taxgirl » law school stuff

Tax Trivia Giveaway #2: Prostitution and Tax Evasion

Kelly — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:19:42 +0000

Our next tax trivia question is:

Cristina Warthen (née Cristina Schultz), now married to Ask Jeeves founder David Warthen, is a Stanford Law School grad who grossed more than $300,000 working as a hooker in California under the name “Brazil.” She escaped prosecution for prostitution but admitted to hiding money from the taxing authorities by stashing funds where? Be specific.

For more about the giveaway, including rules and prizes, check out this post.

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Why Justice Matters

Kelly — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:41:22 +0000

Today, we celebrate the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. To honor the day, I am reposting something that I wrote around this time three years ago. It remains one of my favorite posts. Enjoy!

—

I’ll be frank. I don’t always love being a lawyer.

When I was a little girl, I used to watch Perry Mason with my grandfather on TBS. That constituted my entire legal experience before entering law school. And it was flawed.

You see, on TV, none of the lawyers lied to Perry Mason over the phone about being amenable to a continuance and then told the Clerk of Court differently. Nobody faxed Perry Mason a witness list the day before a hearing along with evidence that they “forgot” to send prior. A lawyer didn’t claim proper service on Perry Mason and then fail to deliver the notices to his law offices. You never saw a lawyer represent clients who had sent Perry Mason death threats via email attempt to assert that Mr. Mason was the one being unreasonable. You didn’t see cases drag on for years and years (yes, plural) because counsel just couldn’t get it together enough to resolve the matter. On TV, no matter how dire, how dramatic, there was ultimately justice.

The law is supposed to be about justice, about finding the truth. And increasingly it feels like it’s not. It’s more about touting your wares, putting yourself on commercials during daytime television standing in front of legal books shouting about maximizing money, about doing anything to get paid. And that is sad.

A few months ago, I attended a hearing that made me question my role in the law. You’re probably assuming that the hearing somehow didn’t go well. That isn’t true. It went remarkably well. Our client was an excellent witness. The judge was fair and very accommodating. We walked out of the hearing knowing that we had done a good job. The thing was, I felt relieved that it was over. I was happy for my clients. But I wasn’t happy for me. Truth be told, I hated every minute of preparing for the case. Well, not every minute. The theory, the strategy? That I didn’t mind. Our strategy was simply to tell our story. And we somehow felt that should be enough. In the end, I think it was.

But the getting there? The games? The complete lack of professionalism exhibited by opposing counsel? Lying about continuances? Surprise witnesses? Last minute evidence? Maybe that seems exciting on TV but in real life, it’s not exciting. It’s sickening. It’s stressful. It’s not fair to good lawyers who spend their time crafting a case. It’s not fair to clients who don’t know what to expect in the court room. And yet somehow, month after month, this behavior doesn’t seem so unusual.

And as opposing counsel sat at her chair in her too tight blouse with the clickety-click of her little heels on the floor, the same counsel who called my clients’ claims frivolous, the same counsel whose supervising partner at Big Law Firm once commented to me that she didn’t understand why a small firm like mine would go up against a big firm like hers, I thought about why we were all at that place, how it all happened that we were in the same room believing two different versions of the truth. I couldn’t explain it.

Later that same day, while reaching for my Moscow Mule (yes, my favorite cocktail du jour, even before Rachael Ray put it in her magazine last month – grr) at the Union League, I understood why the partner at my former firm kept a bottle of wine in his desk: the pressure of being a lawyer, the pressure of having to win, it’s a lot to take in. And while other professions can often look to each other for reassurance, we don’t really have that in the legal profession with few exceptions. It is, by its very nature, adversarial. It is competitive. It is cut throat. And me? I am not. Of course, I like to win. I like to think that I am good at it. And then maybe I think that’s not something to be particularly proud of.

So, over the past few weeks, which have been professionally difficult, I have tried to remember why it is exactly that I became a lawyer – and what about it I used to love. And I was reminded of my favorite scene in the movie [entity display="Philadelphia" type="place" active="true" key="pa/philadelphia"]Philadelphia[/entity]. The one where Andrew Beckett sums up what’s actually good about the law:

Joe Miller: What do you love about the law, Andrew?

