Governor’s Economic Development Incentives Committee and was an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of South Carolina School of Law and at the Charleston School of Law.

• Georgetown University, LL.M., Taxation, 1976
• University of South Carolina, J.D., 1973
• Vanderbilt University, B.S., 1969

• South Carolina, 1973
• District of Columbia, 1976

• The Best Lawyers in America© Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships) (2014-2025), Corporate Law (2006-2025) and Tax Law (1993-2025)
• South Carolina Super Lawyers® Tax (2008-2023)
• Best Lawyers® 2012 Tax Law “Lawyer of the Year” Charleston
• Best Lawyers® 2011 Corporate Law “Lawyer of the Year” Charleston
• Charleston Business Magazine “Legal Elite of the Lowcountry” Tax and Estate Planning (2024)

• Charleston Area Community Development Corporation, former Trustee
• Charleston Day School, former Chairman of the Board of Trustees
• Church Street Historic Foundation, former President
• Community Foundation serving Coastal South Carolina, former Trustee
• Gibbes Museum of Art, former Trustee
• Lowcountry Open Land Trust, former Trustee and President
• Southern Federal Tax Institute, former Trustee and President

• “Going for the Gold: The Latest on Like-Kind Exchanges & Tax Solutions,” 2024 Dave Whitener Real Estate Intensive – SC Bar, Isle of Palms, SC, July 12, 2024
• "TO BUILD A POND: Does it impact your agricultural use exemption?," HSB Blog, December 16, 2022
• “Qualified Appraisal Requirements,” SC Conservation Bank Conservation Transactions Legal and Appraisal Matters Program, Charleston, SC, October 19, 2022
• “Overview of the S.C. Uniform Limited Liability Company Act; Choice of Entity; and Capital Accounts,” South Carolina Bar CLE Webinar: South Carolina Limited Liability Companies, September 18, 2020
• Co-author of “South Carolina Limited Liability Companies, Fifth Edition”
• "Property Tax Relief Available for Those Who Missed the January 31st Filing Deadline," HSB Blog, September 1, 2020
• “Opportunity Zones - Understanding the Operational Requirements,” HSB 2019 Corporate Law for Accountants Seminar Series
• "FIRPTA Withholding & LLCs: Have I Been Doing This Correctly?," South Carolina Bar Convention, Myrtle Beach, SC, January 19, 2019
• HSB Opportunity Zone Presentation, Charleston, SC, November 13, 2018
• "Avoiding Disaster: Time to Dust off Your Operating Agreements," HSB 2017 Corporate Law for Accountants Seminar Series
• Co-author of the "Practical Guide to Commercial Real Estate in South Carolina"