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!