Andrew Beckett: I… many things… uh… uh… What I love the most about the law?

Joe Miller: Yeah.

Andrew Beckett: It’s that every now and again – not often, but occasionally – you get to be a part of justice being done. That really is quite a thrill when that happens.

And so I tried to think of when that happened last – when justice was actually done. Not when I won a case or when I got a client out of trouble – that happens often enough. But remember, winning and justice aren’t the same thing. I had to think for awhile.

Later, I was preparing to write post about Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. I figured I’d just put up a copy of his famous “I Have A Dream” speech and call it a day. But as I researched, I found part of his autobiography which, I will confess, I have never read in full. And I saw something interesting: I knew that Dr. King had been arrested several times for various accusations, but I didn’t realize that he had been on trial for tax evasion.

Yep. On February 17, 1960, a warrant was issued for the arrest of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on charges of tax evasion. He was accused of allegedly falsifying his Alabama income tax returns for the years 1956 and 1958; he was the only person ever prosecuted under the state’s income tax perjury statute. It seemed like an inevitable victory for the government.

In his autobiography, Dr. King described the trial like this:

This case was tried before an all-white Southern jury. All of the State’s witnesses were white. The judge and the prosecutor were white. The courtroom was segregated. Passions were inflamed. Feelings ran high. The press and other communications media were hostile. Defeat seemed certain, and we in the freedom struggle braced ourselves for the inevitable. There were two men among us who persevered with the conviction that it was possible, in this context, to marshal facts and law and thus win vindication. These men were our lawyers-Negro lawyers from the North: William Ming of Chicago and Hubert Delaney from New York.

And something quite remarkable happened. On May 28, 1960, only after a few hours, Dr. King was acquitted by an all white jury in Montgomery, Alabama.

Dr. King said about his trial:

I am frank to confess that on this occasion I learned that truth and conviction in the hands of a skillful advocate could make what started out as a bigoted, prejudiced jury, choose the path of justice. I cannot help but wish in my heart that the same kind of skill and devotion which Bill Ming and Hubert Delaney accorded to me could be available to thousands of civil rights workers, to thousands of ordinary Negroes, who are every day facing prejudiced courtrooms.

And it dawned on me: no matter how many slick-haired, silver-tongued attorneys do their best to make a quick buck at the expense of the reputation of the profession, you can’t dispute that justice is attainable. And justice is good. And justice is important. And even if it is infrequent, it’s worth it when it happens.

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Taxes from A to Z: V is for VITA

Kelly — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 11:56:39 +0000

VITA is the acronym for the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program which provides free tax help for qualifying taxpayers across the country. The program began in 1969 and has since grown into a popular program: last year, there were over 12,000 VITA sites across the country.

VITA volunteers receive training to prepare basic tax returns. Some volunteers may also focus on specific issues such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Child Tax Credit, and Credit for the Elderly or the Disabled. Most VITA programs are income dependent (for taxpayers making $49,000 or less) though a handful of them cater to specific demographics, such as the elderly.

VITA sites are located all over the country, usually in community centers, libraries, schools or other public places; to find a center, check out the IRS web site or call 1.800.906.9887.

If you plan to take advantage of the VITA program, the IRS encourages you to bring the following items with you to the site:

Proof of identification
Social Security Cards for you, your spouse and dependents and/or a Social Security Number verification letter issued by the Social Security Administration or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) assignment letter for you, your spouse and dependents
Proof of Foreign status if applying for an ITN
Birth dates for you, your spouse and dependents on the tax return
Wage and earning statement(s) Form W-2, W-2G, 1099-R, from all employers
Interest and dividend statements from banks (Forms 1099)
A copy of last year’s federal and state returns, if available
Proof of Bank routing numbers and account numbers for Direct Deposit, such as a blank check
Total paid for daycare provider and the daycare provider’s tax identifying number (the provider’s Social Security Number or the provider’s business Employer Identification Number)
To file taxes electronically on a married-filing-joint tax return, both spouses must be present to sign the required forms.

If you don’t have your tax information handy, volunteers can’t help you. When I volunteered with VITA, we often had clients show up without the most basic of information – keep in mind that volunteers are trained but they’re not mind readers.

