The holiday season is in full swing at our house. The tree is up, we’ve bought more wrapping paper since we, of course, can’t find the paper we bought last year and we have so many varieties of Domino sugar in the pantry that you’d think we own stock in the company.
We ended the week with our kids’ holiday concerts. They’ve been practicing for weeks. My favorite has been the 5 year old’s rendition of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”:
“You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, Donner and Cupid – And Carter and Nixon…”
Clearly, the reindeer are bipartisan. It’s the spirit of the holidays!
So now, cozied up by the tree with my trusty coffee mug in hand, I thought I’d tackle the taxgirl mailbag, answering some more “non-tax” questions. Enjoy!
—
Taxpayer asks:
In September, I sat for the LSAT. I guess everyone else did, too, since I read that there were a record number of test-takers. And I know that there aren’t a lot of jobs out there. Now, I’m scared. Is going to law school a mistake? I read you every day and I respect your opinion.
taxgirl says:
I’m often asked if I regret going to law school. All jokes about my massive debt aside, the answer is no. If I hadn’t gone to law school, I wouldn’t have met my husband (which means that I wouldn’t have these three crazy kids that look like him running around). And I wouldn’t have moved to Philadelphia. And I probably wouldn’t have had the opportunity to study in Rome. And I wouldn’t have started my law practice and I wouldn’t have started my blog. My life would be completely different – and I like the life I have now.
The thing is this: everything you do in life sets you up for a million other things. Where you live, where you go to school, who you associate with yourself – it all means something down the line. So make smart choices. Don’t use law school as a stop gap or go because you don’t know what to do next.
Competition for law school and law jobs is crazy tough right now. So go for the right reasons: because you believe in the law, because you want to be a lawyer. If you do that, you won’t be disappointed.
But don’t go to get a job, to make a lot of money, to be respected. Those things aren’t guaranteed. And not to sound all corny, but they won’t make you happy.
I can’t make your decision for you. But I can advise you to be thoughtful and think about what you want in life.
And don’t let being scared stop you. Fear can be a good thing: indifference is the real worry. To quote one of my mom’s favorite people, John Wayne: “Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.”
—
Taxpayer asks:
I saw on Twitter that you said your law office is all Mac. Is that true? I’m a tax attorney and most of the software is PC only. How do you manage?
taxgirl says:
Yep, it’s true. We’re all Mac. I think we have, between us, four Mac laptops and seven Mac desktops. And lots and lots of iPods, iTouches and iPhones.
It can be frustrating navigating some of the legal practice software because Microsoft is an evil empire some programs aren’t written for the Mac. Fortunately for me, I don’t do tax returns, so I don’t have to worry about tax prep software. And most of the research guides that I use are either on paper, CD or web-based, all of which work well.
For bookkeeping, we were forced to get Windows for Mac using Parallels, but otherwise most of the software that we use is written for Mac or is Mac-compatible. I use Skype, Mail, iChat, Safari and Firefox for communications; Pages for word processing (works with Word and Acrobat); Numbers for spreadsheets (works with Excel); iCal for calendaring and Mars Edit for blogging. I think that’s those are the highlights.
If you’re looking for more information about Mac law offices, I recommend that you check out:
- The Mac Lawyer
- MacAttorney
I also recommend this great list of resources compiled by Sheryl Sisk.
Finally, you can sign up for the Macs in Law Office (MILO) list serve. Free, but application required.
Happy Mac-ing!
—
Taxpayer asks:
This semester, I have to choose between Partnership Tax and Fiduciary Income Tax. I’m a 2L and I’ve taken Income Tax and Corporate Tax so far. I don’t know what kind of tax I want to practice yet. Which course do you recommend?
taxgirl says:
I’m totally biased: Fiduciary Income Tax.
I say that for a few reasons:
- Fiduciary Income Tax builds on the concepts from baby tax (Income Tax), so I think it’s a logical progression.
- I think it’s important to be well-rounded in law school, to help you make your decision about what to practice. You haven’t taken any estates-related courses yet and this would intro you to the concepts.
- Even if you don’t practice in estates law, you will likely be a beneficiary of an estate or know someone who is a beneficiary of an estate. A little knowledge of FIT can come in handy.
- Partnership Tax was, bar none, my least favorite tax course in law school. And nobody really understands it anyhow. 😉
(I warned you that I was biased.)
—
Taxpayer asks:
My boss is a tax lawyer (I’m a paralegal). Can you recommend an appropriate holiday gift for him?
taxgirl says:
Gosh, what do you get a tax lawyer for the holidays? Um. Okay, here are my quick suggestions, keeping in mind that I am both cheap and a tax geek:
- bottle of wine (assuming he’s a drinker, but I think that’s a good assumption)
- coffee – I recommend something a little different, like the coffees from Grounds for Change (assuming he’s a coffee drinker, but I think that’s also a good assumption)
- A little something from the Singing CPA: No Accounting for the Holidays
- A nice pen: attorneys use a lot of pens. But not too nice: attorneys also lose a lot of pens.
- The Tax Code for the iPhone (no, not kidding and yes, I have this)
- If all else fails, consider making a donation to your boss’ favorite charity on his behalf: you give the gift AND get the tax deduction. A win-win!
Any suggestions from my readers?
(Editor’s note: I was reminded that there is a great selection of lawyer gifts and greeting cards at The Billable Hour Co. – also worth checking out!)
Just to make it crystal clear: none of these suggestions are paid endorsements of any kind. I’m not getting a thing for mentioning any of these products. Na-da. Nothing.
—
Taxpayer asks:
I know you’re a big Philly sports fan. What do you think about the Eagles’ chances this year?
taxgirl says:
Ask me after the Giants game tonight…
—
Enjoy the holidays!
Before you go: be sure to read my disclaimer. Remember, I’m a lawyer and we love disclaimers.
If you have a question, here’s how to Ask The Taxgirl.
Thanks for the link-love! That was a fun series to do, and I’m thinking it might be time to do it again. Maybe in January, to catch all those Christmas/Hanukkah present Mac recipients.
I really liked your response to the first taxpayer. Now that I’m out of the practice of law altogether, I often wonder if I regret going. I haven’t actually decided, which I guess means that I don’t regret it, at least not completely. As with many things in life, there was some good, some bad. But getting shouldered with that loan debt — definitely bad.
I’m not sure if you meant “DO let fear stop you” or “DON’T let fear stop you,” but I’d say this: DO let fear give you pause. On many days, I wish I had paused just a little bit longer …
Sheryl, I meant don’t – fixed now! 😉
I’ll go the other way on the partnership / fiduciary question: fiduciary tax builds on income tax, and IMHO that makes it less useful since one will pick it up quickly enough as one works. Partnership tax, OTOH, can be devilishly complicated and having a decent foundation from law school can save a whole lot of time down the road if one is forced to grapple w/ it.