Events and Professional Development
Events
Richard Crawford Pugh Lecture on Tax Law and Policy
The Richard Crawford Pugh Lecture on Tax Law & Policy brings a distinguished practitioner, judge or government official who has played a significant role in shaping U.S. and international tax policy to USD each year to discuss current and developing tax law and policy trends.
The endowed lecture was established in 2009 in honor of the long and illustrious career of USD's Distinguished Professor of Law, Richard Crawford Pugh. Before coming to USD, Pugh was a professor at Columbia Law School, a deputy assistant U.S. attorney general (Tax Division), and a partner at the international law firm of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton.
2023 Pugh Lecture honoree:
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Kimberly Clausing |
Past Pugh Lecture honorees:
- 2022 Maurice Foley, Chief Judge of the U.S. Tax Court - "Mountains and Mentors: My Path to the Court"
- 2021 Ann Alstott, Yale Law School - "Child Care Reform After the Pandemic: Towards a Public Option"
- 2020 Rosanne Altshuler, Rutgers University - "The International Tax Landscape: Past, Present and Future"
- 2019 Lily Batchelder, NYU School of Law - "Optimal Tax Theory and Distributive Justice"
- 2018 Pam Olson, PricewaterhouseCoopers - "The Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017"
- 2017 Deborah Schenk, NYU School of Law - "Horizontal Equity Redux"
- 2016 Lawrence Zelenak, Duke Law - "Recovering the Forgotten Early History of the Fed. Income Tax"
- 2015 Michael J. Graetz, Columbia Alumni Professor of Tax Law - "Tax Reform Beyond the Headlines"
- 2014 Edward Kleinbard, USC Gould School of Law - "Progressive Tax or Progressive Fiscal System?"
Tax Law Speaker Series
Our tax law speaker series brings high-profile tax scholars to USD to present papers on topics of current research interest.
2023-2024
John (Jake) Brooks |
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Heather Field |
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Kirk J. Stark |
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David Schizer |
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Shayak Sarkar |
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Deanna Newton |
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RJS Law Tax Controversy Institute
- The Institute is the premier tax controversy event in San Diego
- This annual event brings together top tax attorneys, CPAs, tax professionals, and professors to discuss relevant and timely tax topics
- LLM students are eligible to attend the conference for a substantially reduced fee
The California Tax Bars
- Historically, the Graduate Tax Program at the University of San Diego School of Law has been a sponsor of the Annual Meeting of the California Tax Bar and Policy Conference
- Students have the opportunity to meet and network with current and future colleagues while attending the many educational sessions on current topics relevant to tax law and policy at a significantly reduced fee
- Graduate Tax Program students are also eligible to participate in the Tax Bar's annual Washington DC Delegation, to present research on pertinent tax issues to legislators
- LLM candidates can also participate in the Annual Tax Writing Competition sponsored by the Tax Bar's California Tax Lawyer publication
Professional Development
United States Tax Court
- Each fall, judges from the United States Tax Court request, consider and interview University of San Diego School of Law LLM in Taxation candidates for clerking positions with the U.S. Tax Court upon completion of their degree
- USD is proud to count a number of former U.S. Tax Court clerks among our alumni
Young Tax Lawyers
- The University of San Diego School of Law is home to the San Diego Chapter of the Young Tax Lawyers Committee of the State Bar of California Taxation Section
- The monthly meetings are held in the law school and are open to students as well as professionals
- Students have the opportunity to hear interesting and topically substantive programs, as well as meet current and future colleagues from the state and local tax community
Tax Planning Lab
- This unique simulation course "bridges the gap" between the classroom and real world practice, where students explore and get hands-on training in a variety of tax practice areas
- Students work in teams on simulated tax planning exercises with lawyers from Sempra Energy & KPMG
- Exercises include planning, counseling, and negotiating on matters related to mergers & acquisitions, corporate tax, international tax, and financial statement impact
Federal Tax Clinic
- The University of San Diego School of Law is pleased to be one of a select number of institutions receiving funding from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for a Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic
- Participation in the clinic offers students a unique opportunity to gain federal tax controversy experience by assisting low income taxpayers in resolving disputes with the IRS, both in administrative proceedings and in the U.S. Tax Court
- Guest lecturers for the classroom component of the clinic include members of the U.S. Tax Court, tax professionals from national accounting firms, IRS district counsel, IRS appeals officers, IRS special agents from the Criminal Investigation Division and IRS revenue agents who perform mock audits
California State Tax Clinics
- The School of Law offers a State Income Tax Clinic and a State Sales and Use Tax Clinic
- The Tax Appeals Assistance Program is a joint effort between the USD Legal Clinics and the California State Board of Equalization
- Under the supervision of an attorney from the California Taxpayers' Rights Advocate Office, students assist taxpayers with state tax appeals and other issues concerning the Franchise Tax Board
- Students receive practical training in legal skills including interviewing clients, identifying evidence, drafting appeals briefs and representing clients in negotiations with the State Board and at hearings