The VITA center that I staffed worked out of a local senior center for the most part (we held a couple of Saturday open houses at our law office). It was terrific fun. The clients were most appreciative and engaging. My favorite client told me that his occupation was “spy” (it wasn’t). I even took my daughter with me one time. She was about 4 years old and very charming, as she explained to the folks at the center that I drove taxis for a living (as opposed to doing taxes).

Since the majority of our clients were seniors, I got exposure to a lot of tax issues that I hadn’t really encountered before. It marked the first time, for example, that I had actually seen a Railroad Retirement Benefits form (if you’ve seen one, you know why it was memorable).

As a volunteer, you have the opportunity to learn a lot about tax returns and tax policy. Temple Law (my alma mater) even offers a course on Low Income Taxpayer Policy and Practice which “enables students to see first hand the effect tax policies have on low income taxpayers and then to process that experience through the lens of existing tax policy scholarship and commentary.” Students spend time volunteering at VITA and must keep a journal about their experiences; they will then submit a paper making recommendations for changes. It’s a pretty cool concept. I think more tax professionals should have insight into the challenges – and follies – of our tax system for lower income taxpayers. What better way than observing it first hand?

To volunteer at a site, use the online tool to find a center near you or call the IRS at 1.800.829.1040 (this time of year, be prepared to wait).

If you do use a VITA site to prepare your taxes, keep in mind that those folks helping you out are volunteers and they’re taking time out of the their schedules to do something nice. Be sure to let them know that you appreciate it.Similar Posts:

ABA Student Tax Challenge Winners Announced

Kelly — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 03:42:52 +0000

The ABA Section of Taxation has announced the winners of its 10th Annual Law Student Tax Challenge: Wes Hill and Sims Rhyne III of Samford University School of Law were awarded first place in the J.D. Division. Judson Bryant and John Goodell of Northwestern University School of Law were awarded first place in the LL.M. Division.

“We were pleased this year to have a record number of entries,” said Charles H. Egerton, chair, ABA Section of Taxation. “Ninety-five J.D. teams and 31 LL.M. teams, from 55 law schools, submitted their solutions to a challenging, complex tax planning problem that involved individual and business entity issues.”

The Law Student Tax Challenge is administered by the ABA Tax Section’s Young Lawyers Forum, and is designed to reflect everyday tax issues that might arise for practitioners. The contest features J.D. and LL.M. divisions, both of which compete in two person teams that research the tax issues involved, and then submit technical memoranda and client letters with their solutions. The teams’ written submissions are judged by tax practitioners from across the country; the teams with the best written submissions are chosen to present their tax planning strategies before the competition judges at the section’s Midyear Meeting.

Of course, I’m just pleased as punch to see that my alma mater, Temple Law, was nicely represented. Travis Wheeler and Jeanmarie Dunn-Kane, both of Temple, placed second in the LL.M. Tax division. I had the opportunity to have coffee with Jeanmarie Dunn-Kane last fall and I deem her a certified tax geek (in my world, that’s a good thing).

Congrats to all of the students who participated and special kudos to Travis and Jeanmarie!
Similar Posts:

Sunday Mailbag: The Really Cold Edition

Kelly — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 14:06:51 +0000

I woke up this morning determined to go for a run… until I saw that the temps, according to Accuweather, “felt like 5 degrees.” The wimp in me won over. In fact, it’s cold across most of the nation this morning which makes it a pretty good day to grab a cup of coffee and open up the taxgirl mailbag:

Taxpayer asks:

Hello Tax Girl,

I looked through the job postings on your web site and noticed that almost all of them required the successful candidate have a bachelor’s or masters in accounting and/or a CPA designation.

I am considering getting my LLM in taxation so I can go into tax law. (I am already a licensed attorney.) I do not have any education or work experience in accounting. Will I be able to have a career in tax law?

Thank you,

taxgirl says:

Tax law is a tough market these days. Heck, most of the law is a tough market. Law firms are increasingly reticent to spend a lot of money training new attorneys (gone are the days where grads could practically name their price right out of law school) so you need something that makes you stand out. An LLM might be that something – but not necessarily so. As I’ve posted before, getting your LLM will be an additional expense and requires more time. Whether it will pay off is kind of hard to judge.

