Hatfield: Teaching Tax Lawyer Ethics

Michael Hatfield (Texas Tech) has published Teaching Tax Lawyer Ethics, 132 Tax Notes 87 (July 5, 2011), reviewing:

• Donald B. Tobin (Ohio State), Richard Lavoie (Akron) & Richard E. Trogolo (IRS Office of Chief Counsel), Problems in Tax Ethics (West 2009)
• Linda Galler (Hofstra) & Michael B. Lang (Chapman), Regulation of Tax Practice (LexisNexis 2011)

[T]he best description of the differences between the two casebooks may be that Problems in Tax Ethics is structured like a typical casebook while Regulation of Tax Practice is structured more like a treatise. Casebooks typically involve excerpts from cases, statutes, and articles, followed by comments and broad questions but no authoritative statement by the authors on the state of the law. In a casebook, the emphasis is often on the ambiguities and differences between the authorities. Problems in Tax Ethics follows that format by using excerpts and emphasizing multiple authorities. ... In contrast, Regulation of Tax Practice analyzes the relevant authorities and explicitly concludes what is required in various situations. ...

Either of these casebooks would be an excellent choice for a one- or two-hour law school course in tax ethics. Problems in Tax Ethics provides a format familiar to law students, underscoring the ethical principles of the bar to which the students have been exposed in other courses, but requiring the application of the principles in tax-specific situations. Offering more questions than answers, both explicitly and implicitly, the casebook seems especially useful for discussion-centered courses. Regulation of Tax Practice’s more treatise-like approach may at first seem less useful for classroom discussion. However, the treatise-like analysis of many issues may serve as a foundation for a higher-order discussion. ... [G]iven the more treatiselike style of Regulation of Tax Practice, many practicing tax lawyers may find it a handy addition to the firm’s bookshelves. Both are valuable additions to the body of work on tax lawyer ethics, and I commend their authors for their contributions to what is an increasingly complex set of concerns.

Jay A. Soled (Rutgers Business School) previously reviewed Regulation of Tax Practice in 131 Tax Notes 201 (Apr. 11, 2011).

Regulation of Tax Practice is part of the Lexis/Nexis Graduate Tax Series, for which I serve as Series Editor.  The Graduate Tax Series is the first and only series of course materials designed for use in tax LL.M. programs:

• More focus on Internal Revenue Code and regulations, less on case law
• Analysis of complex, practice-oriented problems of increasing sophistication
• Teacher’s manual with solutions to problems and other guidance
• On-line access to the comprehensive and current Code and regulations, designed to complement the book

There are ten other books in the Graduate Tax Series:

• Civil Tax Procedure (2d ed. 2007), by David Richardson (Florida), Jerome Borison (Denver), and Steve Johnson (Florida State)
• Employee Benefits Law: Qualification Rules and ERISA Requirements (2d ed. 2011), by Kathryn Kennedy (John Marshall) & Paul Shultz (Director, IRS Employee Plans Rulings & Agreement
• Estate and Gift Taxation (2011), by Robert Danforth (Washington & Lee) & Brant Hellwig (South Carolina)
• Federal Tax Accounting (2d ed. 2011), by Mona Hymel (Arizona), Michael Lang (Chapman) & Elliot Manning (Miami)
• Federal Corporate Income Taxation (2011), by Charlotte Crane (Northwestern) & Linda Beale (Wayne State)
• Federal Taxation of Property Transactions (2011), by Elliott Manning (Miami) & David Cameron (Northwestern)
• Partnership Taxation (2d ed. 2008), by Richard Lipton (Baker & McKenzie, Chicago), Paul Carman (Chapman & Cutler, Chicago), Charles Fassler (Greenebaum, Doll & McDonald, Louisville) & Walter Schwidetzky (Baltimore)
• Tax Crimes (2008), by Steve Johnson (Florida State), Scott Schumacher (Washington), Larry Campagna (Adjunct Professor, Houston) & John Townsend (Adjunct Professor, Houston)
• Taxation and Business Planning for Real Estate Transactions, by Bradley Borden (Brooklyn)
• United States International Taxation (2d ed. 2011), by Allison Christians (Wisconsin), Samuel Donaldson (Washington) &  Philip Postlewaite (Northwestern)

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