I worked my way through law school. By the time I was getting my LLM in Taxation, I was working at a boutique estates firm and I had completed an internship at the IRS. That meant that by the time I had my degree, I had a little experience until my belt. This worked out well for me.

If I had to do it all over again, I’d do pretty much the same thing… only with better hair.

Taxpayer asks:

I follow your emails every morning when I wake up. Love em!

Can you tell me how I can subscribe to IRS notices [that you reference]?

taxgirl says:

Thanks for the nice words. Can’t get enough tax, eh?

The IRS has a lot of subscription options, depending on who you are and what you’re looking for…

Tax professionals can subscribe to a practice oriented IRS newsletter here.
Tax pros can also sign up for alerts.

Tax geeks and number crunchers like me can find out the latest tax stat news here.

You can subscribe to the IRS Newswire here.

The IRS also offers the opportunity to sign up for other alerts and newsletters from partner organizations (like TIGTA): you’ll be asked about that when you sign up for IRS news. Be aware that all of these alerts can fill your inbox pretty quickly.

Don’t forget that you can also follow IRS on twitter.

Taxpayer asks:

Are there specific reasons why or laws against employers providing tax advice to employees regarding filling out W4 forms?

taxgirl says:

I haven’t seen anything that would legally bar an employer from providing tax advice to employees regarding filling out W4 forms (or any other forms for that matter) but why would you? The potential risks probably outweigh the benefits. And by risks, I mean lawsuits.

Tax law is so fact and circumstance specific. Even if you know the rules, there can be a lot of additional information that affects the way those rules can and will be applied. You’ll see that in the dialogue on the blog a lot – my colleagues will often add a line or two in the comments that says “but if the taxpayer does this instead…” There’s a reason that much speculation goes on and a reason why it can be dangerous to offer advice in a vacuum.

I’ll be self-serving and say that this is exactly the kind of situation when you’d want a good tax pro, like say, a tax attorney, to help out. Either the taxpayer needs (and should seek out) direct legal assistance or the employer could make tax counsel available for employees, either as a seminar or a consult. Check with your HR person to see what options might be available.

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Taxpayer asks:

I sent you a tax question three weeks ago. When are you going to answer it?

taxgirl says:

Whoa, Nellie! This time of year, my inbox is chock full. My “ask the taxgirl” mailbox alone has, as of this morning, more than 2000 emails.

I try to answer questions most relevant to my readers as quickly as I can. Here are some things to remember.

I’m busy now through November. I get a lot of emails and I read every single one. I’m not ignoring you but you’re also not the only email I’ll get today. So please be patient.
I consider a lot of factors when I choose an “ask the taxgirl” question to post. If I notice a similar bunch of questions (for example, about how to calculate the Making Work Pay Credit), I’ll try to answer those first. I also think about the timeliness: if something is making headlines now or affects your filing, I’m likely to post that before a more general question. Finally, I also think about my readers and whether they’ll get anything out of it.
Your question may be too broad or too specific. I do get questions like “Should I file Married Filing Jointly Married Filing Separately?” without another word. In contrast, I’ve gotten questions that include absolutely every detail, down to a diary of phone calls to IRS. Fill me in on the details and state your question plainly without giving me too much information. I don’t need your shoe size or your mother’s maiden name. And hey, I’m a chatty girl. I *get* that you might fear that you’re leaving something out but don’t worry – if it’s just a little piece of info and I think I’ll need it, I’ll ask you.
Don’t send a note asking for favors: I won’t call the IRS and find out where your rebate checks are, why your refunds isn’t what you expected or why your return wasn’t accepted as filed. Notwithstanding that I can’t do those things anyway without a Power of Attorney which authorizes me to, I’m not your tax attorney unless you have a representation letter from me. So please don’t ask. And don’t send me your personal information like your Social Security number out of the blue. Honestly, I’m a good person. But you shouldn’t take such risks. It’s scary.
I rarely answer specific state or local tax questions. I just can’t. As much as I’d love to help – and I would – I just don’t know the specific property tax laws in Petaluma or the sales tax rules in Peoria.
I have a spam filter. I have to. Mostly because of, well, you know, evil spammers. My spam filter will almost always dump your email into spam if your email doesn’t have a subject. Try including a word or two in the subject to tell me what your question is about, like “educational expenses” or “Making Work Pay Credit question” – it will help make sure that the emails end up where they need to be. Make sure that you send it to the right address (askthetaxgirl (at) taxgirl (dot) com), too. You can also post on Facebook or via twitter but remember that your information will be visible to others so don’t post anything too personal.
If you’re actually sitting in an audit or jail, I can’t stress enough how much you need to put down the computer and find yourself a good tax professional right now. Run, do not walk, to the phones and call someone to help you.

I love answering your questions. I really do. It’s why I do it. But I’m a lawyer, not a miracle worker (H/T to @obxlaw), so be patient. Check by my “ask the taxgirl” page often for updates and more information.

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Try to stay warm this week, it’s brutal out there. And for all of my southern friends getting hit with the snow, enjoy it! You don’t get it all that often and trust me, your kids think it’s really cool. Besides, there are just 21 days until Catchers and Pitchers report for training… that means spring is just around the corner.

Thanks for reading. Similar Posts:

UNH School of Law to Host Intellectual Property Tax Challenge

Kelly — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 00:59:37 +0000

I love a good challenge, don’t you?

The University of New Hampshire School of Law (formerly Franklin Pierce Law Center) hopes that you do. They’re hosting their first ever Intellectual Property Tax Challenge.

Here’s how it works. JD and LLM students are encouraged to register now for the challenge that will address a complex intellectual property tax issue. You’ll have to prove that you’re a triple threat as the challenge consists of 3 parts: a client letter, a memorandum to senior partner and a presentation to a panel of attorneys and professors. It’s kind of like Moot Court for tax geeks.

Registration is open now and ends on September 30. The details of the problem will be available on October 1.

There are four awards in the challenge. Each piece of the challenge will name a winner – and there will be a best overall performance award. That might look impressive on the ol’ resume, no?

For more info, check out the challenge web site. Good luck!Similar Posts:

Sunday Mailbag: The Edition With All of the Love

Kelly — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 01:36:29 +0000

The week started with an offer to move my blog over to a network (no thank you) and ended with a marriage proposal (also no thank you) – all in all, not a bad week. The one complaint I had was that, by turning down the latter, I missed my potential suitor’s offer to “set up camp outside your offices and serenade you with melodious tax regulations until you accepted my proposal.” I’m not gonna lie, that sounds a little bit awesome.

With the knowledge that no other email could top that this week, I’m opening up the taxgirl mailbag:

Taxpayer asks:

Hello-

I was searching for stats on how many cellphones are paid for by employers (really, by anyone other than the end user), and I came across this taxgirl post: http://www.taxgirl.com/dialing-up-trouble-irs-tries-to-enforce-cell-phone-fringe-benefits/

In it, you state that 5.5 million people have a cell phone service paid for directly by their employer. I have two questions:

1. Could you point me to where you were able to find that info?
2. It sounds like that figure doesn’t include those whose cellphone costs are either partially or entirely reimbursed by their employer. Is that correct? Any idea where I might be able to find that number?

Thanks for your help. By the way, I’ll be passing your blog along to my girlfriend, a Big Four auditor who would like to know a bit more about tax issues.

taxgirl says:

Thanks for the question. I usually try to link to my sources and I goofed on that one. It was from the LA Times. Here’s the link. Unfortunately, I don’t have any additional data – so I can’t answer your second question.

Thanks for reading – and for passing my blog along to your girlfriend!

Taxpayer asks:

I have a career question for you. I am not here looking for job, just some career advice if you could spare the time.
I graduated law school in 2002 and have been working at the same firm for about 6 years doing the same thing – workers compensation, personal injury, and some union stuff. I am looking to switch gears and get started with tax. I wanted to do it when I first graduated law school but couldn’t find anything since I had no experience. I think I am going to get my LLM, I just wanted to get your thoughts on the subject. Other than the LLM, is there anything else that would make me more appealing to employers in tax? Ultimately, I would like to get a job with the IRS.

Thank you for any advice you can give me.

taxgirl says:

Unfortunately, it sounds like you’ve fallen victim to the ol’ law firm pigeonhole. This happens to lots of attorneys. If the firm can use you in one capacity, they’ll just keep using you and using you in that area.

One solution, as you mentioned, is to get your LLM in Tax. That would definitely make you appealing to IRS and it might make you more appealing to potential employers. It depends, though. You have to be careful as it’s not a panacea. One of my good friends wanted to get out of insurance defense so she went to NYU to get her LLM in Tax. She was immediately hired by a BigLaw firm as a tax attorney – until they realized that she had litigation experience. So they kept pulling her back to litigation. It is a danger and in this market, many attorneys are willing to take a job no matter what it’s in.

That said, practical aspects aside, I’m a big believer in doing what makes you happy. If tax makes you happy, I say do what you can to get out of the other and into tax. You don’t have to leap to the LLM in Tax as a first step. A good place to start might be to volunteer with an IRS VITA (volunteer income tax assistance) program. You can do some good work, get some experience, beef up your resume and meet other tax professionals.

I highly recommend networking with other tax professionals to make sure that you want to make the switch. Consider taking a couple of Tax Law CLEs and go chat with the presenters. Find a mentor. Ask lots of questions. Go out to lunch with a tax attorney and pick his or her brain. Familiarizing yourself with the ins and outs of the profession can only help when it comes to landing and acing interviews.

Thanks for writing and I wish you the best of luck!

Taxpayer asks:

Hi Taxgirl,

First of all, I must say that your blog is absolutely delightful! Truthfully? I really enjoy your personality. It permeates through the blog like no other and its flat-out awesome.

Ok ok, I know you’re a busy gal, so enough of my jibberish.

This is my problem, and I need your professional – wise advice.

Stats: I am 22 years old. I just graduated from grad school with my Masters in Accounting. I have my Certified Fraud Examiners License (CFE) and I am currently studying for my CPA exam. I work as an auditor for Grant Thornton (I’m almost sure you’ve heard the name before).

Situation: I am on a 8 week detail in our tax department to help them out (since they have so much work). Now while I am doing this, I enjoy a few things about it. I enjoy the tax programs we use more than i do the programs in audit. I enjoy the people I work with more than I do in audit. I also enjoy the fact that the very essence of a good tax professional is one who can successfully follow the Code while still helping individuals (or corporations) save as much money on their taxes as they can. Overall, I dont love audit. Neither do I love tax. But I am convinced that I enjoy tax more than I do audit.

Problem: I am thinking about making the switch over to tax (from audit). I am scared though. I know audit experience is valuable (especially when you have between 5-8 years of it). And if I decided to do tax work, then that would probably mean I should get my JD (which I have thought about and not opposed to doing). But I mean, I dont want to get stuck in some office reading forms or doing legal who-bla. Honestly? the thing that i REALLY want to do? I want to help people. I want to help someone. I want someone (maybe not directly but still…) to look at me and say thank you for giving me something that I could not attain myself. Does that make sense?

I need a bit of guidance… and you being a mom, well, haha i figured you could still look at me as a little boy in the big boys playground! Would you please help me? I could use your experience.

Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart,

taxgirl says:

Wow. Where to begin? First, see above where I advise that I think you should follow your heart, do what you love, etc.

And now, since you brought it up, here’s what the mom in me has to say: I’m not sure that the legal profession is what you’re looking for. I will brace myself for the barrage of hate email by telling you what was true in my own experience with the caveat that it is just that, my own experience. I can’t speak for tax attorneys everywhere. So here goes:

A *lot* of being a lawyer is sitting in an office. At least on the transactional side (I don’t know about trial work). If you’re at a big firm, it’s completely conceivable that you won’t be assigned to much outside of the office (much less with clients) for the first few years of practice.

Whether or not you’re going to help anyone depends on where you practice and what you do. Before I started my own firm, I couldn’t say that I really helped anyone. I was one of those kids who went to law school for all of the reasons that you stated. I wanted to make a difference, to help people. And yes, it was terribly Pollyanna but it was what I really believed. I was shocked to find out that I didn’t have much say in what I did at all. Small firm or bigger firm, I did what I was told. Rarely did anyone say thank you, especially those in charge. And not every client is looking for “help” in the sense that you described. This really smacked me in the face the day that I was sitting in a beautiful office listening to a client gleefully describe how he cheated the system. I remember thinking that I couldn’t do this anymore. I thought I hated tax and the law. I didn’t. I just hated where I was. I started my own firm (together with my husband) – that was ten years ago. Now, I can say that I do help people and I do make a difference. But it’s not at all like I thought it would be.

You also need to realize that law school is long and it’s expensive. In this economy, it’s also not a guaranteed job. In fact, it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that you could rack up six figure debt and have no legal job to show for it.

I’m not trying to talk you out of going to law school or trying to be pessimistic about the profession. Actually, it’s just the opposite. I’m telling you that it’s worth it to find what it is that you love, that makes you happy. I’m not sure that you know what that is yet. Before you take the big step of going to law school, why not explore what else is out there? Make a list of all of the things you love to do, that make you want to get up in the morning. Then make a list of the things you’re good at. And see where it takes you.

I don’t think you have to have all of the answers at age 22. You have a lot of time to figure that out. And I don’t think you have to plan every second of your career in advance – if you read the blog regularly, you’ll know that I fell into tax. I certainly didn’t go to law school thinking I was going to be a tax attorney. But I also kind of knew in my heart for my whole life that I was going to be a lawyer – my great-grandmother in SC told everyone she knew that I talked like a “Philadelphia lawyer.”

My final words: follow your heart but be smart. Pay attention to what’s going on around you. Sometimes, life is pushing you in a different direction than you planned – but you have to be aware enough to figure it out.

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Thanks for reading. And if I may, can I ask a favor? My dad is having surgery at Duke tomorrow. If you’re at all religious (or heck, even if you’re not), my family would appreciate your thoughts and prayers this week. Similar Posts:

Looking for a Tax Job?

Kelly — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 20:25:04 +0000

There seems to have been an uptick in companies looking for tax pros lately… Three new jobs have been posted to the jobs page. Be sure and check them out!

Similar Posts:

Tax Literacy Project to Debut Soon

Kelly — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:08:16 +0000

Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to chat with Marjorie Kornhauser, a professor at the Sandra Day O’Connor School of Law at Arizona State University about her Tax Literacy Project. It’s an ambitious project, for sure. Her plan is to make tax law more accessible (!) to the general public through a series of interactive sites, games and more. I share her enthusiasm for the notion that everyone should understand what they’re paying and the mechanisms behind our tax law and policy.

The Tax Literacy Project focuses on federal income tax but much of the content will also apply to other federal, state, and local taxes. Although the idea is to appeal to the the general public, the Project will specifically focus on young adults, those potential taxpayers between the ages of 16 and 30, who are about to enter (or have just entered) the workforce.

The Project’s web page is scheduled to launch early this year. I’ve already chatted with Professor Kornhauser about establishing a presence on twitter and she’s in the process of setting something on Facebook. They’re also setting up an advisory board to drive the Project forward and it’s my understanding that there are some pretty high profile folks signed on already.

I’ll keep you informed as more information becomes available, including the launch. In the interim, if you’re interested in helping out, the Project is seeking some funding. Every little bit counts, so if you have a few dollars to spare, I know that it would be appreciated. To make a contribution to the Tax Literacy Fund, you can make a secured donation directly to the university at https://secure.asufoundation.org/giving/online-gift.asp?fid=418 (no appeal code necessary) or make a check payable to the ASU Foundation and mail to :

Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law

Arizona State University

PO Box 877906

Tempe, AZ 85287-7906

Be sure and write Tax Literacy Fund (30004788) in the memo line of your check so that it’s directed to the Project.

I’ll be sure and let you know when the web site launches: keep an eye out.Similar Posts:

Sunday Mail Bag

Kelly — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 14:03:42 +0000

It’s a chilly Sunday morning here in Philadelphia. I thought a bit of housekeeping might be in order, so I’m opening up the ol’ taxgirl (e)mailbag. I have a bunch of non-technical tax questions which were submitted as “ask the taxgirl” questions but I thought it made more sense to answer them in one big post. So grab a cup of coffee and pull up a chair!

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Taxpayer asks:

Dear taxgirl, why did you decide to become a lawyer? I’m thinking about going to law school this fall and I’d love your thoughts.

taxgirl says:

I watched a lot of TV. Seriously. I didn’t really know any lawyers growing up so I based most of my impressions of lawyers on what I saw on TV or read in books. I was a big fan of Perry Mason and, of course, Nancy Drew’s dad, Carson (what girl didn’t have a crush on him?). But mostly, I loved the idea of doing something that made a difference. Remember that great scene in To Kill a Mockingbird?

I wanted to be able to stand tall like Gregory Peck (the tall never happened) and say things that mattered, take a stand for justice. Of course, that’s not exactly what happens in the legal profession – it took me awhile to figure that out. But at the end of the day, despite the lawyer jokes and bad press, I love what I do. I help people. And that matters to me.

That said, the legal market is really tough now. Law school can be expensive (I’m still paying off my loans) and jobs can be hard to come by. Make sure that you really want to go – and you’re not just going because your parents want you to (we had a lot of that in law school) or because you’re a smart kid and don’t know what else to do (we also had a lot of that in law school).

If you’re not completely sure, my advice is to talk to a bunch of lawyers: small firm lawyers, big firm lawyers, government lawyers. Intern in a law office. Sit in on a law school class or two. Then make your decision. Good luck!

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Taxpayer asks:

Have you ever filed your taxes late or owed taxes? I’m just wondering.

taxgirl says:

Yes and yes. Our tax system, as it exists, is self-governing. That means there’s no one standing over you screaming at you to file and pay every year – or every quarter in the case of small businesses and those who owe estimated taxes – and I’ve been both. Sometimes the mistake is on the employer side (as when I was first in Philly, my NJ boss didn’t withhold wage tax) and sometimes the mistake is on the employee side (as when you just get overwhelmed and forget a deadline). Mistakes happen. I always tell clients that there’s no shame in it: just fix them.

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Taxpayer asks:

I’m a 2L and am thinking about classes for next semester. Which tax classes do you recommend? Any to avoid?

taxgirl says:

I loved Federal Estate and Gift Tax and Tax Policy, hated Partnership Tax (though it is handy). I’d recommend starting off with baby tax (federal income tax) and seeing which aspects of tax law appeal to you. I also recommend taking some non-tax courses, too. I never intended to be a tax lawyer but I really enjoyed a class that I signed up for just because it fit my schedule and it wasn’t litigation-related. So don’t stack up on tax in the beginning, you never know. Try a bit of everything.

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Taxpayer asks:

You talk a lot about living in Philadelphia but you call yourself a Southern girl. What am I missing?

taxgirl says:

Easy. I grew up in North Carolina. I’ve lived in Hampstead (early years), Durham (high school) and Raleigh (college). I moved to Philadelphia to go to law school and loved it so much that I stayed.

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Taxpayer asks:

What’s the strangest deduction that you’ve ever seen on a tax return?

taxgirl says:

Hmm. I’ve seen some odd things. But one that jumps out at me is pet therapy – as in therapy for a pet. While I understand that pets are like children (we joke that our dog is our first born), you can’t claim pets or related expenses on your tax return.

And then there’s flat out lies like the guy who claimed his Disney cruise was a business expense (he ran a car dealership).

One thing you can say about tax law: it’s never boring.

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Taxpayer asks:

I see you practice with your husband. Do you talk tax at home? Just curious.

taxgirl says:

Yes, but he doesn’t listen. My husband isn’t a tax lawyer, he practices international and corporate law. But that doesn’t stop me.

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Taxpayer asks:

I saw this and thought of you: http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/the_25_greatest_legal_tv_shows What’s your favorite TV law show? Are there any tax lawyers on TV?

taxgirl says:

I did see it, thanks. Um, my favorite? I used to love LA Law – what a great cast! I also used to watch Perry Mason reruns with my grandfather and Matlock since it was filmed in my hometown. In law school, I watched Ally McBeal and The Practice even though they were completely unrealistic. I actually don’t watch any legal shows now that I practice, they drive me nuts.

I can’t think of any tax lawyers on TV off the top of my head. My guess is that the work doesn’t seem glamourous enough. “Watch me research this deduction!” It just doesn’t have the same on air appeal as, say, defense work. But hey, Hollywood, I am available.

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That was fun and the mailbag is a little bit lighter now… Thanks for writing in!Similar Posts: