TaxProf Blog

Death of Joe Feller

Joseph M. Feller, a 59-year old environmental law professor at Arizona State, was killed when he was struck by a car when jogging on Monday. From Arizona State Dean Douglas Sylvester:

Joe cared deeply about the environment and about environmental justice, and during his 25-plus years at ASU, he trained a generation of environmental lawyers in Arizona. He taught water law and natural resources law, and often led teams of students onto public lands and waterways across Northern Arizona, adding meaning to what they’d learned in the classroom.

Joe had a dazzling resume, having earned an undergraduate degree in physics and a law degree, magna cum laude, from Harvard, where he was editor of the Harvard Law Review. He also had a Ph.D. in physics from the University of California, Berkeley. But Joe’s warm personality and easy manner outshone his academic pedigree. ...

Services are pending. Please check back for more information.

Larry Solum has more here. (Hat Tip: Shelley Saxer.)

Tax Profs Remember Christine Brunswick

Tax Notes has reprinted our tribute in Tax Professors Remember Christine Ann Brunswick, 138 Tax Notes 1267 (Mar. 11, 2013):

Paul L. Caron ... shares the tributes posted by tax professors remembering Christine Ann Brunswick, former director of the American Bar Association Section of Taxation, who died last month:

• Alice Abreu (Temple)
• Ellen Aprill (Loyola-L.A.)
• Paul Caron (Cincinnati & Pepperdine)
• Cynthia Lepow (Loyola-New Orleans)
• Francine Lipman (UNLV)
• Roberta Mann (Oregon)
• Deborah Schenk (NYU)

All Tax Analysts content is available through the LexisNexis® services.

Tax Profs Remember Christine Brunswick

Following up on last week's post on the death of Christine Ann Brunswick, Executive Director of the ABA Tax Section for over 25 years:  several Tax Profs share their remembrances of Christine:

• Alice Abreu (Temple)
• Ellen Aprill (Loyola-L.A.)
• Paul Caron (Cincinnati & Pepperdine)
• Cynthia Lepow (Loyola-New Orleans)
• Francine Lipman (UNLV)
• Roberta Mann (Oregon)
• Deborah Schenk (NYU)

Alice Abreu, James E. Beasley Professor of Law, Temple University, Beasley School of Law

Chris was the backbone of the Tax Section.  Every Tax Section Meeting at which numerous substantive presentations went off simultaneously and without a hitch while there was ample nourishment for members networking, catching up with friends or just going from one excellent panel to another owed its success to the behind the scenes organizational efforts of Chris and the excellent and dedicated staff she assembled.  It's been noted  often in these recent sad days that whenever Council, Section Officers, or the Section Chair faced a difficult question, the first question was always "What does Chris think?" or "Ask Chris".  She was highly respected, had a deep devotion to the Section, its work and the tax system and her judgment was always spot-on.  The Section owes a lot of its success to her steady hand and unwavering devotion.  She has left the organization strong, but she has also left a void.

Chris was also a deep believer in the importance of pro bono and public interest work and in the idea that tax work could be work in the public interest. She was instrumental in the Section's establishment of its Public Interest Fellowship which was modeled on the Skadden Fellowships and which every year continues to fund the work of two Public Interest Fellows for two years.  The Fellows have brought tax representation to underserved populations of taxpayers from Appalachia to Brooklyn and Illinois to Maine and even to rural Pennsylvania.  All of the taxpayers who have been helped by the Fellows owe that help to Chris' advocacy and support.  She did the hard, tedious, but essential work of putting the proposal together, obtaining ABA approval, figuring out payment and actually making the program happen and thrive.  Chris also helped develop the Section's Pro Bono Staff Counsel and has nurtured the talented young people who have served in that capacity.  Their work, under Chris' guidance, has allowed Section members to expand dramatically their participation in VITA programs and to bring their expertise to an increasing number of military bases throughout the country.  None of that would have happened without Chris' passion, leadership and commitment.

Chris also loved life.  She was a strong woman whose style and panache attracted others to her and made them want to do their best work for her.  She was decisive without being abrasive while also being great fun.  She ran the Marine Corps Marathon, traveled extensively, knew her food and wine, and loved her son Daniel without reservation.  She fought cancer like a lion while working with the National Breast Cancer Coalition to help save the lives of other women.  She was a role model to many of us and she will be very deeply missed.  I was lucky to have known her and to have learned from her.

Ellen Aprill, John E. Anderson Professor of Tax Law, Loyola Law School, L.A.

In my years as an officer and council director for the ABA Tax Section, I had the good fortune to work frequently with Chris Brunswick.  Seldom have I met someone with such a degree of practical wisdom and good judgment.  Her advice as to what would work and what would not -- as well as why a particular path would be preferable -- always hit the mark. Her good humor never failed, even in trying professional circumstances, much less in the personal challenge she faced in battling her illness.  I remember her with both affection and admiration. 

Paul Caron, Charles Hartsock Professor of Law, University of Cincinnati College of Law; and D & L Straus Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law, Pepperdine University School of Law

Although I did not know Chris well, I found her invariably cheerful and helpful whenever I contacted her.  Several times she helped me navigate my way through the ABA Tax Section.

Cynthia Lepow, Professor of Law, Loyola New Orleans College of Law

I have looked to Chris to be enthusiastic about ways to encourage pro bono participation by section members.  She was especially helpful when I started to produce videos for lawyers working with moderate-income taxpayers.  Most of all, she was fun to know and to work with.

Francine Lipman, William S. Boyd Professor of Law, UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law

Christine Brunswick was "the change she wanted to see in the world."  She was a world class community organizer in the best sense and a tireless advocate for progress in health care for women as well as for pro bono tax services for underserved communities.  Her leadership in the Section of Taxation for the American Bar Association led the organization to focus resources on among other accomplishments, two annual public service tax fellowships, an in-house pro bono tax counsel position, enhanced pro bono outreach and support, especially for members of the armed services and unrepresented individuals before the Tax Court, and more education and assistance for low-income taxpayer advocates and clinics. In addition, she served as a role model of leadership. She was dedicated, brilliant, and bold, but always elegant and ready to smile and enjoy the journey.  While Christine Brunswick left the world in a much better place than when she arrived, we will miss her amazing grace. 

Roberta Mann, Frank Nash Professor of Law, University of Oregon School of Law 

Although I didn't know Christine well, she was always helpful when I needed assistance in navigating the intricacies of the ABA meeting process.  And she always greeted me with a warm smile.  Perhaps when things move smoothly, it's hard to appreciate the work behind the scenes.  I know she will be missed.

Deborah Schenk, Marilynn and Ronald Grossman Professor of Law, New York University School of Law

I was active in the ABA Tax Section for many years.  It did not take me long to discover that, despite the participation of many very smart and talented tax lawyers, Chris Brunswick was the glue that held the Tax Section together.  She knew everything about the Tax Section.  She knew everyone in the Tax Section.  She knew how to get anything done in the Tax Section.  Even though she was a force to be reckoned with, Chris was always cheerful.  Her greatest legacy, however, has nothing to do with tax or the ABA.  I am confident that there are countless women all over America—many of them tax lawyers—who get a mammogram every year because Chris insisted that they do so. 

Death of Christine Brunswick

Christine Ann Brunswick, Executive Director of the ABA Tax Section for over 25 years, died on Monday at the age of 60. She was Vice President and a Member of the Board of Directors of the National Breast Cancer Coalition:

A longtime breast cancer advocate, Chris was part of the National Breast Cancer Coalition since its inception in 1991. She was a leader at every level, and among her many other volunteer efforts for NBCC, she testified before Congress and regulatory agencies, often appeared on television and in print media on behalf of NBCC, represented the coalition on various national committees and panels, and spoke around the world to advocates and researchers. She served on the NBCC Executive Committee and was one of the founders and advocates for NBCC’s international work, participating in various international conferences, including the 4th United Nation’s World Conference on Women in Beijing, China in 1995. Chris acted as a mentor for new NBCC board members and for participants in our Emerging Leaders network. ...

A memorial service will be held for Chris on Friday, March 1, from 12 noon until 3 p.m. at the National Women's Democratic Club, 1526 New Hampshire Ave., NW. The service is open to all ABA Tax Section members. Her family has asked that donations be made to The Chris Brunswick Fund at National Breast Cancer Coalition, 1101 17th Street, NW, Suite 1300, Washington, DC, 20036.

Death of Tax Court Judge Russell Train

Tax Court Press Release:

Former Judge Russell E. Train, who served on the Tax Court of the United States from August 1, 1957, until July 31, 1965, died on September 17, 2012.

Prior to joining the Tax Court, Judge Train served as an attorney at the Joint Committee on Internal Revenue Taxation, United States Congress, from 1949 to 1953; as Clerk of the House Committee on Ways and Means in 1953 and 1954 and as Minority Clerk in 1955 and 1956; and as Assistant to the Secretary and Head of the Legal Advisory Staff at the Treasury Department in 1956 and 1957.

President Eisenhower appointed Judge Train as a Judge of the Tax Court of the United States on August 1, 1957, where Judge Train served until his resignation on July 31, 1965.

Following his service to the Tax Court, Judge Train was President of the Conservation Foundation from 1965 to 1969. He also served as Undersecretary at the Department of the Interior in 1969, as Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality from 1970 to 1973, as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from 1973 to 1977. He served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the World Wildlife Fund-U.S. from 1978 to 1985, and as Chairman of its board from 1985 to 1994.

In 1991 President Bush awarded Judge Train the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the nation’s highest civilian award, for his groundbreaking conservation and environmental efforts.

• Boston Globe Obituary
• Los Angeles Times Obituary
• New York Times Obituary

Death of Tax Court Judge Lapsley Hamblen

From the Tax Court:

Retired Judge Lapsley W. Hamblen, Jr., who served on the United States Tax Court from September 14, 1982, until his retirement on June 30, 2000, died on September 10, 2012. ...

Judge Hamblen served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Tax Division, Department of Justice, at the time of his appointment to the Tax Court. Judge Hamblen was appointed by President Reagan as a Judge of the United States Tax Court on September 14, 1982, for a 15-year term ending September 13, 1997. He served as Chief Judge from June 1, 1992, to May 31, 1996. Judge Hamblen retired on June 1, 1996, and was recalled as Senior Judge to perform judicial duties until June 30, 2000. Judge Hamblen authored 349 opinions.

Death of Tax Court Judge Renato Beghe

Tax Court Press Release:

Senior Judge Renato Beghe of the U.S. Tax Court died on Saturday, July 7, after a long illness. Judge Beghe has served on the Tax Court since his appointment by President George H. W. Bush on March 26, 1991.

Born in Illinois in 1933, Judge Beghe graduated from the University of Chicago with an A.B. in 1951 and a J.D. in 1954. At the University of Chicago, Judge Beghe was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and the Order of the Coif, and he was co-managing editor of Law Review. Judge Beghe was admitted to the New York Bar in 1955. He practiced law in New York City with Carter, Ledyard and Milburn from 1954 to 1983 and with Morgan, Lewis and Bockius from 1983 to 1989.

From the Tax Notes Vault: Laurence Neal Woodworth, 1918-1977

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the publication of its inaugural issue, Tax Notes is re-publishing memorable articles from its archives. Here is Laurence Neal Woodworth, 1918-1977: He Made a Difference, 134 Tax Notes 821 (Feb. 13, 2012):

This article, commemorating the life of Laurence Neal Woodworth, was originally published on December 12, 1977. At the time of his death, Woodworth was the Treasury assistant secretary for tax policy. He had previously served as chief of staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation.

All Tax Analysts content is available through the LexisNexis® services.

ABA Tax Section Midyear Meeting

The ABA Tax Section midyear meeting kicks off today in San Diego. With the opening of the meeting came news of the death of Stuart Lewis (Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, Washington, D.C.), Chair of the ABA Tax Section in 2009-10. Mr. Lewis (B.A. 1967, Virginia; J.D. 1970, Virginia), was an Adjunct Professor in Georgetown's Graduate Tax Program; Fellow of the  American Bar Foundation and American College of Tax Counsel; and Member of the Board of Advisors of the Virginia Tax Review and NYU Law School. From the memorandum released to Section Members:

Stuart contributed greatly to the work of the Section and to the administration of the tax system. He had a witty, dry sense of humor and even through trying times had a twinkle in his eye. He cared about the next generation of tax lawyers and was always willing to lend a helping hand. We admire his courage and we extend our condolences to his wife, Bronwen, and his family. In keeping with Stuart's wishes, his immediate family plans to spread his ashes on the family farm in Culpeper, Virginia. A funeral service will not be held.

In place lieu of flowers, the family requests that those who wish to make donations please support the following:

• ALS Association (DC/MD/VA Chapter)
• Lake Sunapee Region VNA & Hospice

(Hat Tip: Francine Lipman.)

Death of Bernie Wolfman

Bernard Wolfman, Fessenden Professor of Law Emeritus at Harvard Law School, died in his sleep on Saturday. From Dean Martha Minow:

[H]is contributions to tax and ethics, and his devoted teaching and mentoring of students and younger colleagues, will long endure as will his distinguished public interest advocacy and service to the profession.

The funeral will take place at Beth Sholom Synagogue, 8231 Old York Rd (Route 611), Elkins Park PA, 1 pm on Monday, burial afterward at Roosevelt Cemetery, 2701 Old Lincoln Highway, Trevose, PA.

(Hat Tip: Calvin Johnson.) See Tax Lions in Winter: Bill Andrews and Bernie Wolfman (Jan. 11, 2008).

Update:

• Harvard Press Release
• Daniel Shaviro (NYU)

Death of Elias Clark

Charles Elias (“Eli”) Clark, Lafayette S. Foster Professor Emeritus of Law at Yale Law School, died on June 11 at the age of 87. From Yale Law School and Yale Daily News:

“Eli Clark was an inspirational teacher and an invaluable mentor to generations of Yale students,” said Justus S. Hotchkiss Professor Emeritus of Law Michael Graetz, a longtime friend and colleague of Professor Clark at Yale Law School. “He was an indefatigable, and often indispensible, citizen of the law school and the university. His work on trusts and estates and their taxation educated students across the nation. Eli was a great storyteller, a raconteur—always with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye. Most importantly, he was a kind and gentle man and a loyal friend, a man who reveled in his family.” ...

Professor Clark was an expert on property and family law as well as estate taxation. His major works consist of two casebooks of which he is co-author: Gratuitous Transfers (West 5th ed. 2007) (with Mark Ascher (Texas), Grayson McCouch (San Diego) & Arthur Murphy (Columbia) and Federal Estate and Gift Taxation (West, 10th ed. 2011) (with the late Boris Bittker (Yale) & Grayson McCouch (San Diego). ...

Contributions may be made in Professor Clark’s memory to the Annie and Elias Clark Scholarship Fund, Yale University Office of Development, P.O. Box 2038, New Haven, CT 06521-2038.

(Hat Tip: Vincent Teahan.)

Death of Steve Gey

I previously have blogged (here, here, here, and here) about the heroic battle against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, waged by one of the true giants and nicest people in our business, Steven G. Gey, David and Deborah Fonvielle and Donald and Janet Hinkle Professor of Law at Florida State. Dean Don Widener reports that Steve died on June 9 at the age of 55:

Steve was a magnificent teacher, scholar, mentor, and champion of civil liberties. He profoundly inspired colleagues and students alike. Steve’s contributions to the law school and broader legal community are immeasurable. We all mourn his passing.

Steve’s family asks for privacy during this difficult period. There will be no visitation or funeral services other than for family members at this time. However, we will have a public memorial ceremony at a later date. We will provide details in the coming weeks.

The family asks that in lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Gey Endowment for Civil Liberties.

As his longtime colleague Nat Stern says in the Tallahassee Democrat, "I have no doubt that Steve Gey is the finest professor this law school will ever know. He was superb at every facet of the job. He was a magnificent teacher. He was brilliant, he was spell-binding, he was often hilarious.” These qualities are evident in the brief speech Steve gave at Florida State's graduation (Hat Tip: Dan Filler):

Death of Laura Chisolm

Laura Brown Chisolm (Case Western) died on May 21 of breast cancer at the age of 63. A gathering to honor her life will be held today at 4:30 p.m. at the Cleveland Botanical Garden.

• Case Western News Center
• Cleveland Plain Dealer
• Cleveland Plain Dealer Obituary
• The Faculty Lounge
• Nonprofit Law Prof Blog
• Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog

Death of Jack McCord

Tax Prof John (“Jack”) H. McCord (Illinois) died of lung cancer on Wednesday at the age of 76. Please see this moving obituary by his son, Paul, and A Tribute to John H. McCord upon His Retirement, 2000 U. Ill. L. Rev. 741-62:

• Tribute (with a complete bibliography), 2000 U. Ill. L. Rev. 741
• Thomas M. Mengler (Dean, Illinois), A Salute to Professor John H. McCord, 2000 U. Ill. L. Rev. 749
• Charles C. Bingaman (Chapman), Professor John H. McCord: Bridging the Gap Between Law School and Law Practice in Illinois, 2000 U. Ill. L. Rev. 751
• Ora Fred Harris, Jr. (Illinois), Professor John H. McCord: A Marvelous Human Being, 2000 U. Ill. L. Rev. 755
• David Laro (Judge, U.S. Tax Court), Tribute to Professor John McCord, 2000 U. Ill. L. Rev. 757
• Jeffrey G. Sherman (Chicago-Kent), My First-Grade Teacher, 2000 U. Ill. L. Rev. 761

Visitation will be on Sunday (May 22) at Renner-Wikoff Chapel and the funeral on Monday (May 23) at St. Patrick's Catholic Church.  See here to sign the guest book or send a sympathy card, private condolences, or flowers. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Patrick's Catholic Church,  University of Illinois College of Law or Carle Cancer Clinic.

• Stephen Bainbridge (UCLA), Jack McCord

Tax Profs Remember Jim Eustice

Following up on last week's post on the death of legendary Tax Prof James S. Eustice, Gerald L. Wallace Professor of Taxation Emeritus at NYU: Jim's memorial service will be held Monday, May 9, at 2:00 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church in New York City. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to the Metropolitan Jewish Health System Foundation Hospice. Below the fold are remembrances of Jim from these Tax Profs:

• Joshua Blank (NYU)
• Fred Brown (Baltimore)
• Paul Caron (Cincinnati)
• Lesse Castleberry (Cooley, New York)
• Noël Cunningham (NYU)
• Carr Ferguson (Davis Polk & Wardwell, New York; Adjunct Professor, NYU & San Diego))
• Albert Golbert (Los Angeles tax lawyer and former adjunct professor)
• Cynthia LePow (Loyola-New Orleans)
• Jim Maule (Villanova)
• Guy B. Maxfield (NYU)
• Katie Pratt (Loyola-L.A.)
• Robert Peroni (Texas)
• Deborah Schenk (NYU)
• Len Schmolka (NYU)
• Dan Shaviro (NYU)
• Karla Simon (Catholic)
• John Steines (NYU)

Joshua D. Blank, Associate Professor of the Practice of Tax Law and Faculty Director of the Graduate Tax Program, New York University School of Law

Jim was a brilliant, hardworking and kind colleague.  Each evening around 6:00 PM, on his way to many hours of updating his famous treatise, Jim would stop at my office door – wearing his tracksuit and ‘NYU Tax’ hat and carrying his trademark pipe – to say hello and, often, share some tax-related humor.  The fourth floor of Vanderbilt Hall at NYU will never be the same without him.

Fred B. Brown, Associate Professor of Law and Director of the Graduate Tax Program, University of Baltimore School of Law

From my days as an acting assistant professor at NYU, I remember Jim as having uncanny knowledge of the tax law, especially corporate and international tax, and caring deeply that his students were understanding the material. He was always very helpful and kind. My office was right next to his, and I would see him there spending countless hours working on his masterpiece, the B&E corporate tax treatise. He was also a great marathoner, running the NYC marathon many, many times.

Paul L. Caron, Charles Hartsock Professor of Law, University of Cincinnati College of Law

Although I never met Jim Eustice, his treatise literally got me through my corporate tax class in law school. I remember being in awe of the book, wondering how in the world Jim and Boris were able to develop such a mastery of the inticacies of the Code. My appreciation of the book has only deepened through the years.

Lesse Castleberry (Cooley, New York):

When I was a student at NYU many years ago, I took a course in corporate reorgs from James Eustice the legend.  He gave my fellow students and me the ultimate compliment – and challenge – by assuming that we could work out the basics on our own.  Jim’s comments focused on the notes (footnotes and pedagogical

James Eustice the legend subsequently became my friend and colleague for almost 40 years.  He was generous, gracious and loyal in both capacities.  After he retired from full-time teaching, I inherited one of his courses, Affiliated Corporations.  I used the problems for the course that Jim had developed.  That is when I learned firsthand what it is like to traverse his tax minefields from the podium side of the classroom.

Two years ago Jim told me that he missed teaching.  I was thrilled and honored when he agreed to return to the classroom to co-teach with me. 

I was touched when one of Jim’s first messages to friends and colleagues after he became ill last month was to me.  He felt that he had let me down because he was unable to continue with our course.  Much as I assured him that I could carry on until he was able to return, each time I saw him, he assured me that he expected to be back in class the next week.  I am so sorry that was not to be. 

Noël Cunningham, Professor of Law, New York University School of Law

I feel a sense of great loss, both professionally and personally. Jim was a true giant in the field of federal taxation and will be sorely missed. In addition, he was not only my teacher and colleague, but also my very good friend.

M. Carr Ferguson, Senior Counsel, Davis Polk & Wardwell, New York; Adjunct Professor, NYU & San Diego)

Marian and I met Jim and Vaunnie Eustice at the Old Greenwich home of Jerry and Opal Wallace in the summer of 1961, while we were teaching for the first time in Jerry's graduate Tax Program at NYU. Jim and I had been his students in separate years in the late fifties and became, from that day, fast friends for life. Jim's appearance was not all Vaunnie would have hoped that day. He had been doing a Gene Kelly dance along rainy MacDougal the night before as the two of them came back late from a party. At one point, he'd failed to clear a parking meter and sported an impressive black eye, which attracted us to him immediately. Here was a man of dash and unpredictability. And also, thankfully, imperfection. Later that summer, after classes had ended, NYU held a two-week seminar for young tax law teachers, inviting Jim and me, along with some other beginners, to hear the mysteries of tax teaching revealed by Jerry Wallace, Charlie Lyon, Boris Bittker (a student of Jerry's at Yale) and Ernest Brown. Boris quickly perceived that in Jim he had found the perfect co-author for his text on corporate law, which had only recently been turned from mimeographed lecture notes into a bound volume. If for no other reason, that seminar was a turning point in Jim's life. His commitment to the book never was steadfast, coffee fueled but not tireless. Successive editions and constant supplements narrowed his life and drained him at times. Its discipline honed him as a scholar and built within him a truly encyclopedic knowledge of the tax law. Anyone who has ever seen a copy of new revenue ruling or tax decision read by Jim has seen pages covered by his underlining, marginalia written in his crabbed hand, and words circled mysteriously. His writing, was copious in coverage yet terse. Just under it bubbled the wit of a truly learned, clever man. He could be devastating, as in a short analysis of an technical amendment to Section 361, designed to correct certain flaws in its application to corporate transfers in reorganizations. In two printed pages of innocent questions, he revealed for us the truly horrible mistakes piled by its legislative draftsmen on top of its existing complexities. He was equally dedicated to his teaching. He secluded himself in his office for hours before each class, however often he had taught the subject, reviewing notes which he regularly updated. By the class hour, he was full to the brim with information to convey and thoughts of how it was to be done. We tried team teaching once or twice, but there so few interstices in his presentations that another's presence in the room was only interruptive.

He was generous and supportive as a colleague, encouraging others with our own research and writing, full of ideas and suggested sources. During our salad days as the younger colleagues of Jerry and Charlie, a daily privilege we shared was lunch with them at Marta's restaurant on Washington Place, where Bobby kept a copy of the Code behind the bar for us and Gene had our table waiting after morning classes. We knew advance sheets and tax news had to be mentally consumed before we took our two sides of the table, for one of us would be reflecting on something in them as often as not. The pleasures of each other's company, the jokes, the examinations of "the book" brought over by Bobby were high joy, indeed. We partied together, worshipped together, were part of the same generation of faculty families at NYU which grew up together and propped each other up during life's inevitable potholes. There was a competitive side to Jim, which showed in his running and his pride in the success of our tax program, but it never invaded our friendship which, through all his years of glory and frustrations was deep and abiding. It still is.

Albert Golbert, Los Angeles tax lawyer and former adjunct professor

Jim Eustice addressed the State Bar of California Tax Section shortly after the passage of the 1986 Act during which he recalled for us his own testimony before Congress.  When asked by the chairman what he thought of the new Act, he replied (as nearly as I can recall): "Unlike my brethren at the Bar who are obliged to practice tax law, I had the time to study the new Act, but, like many of my practicing tax colleagues, I'm getting too old to learn any more."

In addition to bringing down the house, that comment pretty well summed up the feelings of many of us initially daunted by the heft and weight of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

Cynthia LePow, Professor of Law, Loyola University New Orleans College of Law

We have lost a light. Jim Eustice was a brilliant analyst, a graceful writer who never wasted words, a natural actor, golfer, marathon runner and a good sport. Please clink here to see a short clip of Jim Eustice in 1989.

Jame Maule, Professor of Law, Villanova University School of Law

The name “Jim Eustice” came into my tax lexicon while I was a J.D. student. My tax professor spoke the name “Jim Eustice” and described his tax law analyses as though he was referring to a supernatural being worthy of total and unquestioned respect. Not long thereafter I learned that Jim Eustice was co-author of “the” treatise on Corporate Income Taxation. Shortly thereafter, when I entered practice and met colleagues who were former students of Jim Eustice, I discovered that they, too, considered him as some sort of tax superhero. It wasn’t long before I had an opportunity to experience first-hand the reasons so many people held him in awe.

Shortly after I arrived at the United States Tax Court as attorney-advisor to the Hon. Herbert L. Chabot, word circulated among the attorney-advisors that there was going to be a hearing on a motion in a case involving the reorganization provisions of the Code. The buzz, though, was that Jim Eustice was going to argue. Among his former students, the atmosphere resembled that which would exist if a well-known celebrity or perhaps the President were coming to visit the Tax Court. If I recall correctly, the case was on Judge Tannenwald’s docket, and the hearing was scheduled for the main courtroom in the Court’s Washington, D.C. building. The advice from the more senior attorney-advisors was that it behooved all of us to seek permission from our respective judges to sit in on the hearing. Permission was granted pretty much universally.

When I arrived in the courtroom, it was filled, which usually happened only for ceremonial events, such as the swearing-in of a new judge. I had made certain to read enough about the case to follow the arguments. Jim Eustice began, on behalf of the taxpayers. Listening to him argue, and being questioned by Judge Tannenwald, was spell-binding. Here were two seasoned veterans of the corporate tax practice world, one now a judge, examining almost every word and punctuation mark in section 368 with intense and precise attention. No matter what sort of question Judge Tannenwald put to him, Jim Eustice handled it expertly and confidently. Then it was time for respondent’s counsel to step to the podium. Not one of us wished to be in his shoes. I now had seen why people spoke of Jim Eustice with reverence. (The case was Reeves v. Comr., 71 T.C. 727 (1979)).

Jim Eustice was one of those rare individuals who established during lifetime and leaves behind as his legacy the sort of reputation to which many seek but few attain. His name and the phrase “corporate tax” are almost synonymous. No matter who succeeds as revising author of the two treatises to which he contributed so much, I doubt anyone will ever have the temerity to remove his name from the cover. I am convinced that even if the corporate income tax is repealed, Jim Eustice’s reign as “all things corporate tax” will continue. As it ought.

Guy B. Maxfield, Professor of Law Emeritus, UCLA

Jim was, no doubt, best known as a corporate tax scholar and practitioner.  Those of us who were colleagues of Jim at New York University School of Law for the past 40 years or so know of many other attributes of Jim beyond corporate tax. 

For example, one afternoon in 1964 Jack Freeland, another tax scholar, and I were working on the new retirement income credit.  After about a half an hour, Jim walked by and inquired what we were doing.  For the next 3 hours or so the three of us talked, used a blackboard and set up hypotheticals to understand the obtuse mechanics of the credit.  At the end Jim, said, “Well, we now know more about something than any of us will ever use in our teaching or in practice.”

Katherine Pratt, Professor of Law, Loyola Los Angeles Law School

(Jim Eustice supervised a directed research paper that I wrote as a Tax LLM student at NYU. Also, we were colleagues in my first two years of teaching.)

All business tax lawyers are aware of the legendary technical precision with which Jim Eustice wrote about corporate tax law, but fewer tax lawyers know that Jim also had a wicked sense of humor.  When I was a Tax LLM student at NYU, I remarked to Jim that one of my fellow students was sure that she had just failed Jim’s 6-question Corporate Tax exam. Jim asked me why she thought that. I told Jim that my dejected friend had sobbed: “I don’t know what happened to me. ALL of the questions on the exam seemed like 304 questions. Everywhere I looked I saw 304. I found myself writing about 304 over and over again…. It was like Groundhog Day. I can’t believe I just failed Corporate Tax.” Jim’s eyes twinkled as he set his pipe down on his desk and replied “sounds to ME like she got an A!”

Jim’s knowledge of tax law was encyclopedic. When I think about Jim, I picture him in his NYU fourth floor office, at his desk, unlit pipe appended to his mouth, noting his meticulous yet insightful observations about corporate tax in microscopic script on a seemingly endless supply of yellow legal pads.

When Jim and NYU tax colleagues met after hours at a restaurant near NYU, they didn’t need to carry a copy of the IRC with them to resolve their technical tax disputes, because they kept a copy of the IRC behind the bar at the restaurant.

I once asked Jim why we have to worry about COD income in a recapitalization that is a tax-free reorganization.  Without consulting any written materials, Jim provided a cryptic yet precise answer -- the NUMBER of the footnote (just the footnote number, with no other explanation) in which he had posed and answered the question in the Bittker & Eustice treatise.

Robert J. Peroni, Fondren Foundation Centennial Chair for Faculty Excellence, University of Texas School of Law

I was very sad to learn of Jim Eustice’s passing.  He was a wonderful mentor and friend and helped me considerably when I decided that I wanted to become a law teacher.  His treatise on corporate tax is still one of the top tax law treatises and the “bible” on corporate taxation.  He was a fascinating scholar and teacher, who made even subjects like affiliated corporations, Section 304 redemptions, and net operating loss carryovers interesting.  And, of course, he was one of the true giants of the tax law field, who helped build NYU’s excellent LL.M. in Taxation program into the preeminent program it remains today.  He will be sorely missed by the tax law community and NYU.  I extend my deepest condolences to his family.

Deborah H. Schenk, Marilynn & Ronald Grossman Professor of Law, New York University School of Law

Being Jim Eustice's colleague was a joy.  Some of those teaching corporate tax who have questions use the library, the internet, or treatises and hornbooks.  I had the real McCoy.  Occasionally I would conjure up a corporate tax question that I could not answer by studying B&E.  I would research the answer by writing a memo to Jim, usually laying out a fact pattern and outlining what little authority I had found.  I would slip it under Jim's door (Jim being one of the last people in America to shun computers and daylight working hours).  In the morning I would find the paper under my door.  Heavily annotated, Jim would have pointed out some twists to my fact pattern, commented on the authorities, given me an answer, and explained why it was a crazy or sane result.  Rarely he would say that he did not know the answer, which was the same thing as saying there was no answer.  Two evenings later Jim would stop by in his track suit and well-worn running shoes with a pipe gripped between his teetch (I have no recollection of ever seeing the man in a tie).  He would always say "I hope my musings were a little help" (no kidding) and then add that he had some further thoughts.  And he would proceed to give me an impromptu lesson on the subject.  That would followed by complaints about the state of the tax world, the state of the academy, and the state of his health.  Oh--and the most interesting obits in the Times that day, a page of the paper we both found as interesting and as fun to dissect as 368(a)(2)(G).

Len Schmolka, Professor of Law, New York University

I joined the NYU tax faculty 30 years ago.  From my first day, Jim was my mentor, my model, an ever-ready resource, frequent dinner companion and a good friend.  No one will be able to fill his strangely empty corner office.

Daniel N. Shaviro, Wayne Perry Professor of Taxation, New York University School of Law

Jim Eustice was a great scholar and a great man, and I was honored to be his colleague for the last 16 years.

John Steines, Professor of Law, New York University School of Law

To me, Jim broke the mold in tax academe, along the lines Larry Bird did in basketball--different, even peculiar, stubborn, relentlessly independent, dignified but occasionally fond of zany adventure, quietly friendly, kind-hearted, devilishly funny to those he knew well, extremely bright and hard-working, committed to professional excellence, loyal, and ultimately, with self-knowledge but not arrogance, in a class very few could join. Underneath the seemingly shy, stolid exterior was an always churning, even introspective mind.  He surprised me on the occasion of our last visit by sharing, in very un-Jim style, some thoughts on his life.  I will miss him.

Karla W. Simon,Professor of Law and Director of Faculty Development, Columbus School of Law,
Catholic University of America

Jim was a wonderful mentor and a good friend.  

Death of Jim Eustice

Legendary Tax Prof James S. Eustice, Gerald L. Wallace Professor of Taxation Emeritus at NYU, died yesterday at the age of 77. From NYU Dean Richard Revesz:

Jim was a legendary figure in the field of tax law and a beloved member of the Law School community since he joined our faculty in 1960.  After graduating from the Law School with his LL.M. in taxation in 1958, he went on to work for White & Case for two years before returning to NYU to become a full professor at age 32. A distinguished scholar, Jim’s treatise on corporate tax law has long been viewed as the authoritative work on the subject, widely cited by the Supreme Court and regularly used by academics and practitioners.  He was deeply committed to the Law School during his more than five decades here, teaching thousands of students in almost every tax course available.  After retirement, he remained dedicated to his work as of counsel at the firm of Cooley LLP, where he founded the tax department in 1970, and continued to teach at the Law School. He was co-teaching Taxation of Affiliated Corporations this Spring, and remained active and engaged to the very end. 

Jim was a wonderful mentor, a generous colleague, and a dear friend.  A familiar presence around the institution, Jim will be deeply missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Carol Fonda Eustice, daughter Cynthia Lapier, son James M. Eustice, and their families during this incredibly difficult time.

I will share further details about funeral arrangements as soon as I have more information.

From Jim's NYU faculty web page:

Eustice's main philosophy is to teach the Internal Revenue Code itself, rather than the policy implications of that document. "I've always viewed my main mission as getting people up to snuff on what the law is, rather than what it ought to be. This is the only area of the law where you really do close-in-cape-work with a detailed and complicated statute. There are some statutory courses, but there's nothing really like the Code and its six volumes of regulations."

Death of Leo Raskind

Tax Prof Leo J. Raskind (Minnesota) died on March 22 at age 91. From the Minnesota press release:

Raskind taught copyright, antitrust, intellectual property, and tax law at the Law School from 1970-92. He then became Brooklyn Law School's "permanent" visiting professor and taught there until he retired in 2006.

(Hat Tip: Deborah Schenk.)

Death of Bill Stuntz

William J. Stuntz, Henry J. Friendly Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and a 52-year old father of three who lived with intense chronic pain for eleven years, died of colon cancer on Monday.  I reprint below last year's post on Bill's gripping interview and testimony:

Many people wonder what it will be like when they learn that their death is drawing near. Is there anything that surprises you?

Yes, absolutely, but I think that this is just another one of many, many pieces of divine mercy. One thing that has certainly surprised me is just how easy it has been to absorb that message that I’m going to die soon.

I will probably not survive 2010. Yet that message is much easier to take than I would have expected. I don’t fully understand why. I would have thought that the knowledge that I am very likely in my last year of life would lead me to dwell on the dying. A certain amount of that is unavoidable. Death hangs in the air. It’s as though I am living with an hourglass right in front of my face. You cannot look away from it. You cannot close your eyes to it. It’s always there. But actually I think it has led me to dwell more on the living. It sounds really trite to say that things that seemed like very small matters seem really precious to me now. It’s no novel thought — but, in my case, it really is true.

Facing death, what do you fear and what do you not fear?

The awful part, the only thing about which I am sometimes scared, is the period right before death.  Cancer deaths are ugly, and I assume mine will be ugly and painful and very, very unpleasant. 

People do this.  I will do it.  People get through it.  I will get through it.  God will give me the resources I need when the time comes.  But I try not to think very much about that. 

There certainly are things about that hourglass that sting, that hurt.  It hurts when my wife becomes sad because she wanted us to grow old together.  We are not going to grow old together.  She feels anticipated pain over my coming death, and seeing her feel the pain of that, that's hard. 

I worry about my children.  I want them to be happy.  I won't be there to help my children when they might have wanted or benefited from my help.  ... 

Those things aside, I must say that I would rather not have that hourglass in front of my face, but it's nowhere near as unpleasant as it first appears.  It pains me that it pains my wife and children, but my own pain is not as bad as you would think.

Do you have any favorite quotations or favorite scriptures, when it comes to death?

Yes, a passage in the fourteenth chapter of Job.  The passage as a whole is not hopeful.  Job is uncertain what will happen to him when he dies.  In the end, he says that he will return to dust and there will be nothing after death. 

In the midst of the passage, however, before he turns to despair, he has a moment of hope.  It's a brief moment, just a couple of verses in the midst of an extended passage.  Yet he says, "You will call and I will answer.  You will long for the creature your hands have made" (Job 14:15).   

I find those lines very powerful.  The concept that God longs for the likes of me is so unspeakably sweet.  I almost cannot bear to say them aloud.  They are achingly sweet for me to hear. 

There are many passages I love, but that one in particular has grabbed hold of me.  Job's hope, it turns out, is more realistic than his despair.

• TaxProf Blog, A Celebration of Bill Stuntz
• Wall Street Journal Law Blog, A Terminally Ill Harvard Law Prof Talks About Faith and the Future

Death of Charles Terry

Tax Prof Charles T. Terry (Illinois) died on March 6 at the age of 65. (Hat Tip: Stephanie Hoffer.)

Death of Brian Comerford

Tax Prof Brian E. Comerford (Brooklyn) died on March 4:

The Brooklyn Law School community mourns the loss of a beloved colleague, teacher and friend, Professor Emeritus Brian Comerford.  Over the course of nearly four decades of service on the Law School faculty, teaching and writing in the areas of Taxation and Estate Planning, he touched the lives of thousands of students. He served as Counsel to the New York State Estates, Powers & Trusts Law Advisory Committee. Although his presence will be missed, it will always be felt by the colleagues and students who knew and cherished him.  We extend our deepest sympathy to his wife, Carol, their children, Sean ‘12 and Kathleen, and his entire family.

The New York Times obituary reports that in lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to  Brooklyn Law School. (Hat Tip: Deborah Schenk.)

Death of Charles Galvin

Tax Prof Charles O. Galvin, Distinguished Professor Emeritus and former Dean of SMU, died on Jan. 27 at the age of 91. From the SMU press release:

“Dean Galvin was one of the greatest deans in the history of the law school and one of the foremost tax professors of his time,” said John B. Attanasio, Dean of SMU’s Dedman School of Law.” ...

Dean Galvin began his impressive academic career at SMU, where he received his B.S.C. degree with highest honors in 1940.  Subsequently, he earned an M.B.A. degree with distinction from Northwestern University before serving in the United States Navy in World War II with the rank of Lieutenant Commander. Dean Galvin returned to Northwestern after the war and received his Juris Doctor degree in 1947 and later, his S.J.D. from Harvard. ...

In 1952, Dean Robert G. Storey invited Dean Galvin to join the SMU Law School faculty, where he remained for more than 30 years.  From 1963-1978, he served as Dean.  Dean Galvin was the Centennial Professor of Law at Vanderbilt University from 1983-1990.  He also taught at Harvard, Michigan, Northwestern, Duke, Pepperdine, UT-Austin and the University of Kansas. 

He wrote numerous important works on federal tax law and other subjects in collaboration with Boris Bittker. 

• Obituary (Austin American-Statesman)
• Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog

Death of Ferdinand Schoettle

Tax Prof Ferdinand P. Schoettle (Minnesota) died on November 24. From the New York Times obituary:

Andy was a nationally recognized scholar of federal and state tax law and policy. He received his A.B. degree from Princeton University. He received his LL.B. degree with high honors and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in economics from Harvard University. During law school, he was an Editor of the Harvard Law Review. After graduating from law school, Andy clerked for Judge Learned Hand of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He then worked for the United States Treasury Department in the Office of Tax Legislation Counsel and for Senator Joseph Clark. From 1963 to 1966, he practiced law at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in Philadelphia. He joined the University of Minnesota Law School faculty in 1967. ... He formally retired from teaching in 2008.

Andy's passion in his life was sailing. Over his sailing career, Andy owned and raced a variety of boats including J boats, Scows, Lasers and Finns. He began sailing in Mantoloking, New Jersey on Barnegat Bay, and he raced on the East Coast, in the Mid West, and in Europe, winning or placing in top positions in many regattas. He skippered a 5.5M in the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia finishing fourth and was on the United States Olympic team in the 1960 Olympics in Naples, Italy. ...

There will be a Memorial Service in remembrance of Andy's life this June in Mantoloking, New Jersey. Donations are being accepted in his name to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA.

(Hat Tip: Deborah Schenk.)

Memorial Service for Meade Emory

Following up on my prior posts (here and here) on the death of Meade Emory, founding director of the Graduate Tax Program and Professor of Law Emeritus at the University of Washington School of Law: Sam Donaldson (Washington) shares this report on Friday's memorial service for Meade:

The cathedral was packed with family, friends, and admirers of all ages. As one of Meade’s children observed so well, Meade would have liked to have been there just for the opportunity to “work the room.” It was a crisp, sunny autumn afternoon in Seattle, and the bright light shining through the cathedral windows reflected the trait that all of the speakers referred to—Meade’s undying optimism. The speakers included Meade’s children, each of whom delivered heartfelt and moving remembrances of their father. One mentioned that Meade concluded every conversation with, “You’re the best.” Instantly I remembered all of the times Meade ended our many chats with, “You’re a great American.” I wasn’t the best, I suppose, but was happy enough with being a great American.

Another spoke of Meade’s commitment to justice, and these remarks were especially poignant to me. On so many occasions I saw Meade give an aspiring tax lawyer his or her first chance. Meade looked beyond the transcripts and test scores of applicants to the Graduate Program in Taxation—if he saw something that showed potential, he rallied to give the applicant a chance. He believed in letting students prove themselves in the classroom, and he was rarely disappointed. He also believed that education should be available to all who were qualified, and he consistently fought against proposals to raise the tuition charged to Tax LL.M. students. A law school colleague said it best several years ago: “Meade never met an application he didn’t like—or a tuition increase he did like.”

For me, Meade’s commitment to giving someone a chance made all the difference in the world. Meade gave me my first shot at the University of Washington as a part-time lecturer in 1995. He gave me additional chances for the next four years, and when I applied for a tenure-track position in 1999, he was my staunchest supporter. He wrote an impassioned letter in support of my application for tenure in 2003, and in 2004, when I was appointed Co-Director of Graduate Program in Taxation, he graciously welcomed me with open arms. It is thanks to him that I enjoy the most fulfilling job imaginable.

The debt I owe to Meade is immense. I suppose he might be the first person to say I now have income from the discharge of indebtedness, but in my mind the debt continues. I hope to repay it by extending to others the same chances he gave to me—a form of repayment I think he would like.

More on the Death of Meade Emory

Following up on yesterday's post on the death at age 79 of Meade Emory, founding director of the Graduate Tax Program and Professor of Law Emeritus at the University of Washington School of Law:

• Seattle Times, Obituary:

He was a third generation Seattleite, and a third generation lawyer in this city who loved everything about the Pacific Northwest. ... Meade was long active behind the scenes in Democratic politics, having first been attracted when Senator Warren Magnuson appointed him to several "patronage" jobs in Washington, DC during his university years. ... Meade also cultivated many of the trappings and interests of a professor. His staple wardrobe included a bow tie, fedora, highwater trousers, loafers and a fountain pen or two. ...

A memorial service celebrating Meade's life will be held on Friday, October 15, 2010 at St. Mark's Cathedral in Seattle at 2:00 pm. Remembrances may be made to: Providence Hospice of Seattle or the Alzheimer's Association.

• Crosscut, Meade Emory, 'Seattle's Atticus Finch,' Dies at 79:

Meade Emory was a Seattle fixture.  He and his wife Deborah, above all, savored life.  They could be seen at the opera, at Town Hall, at the Seattle Chamber Music Society (which he founded), at book, political, and University of Washington events, and at picnics and poetry readings.  ...

Beyond his official vitae, his many Seattle and other friends knew Meade to be an engaged man.  He read everything, was prepared to discuss and debate any public issue, and also was a walking library of information about all Seattle-related things and persons. ...

Shortly after his retirement from the University of Washington Law School, Meade was beset by physical ailments, including Alzheimer's, which caused the Emorys to retire early in 2009 to Bayview Manor.  Though in recent months mainly confined to bed, and beset with Alzheimer's, Meade continued to receive visitors, to read, and to engage in political gossip.  ...

Yes, he was a man and attorney of character and honor.  It is hard to imagine him on the wrong side of any issue.  It is also hard to imagine Seattle in his absence.  He loved Seattle and, in return, was loved by the most engaged citizens of his city.  His memorial service Friday, at St. Mark's Cathedral, no doubt will be attended by those same citizens. His was a life well and usefully lived.

• Tax Notes Today (2010 TNT 197-6), Tax Professor Meade Emory Dies:

Emory may be most widely known for his connections with the Church of Scientology. Although he was not a Scientologist, in 1982 Emory co-founded the Church of Spiritual Technology (CST), an organization dedicated to preserving and archiving Scientology scripture. CST owns the copyrights to Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard's books and lectures and manages their licenses.

CST petitioned for section 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status in 1983, but the IRS claimed the organization "was created to shelter the income of nonexempt Scientology organizations from taxation." The IRS ultimately recognized CST and 24 other organizations related to the Church of Scientology as tax exempt in an October 1, 1993, closing agreement.

Death of Meade Emory

Meade Emory, founding director of the Graduate Tax Program and Professor of Law Emeritus at the University of Washington School of Law, died over the weekend. From his bio:

Mr. Emory spent his entire professional career in the field of federal taxation--in government, private practice and law teaching. In government, he served in several positions--as a trial attorney for the IRS District Counsel, Legislation Counsel for the Joint Committee on Taxation of the U. S. Congress and, also, as Assistant to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. As a law teacher, Professor Emory taught at many of this country's leading law schools (on many occasions as a distinguished visitor) including NYU, Duke, Pennsylvania, Tulane, Iowa Northwestern, Georgetown and UCLA. He served on the board of editors of the Journal of Taxation, Tax Analysts (publisher of Tax Notes) and is the co-author of Bittker, Emory & Streng, Federal Income Taxation of Corporations & Shareholders--Forms, published by Warren, Gorham & Lamont.

Marty Ginsburg's Last Speech

Law Week Colorado, Justice Ginsburg Reads Late Husband’s Funny, Heart-Warming Speech:

Martin Ginsburg’s speech recounted how an obscure 10th Circuit tax case, which the Ginsburgs handled pro bono, led to a Supreme Court appearance for his wife and to a host of other gender-discrimination cases. The case involved a contested tax deduction involving a Mr. Morris that would have been allowable had Morris been a single woman. He was a single man.

The Morris case, which was handled under the auspices of the American Civil Liberties Union, led to Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s being retained to handled the much-larger discrimination case of Reed v. Reed before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, the government appealed an unfavorable 10th Circuit verdict it got in the Morris case, attaching a mainframe-generated list of hundreds of other statutes that would be similarly affected. The nation’s high court denied cert, and the future Justice Ginsburg used the list to successfully challenge the statutes in other courts.

The outcomes were “all in all great achievements from a tax case with an amount in controversy that totaled exactly $296.70,” Martin Ginsburg wrote in his speech. “As you can see in bringing those tax court advance sheets to Ruth’s big room [her office] 40 years ago, I changed history for the better and I shall claim I rendered a significant service to the nation.”

(Hat Tip: Laura Saunders.)

Dan Rostenkowski Dies at 82

Dan Rostenkowski, Chair of the House Ways & Means Committee during the Tax Reform Act of 1986, died today at the age of 82. From Dan Shaviro (NYU):

I was on the Joint Committee of Taxation staff for the 1986 Tax Reform Act, during Rosty's tenure. Whatever else one says about him at any other point in his career, at that time I observed him to be a true statesman and leader. (And I speak as one who is extremely hard to please, when it comes to political figures.)

• Associated Press
• Bloomberg
• Chicago Tribune
• New York Times
• Politico
• USA Today
• Washington Post
• Web CPA

(Hat Tip: Charlotte Crane.)

Death of Paul McDaniel

Paul R. McDaniel, Emeritus James J. Freeland Eminent Scholar in Taxation and Professor of Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, died at his home in Gainesville on July 16 after a long illness. The University of Florida has prepared this wonderful tribute to Paul; please read the entire piece.  Here are a few excerpts:

Professor McDaniel joined the faculty of the College of Law in 2004. He had a long and distinguished career as a tax lawyer and professor, and was active as a full-time faculty member, teaching international tax classes and producing tax scholarship, through the Fall term of 2009 before being diagnosed with his final illness around the New Year. He was an exceptional teacher and scholar, and he will be sorely missed by all who have known him as a colleague, teacher and friend. ...

Professor McDaniel’s greatest gift as a teacher and human being was nurturing relationships and he is remembered fondly and with great respect by all his students and colleagues. Professor McDaniel always went out of his way to welcome the international students enrolled in the International Tax Program, hosting a welcoming reception for them and their families at his home each year and, when feasible, before the program grew to it now large size, hosting a Thanksgiving Day dinner at his home for the international students and their families. Over the many years of his teaching career, Professor McDaniel’s character and intellect inspired countless students to pursue careers in tax law, a number of whom he also inspired to follow in his footsteps as law school tax professors. ...

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to one of the following: the Paul R. McDaniel International Tax Scholarship fundfor international students and scholars to come participate in the International Tax Program at the University of Florida (University of Florida Law Center Association, Inc., PO Box 14412, Gainesville, FL 32604-4412); the First Presbyterian Church of Alachua (P.O. Box 308, Alachua, FL 32616); or "Food4Kids of Alachua" (c/o First Presbyterian Church of Alachua), the weekend food program Professor McDaniel helped create with his wife.

A memorial service will be held at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Gainesville. A public celebration of Professor McDaniel’s life will take place in the fall at the Baughman Center on the University of Florida campus, on a date to be announced.

Upon learning of Paul's illness, Jim Repetti and I wrote on this blog:

[B]eing asked to join Paul as a co-author was one of the proudest (and most intimidating) moments of our careers. In working with Paul, we have been repeatedly struck by his encyclopedic knowledge of the tax law, clear yet elegant prose, and organizational genius. But what stands out most for us has been Paul’s incredible grace and patience in nurturing two junior co-authors struggling to match the high standards he set in prior editions.

We collected dozens of remebrances from Paul's many friends, colleagues, and former students and presented them in a book for Paul and his family.  On Paul's passing, I thought it would be fitting to post the Tax Prof remembrances below the fold:

• Alice Abreu (Temple)
• Ellen Aprill (Loyola-L.A.)
• Joe Bankman (Stanford)
• Leslie Book (Villanova)
• Fred Brown (Baltimore)
• Leonard Burman (Syracuse)
• Paul Caron (Cincinnati)
• Sheldon Cohen (former IRS Commissioner)
• Bridget Crawford (Pace)
• Laura Cunningham (Cardozo)
• Noel Cunningham (NYU)
• Harvey Dale (NYU)
• Cliff Fleming (BYU)
• Christopher Hanna (SMU)
• Mary Heen (Richmond)
• David Hudson (Florida)
• Michael Knoll (Pennsylvania)
• Michael Livingston (Rutgers-Camden)
• Charlene Luke (Florida)
• Bill Lyons (Nebraska)
• Eric Lustig (New England)
• Ray Madoff (Boston College)
• Marty McMahon (Florida)
• Lori McMillan (Washburn)
• Robert Peroni (Texas)
• Jim Repetti (Boston College)
• Kerry Ryan (St. Louis)
• Deborah Schenk (NYU)
• Len Schmolka (NYU)
• Daniel Shaviro (NYU)
• Miranda Stewart (Melbourne)
• Victor Zonana (NYU)

Alice Abreu, James E. Beasley Professor of Law, Temple University, Beasley School of Law

Paul is a true gentleman - brilliant, kind and devoted to the tax law. The groundbreaking work he and Stanley Surrey did in developing and actualizing the concept of tax expenditures remains one of the most significant developments in tax theory and continues to play a significant role in the evolution of the tax law. Most of us can only dream of a career like his. He has touched not only the law but the lives of countless lawyers and law students who have benefited from his grace and wisdom. My thoughts are with him and his family during this difficult time.

Ellen P. Aprill, Professor of Law and John E. Anderson Chair in Tax Law, Loyola Law School Los Angeles

Paul is a true gentleman and a scholar -- always gracious and courteous to everyone he encounters, intellectually honorable and thoughtful in every endeavor.

Joseph Bankman, Ralph M. Parsons Professor of Law and Business, Stanford Law School

I echo Mike Livingston's comments (and the comments of many others): Paul has played a leading role in the profession while being one of the sweetest guys in the profession.

Leslie Book, Professor of Law and Director of Graduate Tax Program, Villanova University School of Law

I had the good fortune to have Prof McDaniel for corporate tax and a tax policy seminar in NYU. His classroom demeanor was quiet, but he was demanding and he set the bar high. His calm and good natured prodding --especially as I was stumbling through a paper on the VAT--inspired me then, and still today, as I strive to approach students in my current role as teacher. He was one of the best tax professors I had, and I consider myself very lucky to have had him as a professor for two wonderful graduate tax classes. My thoughts are with him and his family.

Fred Brown, Associate Professor of Law & Director of Graduate Tax Program, University of Baltimore School of Law

Paul, I very much enjoyed our time together at NYU. Your writings have been invaluable to me and many others. You are truly a giant in tax and as a person. My thoughts are with you.

Leonard E. Burman, Daniel Patrick Moynihan Professor of Public Affairs, Maxwell School of Syracuse University

Thanks for posting the news about Paul McDaniel. He is one of my heroes. I can understand why you were awed at the prospect of working with him.

Paul might be interested in this op ed I wrote for the Washington Post yesterday, suggesting that tax expenditures be subject to budget caps (as proposed for non-security discretionary spending).

Clearly Paul and Stanley Surrey have had a huge effect on my work and career—and many other public finance economists’. I will pray for him and his family.

Paul L. Caron, Associate Dean of Faculty & Charles Hartsock Professor of Law, University of Cincinnati College of Law(with Jim Repetti)

By any reckoning, Paul is one of the most influential tax scholars and teachers of the past 50 years. Paul’s signal scholarly achievement among his fifty law review articles and ten books is his pioneering work on tax expenditure analysis with Stanley Surrey, culminating in their 1985 Harvard University Press book, Tax Expenditures

. Paul has influenced generations of tax students with his six casebooks (Federal Income Taxation, Federal Income Taxation of Business Organizations, Federal Income Taxation of Corporations, Federal Income Taxation of Partnerships and S Corporations, Federal Wealth Transfer Taxation, and Introduction to United States International Taxation).

For us, being asked to join Paul as a co-author was one of the proudest (and most intimidating) moments of our careers. In working with Paul, we have been repeatedly struck by his encyclopedic knowledge of the tax law, clear yet elegant prose, and organizational genius. But what stands out most for us has been Paul’s incredible grace and patience in nurturing two junior co-authors struggling to match the high standards he set in prior editions. Jim is especially grateful to have also benefitted from Paul’s tutelage as his student at Boston College Law School and later as his colleague at Hill & Barlow and Boston College.

Sheldon S. Cohen, Director, Farr, Miller & Washington, Washington, D.C.; former Commissioner, Internal Revenue Service

Paul and I met when he first came to work for Stan Surrey at the Treasury in 1967. Stanley had a great staff and Paul was one of the very best. Paul was fired by the Republican Admin when it first arrived in the spring of 1969. Paul's brother in Okla had worked against the senator from there and he insisted that Paul, a career lawyer on the tax staff be fired. Paul called me and told me this as it happen. I had resigned as Commr of IRS at noon on Jan 20, 1969. It was an odd coincidence that that day Sen. Albert Gore, a senior member of the Finance committee had called me asking for help in finding someone for his staff who could help on tax issues as the 1969 Act was beginning its move about that time. I suggested the Gore job and called Sen Gore to tell him of Paul's abilities. I take a little credit for getting Paul the opportunity which he did great work in. He is a dear friend of close to 50 years and is a worthy successor to my friend, Stanley Surrey. I send him all my best wishes.

Bridget Crawford, Professor of Law & Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development, Pace Law School

Professor McDaniel is an intellectual giant in the field, and his work is one of my "go-to" resources for questions involving federal estate and gift taxation. I admire his work tremendously.

Laura Cunningham, Professor of Law, Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University

I will always be grateful for the kindness and generosity that Paul extended to me in the early years of my teaching career. In addition to being a supportive colleague, he became a warm and wonderful friend, and I am among those people he has touched who will sorely miss him. My heart and prayers are with him and Ginny.

Noel Cunningham, Professor of Law, New Your University School of Law

I have known Paul for 25 years both as a friend and a colleague. He is truly a remarkable man. Not only is he an excellent scholar and teacher from whom I learned so much, but, more importantly, he is also one of the best people I have ever met. My prayers too are with Paul and Ginny.

Harvey Dale, University Professor of Philanthropy and the Law & Director, National Center on Philanthropy and the Law, New Your University School of Law

Paul has been my friend since 1958 when we both entered law school together. Our friendship deepened when Paul joined the NYU Tax Faculty and we were then able to work together, play together, discuss together, and even argue together on a regular basis. Paul is one of the smartest, nicest, kindest people I have ever met. My life is much richer for having known him; I have learned an enormous amount from him. Debra and I went to his wedding on Martha's Vineyard at the Chilmark Community Church in May of 1997 and were so delighted to see him and Ginny so happy together. Paul is a consummate law professor and a marvelous friend. I am most grateful for the more than 50 years that I have been able to share good times and good conversation with him.

Cliff Fleming, Ernest L. Wilkinson Chair and Professor of Law, Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University

I've never had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with Paul. His work, however, has had a fundamental impact on the way I have thought about tax policy and presented it to students for the last 35 years. Indeed, much of my own scholarly work in the most recent years has been devoted to explaining to Paul's critics why he got it right. So I deeply appreciate his contributions and wish him comfort and contentment.

Christopher Hanna, Professor of Law and University Distinguished Teaching Professor, Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law

I got to know Paul when I visited UF back in 2005. He is a true gentleman and a great scholar. Many times I asked him about his time at Treasury in the late 1960s. I always enjoyed hearing his stories about working at Treasury during the Stanley Surrey years. My thoughts and prayers are with him and Ginny.

Mary L. Heen, Professor of Law, University of Richmond School of Law

We all have great appreciation for Paul McDaniel's work as an important scholar of tax expenditure theory and influential voice in the world of international tax. In addition, I'd like to thank him for his thoughtful and inspiring teaching. Paul McDaniel was my Corporate Tax professor in the spring semester of his visit at NYU, shortly after the enactment of the Tax Reform Act of 1986. It was a big class but he divided us into teams and assigned us written memos on reorganization problems. He took the time to meet with each team in his office, offering us feedback and warm words of encouragement. We all send you our own warm words of support and encouragement during your difficult fight with this illness!

David Hudson, Professor of Law, University of Florida Levin College of Law

Paul has been a terrific colleague here at Florida for the past several years. Always with a big smile and a willingness to help in whatever way that he could. I am lucky to have the good fortune to have met and worked with Paul.

Michael S. Knoll, Theodore K. Warner Professor of Law & Professor of Real Estate; Co-Director, Center for Tax Law and Policy, University of Pennsylvania Law School

Paul, I was very sorry to hear of your illness. You probably do not remember me as we only met a few times, but I always appreciated your willingness to talk with a young colleague. In recent years, as I have started to write about international tax, I found you to be one of the scholars from whom I have learned the most. I wish you and your family the very best in these difficult times.

Michael A. Livingston, Professor of Law, Rutgers School of Law - Camden

And one of the nicest people you'll ever meet. He could discuss everything from law to politics without ever dropping a single name or displaying the slightest bit of snobbery . . . and he had more basis to be a snob than most. I don't think they make them quite like this any more.

Charlene Luke, Assistant Professor of Law, University of Florida Levin College of Law

I joined UF in 2008 as an assistant professor. It can feel a bit surreal to have The Paul McDaniel sit in on a class or read an article rough draft, but Paul always knows how to provide invaluable advice with just the right mix of encouragement and caring. I feel very fortunate to have Paul as a colleague and mentor.

Eric A. Lustig, Professor of Law, New England Law School

Paul--Ann and I are so sorry to hear of your illness. My thoughts go back to Gainesville in Spring 1993 and Tax Policy, tennis (played and watched), Pasta Palace, talking politics and good paperback mysteries. We are thinking of you and Ginny.

Bill Lyons, Richard H. Larson Professor of Tax Law, University of Nebraska College of Law

Paul introduced me to the study of federal income taxation when I was one of his students at Boston College Law School. His skillful blending of tax policy and careful technical reading has shaped and informed my teaching style. I have been teaching federal income taxation courses since 1981 and I have yet to repay my debt to Paul. My thoughts and prayers are with Paul and his family.

Ray D. Madoff, Professor of Law, Boston College Law School

I am forever appreciative of the significant role that Paul McDaniel played in my career. I went to work at Hill and Barlow for the express purpose of being able to study with the master. He did not disappoint. Paul McDaniel was everything one could want in a role model: extraordinarily knowledgeable, creative in his thinking and always mindful of the human aspect of tax. Despite his extraordinary accomplishments, at heart he was always the boy from Oklahoma. It was a great honor to work with him and he will leave a gaping hole. My prayers go out to Paul and his family that Paul defies the odds and continues to lead the way for us for a long time to come.

Marty McMahon, Stephen C. O’Connell Professor of Law, University of Florida Levin College of Law

I can honestly say, without reservation, that except for my wife, Pam, Paul McDaniel has been the most important positive influence in my life. Without Paul as a role model and mentor, I never would have been where I am today. I enrolled in Boston College Law School in the fall of 1971 largely because I had no idea what I wanted to do after graduating from college. I drifted though my first year of law school, wondering whether any of it really interested me, but when I encountered the Tax I course, with Paul as my teacher in my second year of law school, I was captivated by both the Professor and the subject. In that class, and several in subsequent classes, Paul inspired me to become a tax lawyer and instilled in me the ambition someday to become a law school tax professor. After a few years of practice, I visited Paul at B.C. to ask how to try to obtain a law school teaching position, and he helped me understand the process, as a result of which, with him as a reference, I landed a law school teaching job. In everything I have done as a law school professor, I have striven to model myself after Paul, thinking that if I could just measure up by some small fraction, I should consider myself to have done well. Over the years, I kept in regular contact with Paul to seek advice, and seven years after I started my law school teaching career, he invited me to join him as a junior coauthor on the casebooks of which he had by then become the senior coauthor (as a protégée of Stanley Surrey). That collaboration, which has been the principal focus of my scholarly academic pursuits ever since, has now lasted nearly 25 years and is still going strong. Most important of all, however, was the sequence of events that began with a telephone conversation between Paul and me a few days before Christmas in 2003, which started as purely social call, but which ultimately resulted in Paul joining me as colleague on the faculty at the University of Florida College of Law in the summer of 2004. At long last, I was able to work on a daily personal contact basis with the one person who had most shaped my entire professional life. I am forever indebted and grateful to Paul for all that has done for me and for being the most wonderful friend and colleague imaginable. Thank you, Paul, from the bottom of my heart.

Lori McMillan, Associate Professor of Law, Washburn University School of Law

Paul was the head of the International Graduate Tax Program when I did my International Tax LLM at NYU. He is one of the most brilliant yet kindest men I have ever met, and I thoroughly enjoyed learning from him. He was very good to those of us in the program, and it was easy to forget his high profile when interacting with him. He's a large part of why I became a law professor. My thoughts are with him and Ginny as he battles this disease. The world is a better place for having known him.

Robert J. Peroni, James A. Elkins Centennial Chair in Law, University of Texas School of Law

I am so sorry to hear about Paul's illness. He is one of the most decent and talented people that I have had the pleasure to get to know in the academic world. He is a wonderful friend and colleague and dedicated and caring teacher. And, of course, he is one of the top tax expenditure theory and international tax scholars, whose work has served as a great inspiration to those of us who also write in those fields. Paul, thanks for everything. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

James R. Repetti, William J. Kenealy, S.J. Professor of Law, Boston College Law School (with Paul Caron)

By any reckoning, Paul is one of the most influential tax scholars and teachers of the past 50 years. Paul’s signal scholarly achievement among his fifty law review articles and ten books is his pioneering work on tax expenditure analysis with Stanley Surrey, culminating in their 1985 Harvard University Press book, Tax Expenditures. Paul has influenced generations of tax students with his six casebooks (Federal Income Taxation, Federal Income Taxation of Business Organizations, Federal Income Taxation of Corporations, Federal Income Taxation of Partnerships and S Corporations, Federal Wealth Transfer Taxation, and Introduction to United States International Taxation).

For us, being asked to join Paul as a co-author was one of the proudest (and most intimidating) moments of our careers. In working with Paul, we have been repeatedly struck by his encyclopedic knowledge of the tax law, clear yet elegant prose, and organizational genius. But what stands out most for us has been Paul’s incredible grace and patience in nurturing two junior co-authors struggling to match the high standards he set in prior editions. Jim is especially grateful to have also benefitted from Paul’s tutelage as his student at Boston College Law School and later as his colleague at Hill & Barlow and Boston College.

Kerry Ryan, Assistant Professor of Law, Saint Louis University School of Law

I had the good fortune to cross paths with Paul during my VAP year at UF. He is a model academic and a model person. My thoughts and prayers are with him and Ginny.

Deborah Schenk, Donald and Marilynn Grossman Professor of Taxation; Editor-in-Chief, Tax Law Review, New York University School of Law

It was my pleasure to be part of the tax group at NYU when Paul was the director. Paul was such a talented teacher, scholar and administrator. It was a delight to walk down the hall and talk with him about all things tax (and occasionally other things as well). He was so generous with his time and I always came away with a greater understanding of whatever topic we had hashed out. We are still benefitting from his work at NYU since he was the founder of our International Tax Program. The wonderful students that come our way come in large part because of the curriculum he created. I've also benefitted from his several coursebooks that are worthy competitors and of course his work on tax expenditures--a lasting tribute. Most of all I benefitted from just knowing Paul the person--he is such a kind, gentle, good human being, free of arrogance and pomp. There are not too many people who are giants not only in their profession but also in their family, community, and church.

Our thoughts and prayers are with him and Ginny.

Len (Leo) Schmolka, Professor of Law, New York University School of Law

First and foremost, Paul was a dear friend, always generous with his wise counsel, laughter, good humor and rational views on politics, people and life. Some of his jokes were clunkers, but that happens to the best of raconteurs.

As a tax lawyer and scholar, Paul seems to be most often recognized for his contributions to tax policy via tax expenditure analysis. I, however, recognize him for the extraordinary breadth and depth of his knowledge and insights across the entire spectrum of income taxation and wealth transfer taxation. Few of his generation were his equal in that.

Paul's door was always open. Countless times I'd wander into his office across the hall from mine with a perplexing question about some tax issue or another. No matter the subchapter or chapter of the Code involved, Paul usually had a ready answer, most often correct, but invariably an unerring instinct about what the right answer ought to be. I never left his office without knowing more, generally much more, than when I entered.

Ever since Paul left NYU and Washington Square, I have sorely missed our collegial exchanges and our many, many enjoyable dinners together.

Daniel Shaviro, Wayne Perry Professor of Taxation, New Your University School of Law

Paul McDaniel is a great scholar and a wonderful man. I was lucky to have him as a colleague for several years at NYU, where he played a huge role in directing our tax program and helping to upgrade it. When Paul was named the head of the NYU tax program, I joked that John Sexton (our dean at the time) had picked Paul because he needed a "wartime consigliere." The quote is of course from The Godfather, when Michael tells Tom that he's out as consigliere for failing to fit this bill. The joke was that, on the one hand, we really did need someone to take on the job aggressively, as Paul could and did, but at the same time that the notion of Paul being a war maker is absurd.

Paul is a lovely and gentle man, and as a scholar is exceptionally scrupulous and rigorous. We had some very interesting conversations about tax expenditures (on which he presented some of his work at the NYU Tax Policy Colloquium), and he offered keen insight into Stanley Surrey's dual objectives in TE analysis of both offering a neutral descriptive tool and trying to give his own side a leg up in the tax reform debate. Paul believes that TE analysis should just be a neutral descriptive tool, leaving the tax reform battles to be conducted separately on their merits. He also has pioneered expanding the concept to other countries and other taxes. I was very sorry when he left NYU to go to Florida, although with the terrible winters we've been having I can certainly see the logic of it. My thoughts and best wishes are with him in these tough times.

Miranda Stewart, Associate Professor of Law & Co-Director of Taxation Studies, Melbourne Law School, Australia

Paul and Ginny: You know all this! - I was privileged to have been taught by Paul in the International Tax program at NYU more than a decade ago, for which he was an innovator as in so many other areas of tax teaching and research. His influence on tax scholars and professionals over the last two decades has been global in reach. He hired me then to teach at NYU and with his mild suggestion that I develop a comparative tax policy course, initiated my research interest in tax reform processes across countries that continues to this day while I have returned "down under". It was a pleasure to visit Paul at U Florida a couple of years ago and to see Paul and Ginny in their beautiful home. Thinking of you both at this tough time.

Victor Zonana, Adjunct Professor of Law, New York University School of Law

Paul is a well grounded scholar, a visionary and a real gentleman to boot. Nearly 40 years ago I had the privilege of serving as editor-in-chief of the Tax Law Review. One of the first articles I selected and personally edited (though Paul's work needed very little editing) was his article on the charitable contribution deduction. The ideas are still robust and resonate today. Paul's initiative in starting the International Tax Program at NYU and developing it to maturity and worldwide recognition over a brief seven-year period is a superb achievement. I am very fortunate to be able to teach this year and next in that program (another connection to Paul). Paul was real friend and supporter when I had occasion to visit at NYU on a sabbatical from practice in the Spring of 1994. His door was always open, he always had a welcoming smile on his face and his words and advice always wise. Thank you, Paul, for being ...Paul.

WSJ: By Dying in 2010, Did George Steinbrenner Save His Family $600m in Estate Tax?

Wall Street Journal, How Steinbrenner Saved His Heirs a $600 Million Tax Bill:

Did George Steinbrenner save his heirs millions by dying in 2010?

Forbes recently estimated the Yankees owner’s net worth at $1.1 billion, largely from the YES network.  The New York Yankees, which he acquired in 1973 for $10 million, are now worth $1.6 billion but are 95% leveraged due to debt from the new Yankee Stadium, according to Forbes.

Because Steinbrenner died in a year when there is no federal estate tax, he  potentially saved his heirs a 55% estate tax on his assets — or a tax bill of about $600 million. The 55%  tax takes effect on January 1, 2011. If Steinbrenner had died in 2009 when the estate tax rate was 45%, his estate tax bill might have been nearer $500 million.

Steinbrenner is survived by his wife, Joan, two sons, and two daughters, plus two sisters and several grandchildren. ...

This year’s lapse potentially provides huge windfalls for the very wealthy, like Steinbrenner. Other billionaires who have died this year include Houston energy magnate Dan [Duncan] and real estate developer Walter Shorenstein.

• CBS MoneyWatch, George Steinbrenner Beats Uncle Sam on Estate Taxes
• Going Concern, George Steinbrenner’s Final Win: The Estate Tax?

Of course, since Steinbrenner is survived by his wife, it is likely that the marital deduction would have shielded the estate from tax had he died in 2009 or 2011.  For more, see The Costs of Estate Tax Dithering. (Hat Tip: Peter Parlapiano.)

Tax Professors Remember Marty Ginsburg

Tax Notes has reprinted our tribute to Marty Ginsburg, Tax Professors Remember Martin D. Ginsburg, 128 Tax Notes 215 (July 12, 2010):

Martin D. Ginsburg, legendary tax professor (Georgetown) and tax lawyer (Fried Frank), and husband of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, died on June 27, 2010 at 78 years of age. Marty's life and work (and unrivalled sense of humor) influenced generations of tax professors, many of whom offered their remembrances on TaxProf Blog.

• Alice Abreu (Temple)
• Ellen Aprill (Loyola-L.A.)
• Reuven Avi-Yonah (Michigan)
• Jordan Barry (San Diego)
• Linda Beale (Wayne State)
• Daniel Berman (Boston University)
• Jack Bogdanski (Lewis & Clark)
• Evelyn Brody (Chicago-Kent)
• Paul Caron (Cincinnati)
• Mark Cochran (St. Mary's)
• Sheldon Cohen (Washington, D.C. tax lawyer and former IRS Commissioner)
• Cliff Fleming (BYU)
• Jonathan Forman (Oklahoma)
• Albert Golbert (Los Angeles tax lawyer and former adjunct professor)
• James Halpern (Judge, U.S. Tax Court)
• Christopher Hanna (SMU)
• Calvin Johnson (Texas)
• Michael Knoll (Pennsylvania)
• Jeffrey Kwall (Loyola-Chicago)
• Louis Lobenhofer (Ohio Northern)
• Roberta Mann (Oregon)
• Elliott Manning (Miami
• James Maule (Villanova)
• Joel Newman (Wake Forest)
• Robert Peroni (Texas)
• Randle Pollard (Widener)
• Toni Robinson (Quinnipiac)
• Adam Rosenzweig (Washington University)
• Deborah Schenk (NYU)
• David Shakow (Pennsylvania)
• Daniel Shaviro (NYU)

All Tax Analysts content is available through the LexisNexis® services.

NPR: Martin Ginsburg's Legacy: Love Of Justice (Ginsburg)

Following up on Wednesday's post, Remembering Marty Ginsburg (1932-2010):  NPR Weekend Edition, Martin Ginsburg's Legacy: Love Of Justice (Ginsburg), by Nina Totenberg (listen to the story here, with several clips of Marty):

The Ginsburg marriage was one of those marvels of life, a 56-year marathon of love and support.

Martin D. Ginsburg met Ruth Bader on a blind date at Cornell. She was 17; he a year older. As he would later put it, she was a "top student." He was a "top golfer." ...

In recent weeks, facing a losing battle with cancer, Marty Ginsburg wrote to his wife that setting aside parents and kids, "you are the only person I have loved in my life. ... I have admired and loved you almost since the day we first met at Cornell some 56 years ago."

Turning introspective about his own life, he told a friend, "I think that the most important thing I have done is to enable Ruth to do what she has done."

(Hat Tip: Mike Talbert.)

Remembering Marty Ginsburg (1932-2010)

Following up on Sunday's post on the death of renowned tax professor (Georgetown) and tax lawyer (Fried Frank) Martin D. Ginsburg, husband of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg:  over two dozen of Marty's tax friends and colleagues offer their remembrances and tributes below the fold.

• Alice Abreu (Temple)
• Ellen Aprill (Loyola-L.A.)
• Reuven Avi-Yonah (Michigan)
• Jordan Barry (San Diego)
• Linda Beale (Wayne State)
• Daniel Berman (Boston University)
• Jack Bogdanski (Lewis & Clark)
• Evelyn Brody (Chicago-Kent)
• Paul Caron (Cincinnati)
• Mark Cochran (St. Mary's)
• Sheldon Cohen (Washington, D.C. tax lawyer and former IRS Commissioner)
• Cliff Fleming (BYU)
• Jonathan Forman (Oklahoma)
• Albert Golbert (Los Angeles tax lawyer and former adjunct professor)
• James Halpern (Judge, U.S. Tax Court)
• Christopher Hanna (SMU)
• Calvin Johnson (Texas)
• Michael Knoll (Pennsylvania)
• Jeffrey Kwall (Loyola-Chicago)
• Louis Lobenhofer (Ohio Northern)
• Roberta Mann (Oregon)
• Elliott Manning (Miami
• James Maule (Villanova)
• Joel Newman (Wake Forest)
• Robert Peroni (Texas)
• Randle Pollard (Widener)
• Toni Robinson (Quinnipiac)
• Adam Rosenzweig (Washington University)
• Deborah Schenk (NYU)
• David Shakow (Pennsylvania)
• Daniel Shaviro (NYU)

Alice Abreu (Temple):

One of my favorite and most revealing Ginsburg stories is one that Marty told himself when he accepted the Tax Section's Distinguished Service Award. I was in the audience when he gave the speech and was then the Editor of the Section's NewsQuarterly. I was so taken with it that I went up to him afterwards and asked if I could have it for publication in the NQ, an invitation which he graciously accepted. Here is the link for the piece, which I think was later published elsewhere. It's quite wonderful, not the least for the admiration and love between him and Ruth that comes through loud and clear. The combination of that and the piece you put on TaxProf blog from her describing him are really quite special and inspirational. Vintage Ginsburg.

Ellen Aprill (Loyola-L.A.):

When I was at the Office of Tax Legislative Counsel in the late 1980's, we staffers would find ourselves wondering whether we had the resources -- meaning brain power and time, to make a rule we were working on "Marty Ginsburg-proof." Trying to imagine what approach he would take meant asking ourselves to do our very best work - and more. In recent years, whenever I would see Marty at a tax meeting or conference, he would always have a kind word and the twinkle in his eye that reflected his zest for life. It is hard to imagine the tax world without him. It will be a professional world that is less challenging, less interesting, and less fun.

Reuven Avi-Yonah (Michigan):

I met Marty several times and once had the pleasure of enjoying his wonderful cooking skills. He was a great mentor- when I was just beginning to teach, he told me that the only way to teach tax law is to understand what the loopholes were that various provisions aimed at closing, and therefore it is essential to teach cases that have been overruled by legislation. I have followed his advice ever since. He will be sorely missed.

Jordan Barry (San Diego):

I met Marty while working as an associate at Fried Frank, before I went into academia. He was in the Washington office and I was in the New York office, so we didn't meet right away, but his reputation preceded him -- partners in our office talked about how much he knew and how good an attorney he was. Still, I remember how impressed I was when I first saw him in action in front of a client. He was phenomenal -- relaxed, supremely knowledgeable, completely in control of the situation. I have worked with many accomplished tax attorneys, and I have never seen any of them perform as well as Marty did that day.

But of course, Marty's personal qualities were so much more important than his skill as a tax attorney. He was vivacious and he had a great sense of humor. He was very kind. He was generous with his time, always happy to help anyone who needed it. He was always happy to talk about his family, which was clearly his greatest source of pride and joy in life. He was a real presence who cast a long shadow, and he will be sorely missed.

Linda Beale (Wayne State):

As an associate at Cleary Gottlieb who had come to tax law later in life than most, I found the Ginsburg & Levin work on mergers & acquisitions indispensable from day one, when I was charged with writing my first acquisition memo. As my years in practice progressed, I realized that Ginsburg’s work provided a solid foundation for transactional tax practice. I never knew him personally but, like every tax lawyer, I owe him a considerable debt of gratitude for helping make a complex system of taxation much more comprehensible, and practice more doable, than they otherwise would have been.

Daniel Berman (Boston University):

One of the lesser-known fringe benefits of working in tax policy positions with the federal government is the opportunity to get to know many leading members of the private tax bar as they contribute to the work of the government. Getting to know Marty Ginsburg was a real treat. He was unfailingly thoughtful, helpful, humble, and gracious. I especially appreciated the effort he made, when I became an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown, to take me around and introduce me to Dean Areen and members of the faculty. When the best tax lawyer in the United States doesn’t take himself too seriously, you know he’s someone special! We will feel Marty’s absence for a long time.

Jack Bogdanski (Lewis & Clark):

Marty Ginsburg, hands down the most gifted tax lawyer on the planet, died yesterday. Not only was he a spectacular advisor, advocate, teacher, thinker, and writer, but also an accomplished chef, and a hilarious comic when he wanted to be, which was often.

Leave it to Marty to depart this world when matters of death and taxes are unsettled. He and his previously departed colleagues are probably laughing it up right now over the fact that nobody knows for sure what the tax "basis" is in the stuff he left behind.

Our condolences to his family and to his many friends. There won't be another like him.

Evelyn Brody (Chicago-Kent):

I took Business Planning from Marty in his first year at Georgetown (and my third) -- he moved to DC from New York, of course, to follow his wife, who was appointed to the D.C. Circuit. At the time Marty sported short-sleeve dress shirts and ties that came down just below his sternum. (In recent years he became quite the snazzy dresser.) The course was team taught by a corporations professor; Marty loved to pop up with, "But what are the TAX implications of that?" I still use my favorite Marty line on my students to get them to relax:  "Basic tax, as everyone knows, is the only genuinely funny subject in law school."

Paul Caron (Cincinnati):

It is safe to say that we will never see the likes of Marty Ginsburg again -- spectacular teacher, co-author of the seminal corporate tax treatise, brilliant practitioner, and joyful man. Georgetown has the opportunity to honor this tax legend when it fills the Martin D. Ginsburg Professor of Tax Law chair endowed by Ross Perot in recognition of Marty's work in structuring GM's acquisition of Electronic Data Systems. I can think of no higher honor in the tax world. 

Mark Cochran (St. Mary's):

About twenty years ago I had the privilege of taking a course on Installment Sales that Marty Ginsburg offered as part of the in-house education program at the IRS Chief Counsel’s Office, where I was serving as Professor In Residence. Marty’s reputation preceded him, and he more than lived up to it. The course materials, which still sit on my bookshelf in a three-ring binder, were elegantly presented and deceptively simple, demonstrating Marty’ knack for putting his finger on the statutory soft spots. In the classroom, Marty was delightful. His technical skill was remarkable, but his gentleness and self-deprecating humor were an unexpected treat.

Sheldon Cohen (Washington, D.C. tax lawyer and former IRS Commissioner):

I first met Marty in 1964 shortly after I became Chief Counsel of the IRS. I had grown up as a tax lawyer in that office and had the idea of sponsoring an educational opportunity for the young lawyers in that office to meet and be taught by some of the best legal minds in the tax field. It would provide an educational opportunity but at the same time would help me develop a cohesive atmosphere and spirit in the office. I searched for the lead prof and was steered on to a young relatively new prof at Columbia, Martin Ginsburg. He gave the first seminar on "collapsible corporations" a new and hot subject in 1964, not talked of at all today. Since that time in 1964 Marty and I have been close friends.

When Marty was in NY, he was only a phone call away and we would call and chat when the occasion was appropriate. When Marty came to town in the 80's after his wife's appointment to the D.C. Circuit Court, he and I discussed the teaching opportunities at the local law schools. One of the great opportunities that this gave me was the chance to see Marty and Ruth on a more regular basis. I was fortunate to be a the White House on the day President Clinton announced Ruth's nomination to the Supreme Court and I stood in the rear to hear the announcement. It was a thrill for me, I can only imagine how Marty felt as he had such pride in Ruth's job to that point. Faye and I would see the Ginsburg's on regular occasions as I have been the Treasurer of the Supreme Court Historical Society and they attend and participate in the programs of the Society regularly. He was a great lawyer, teacher and most of all friend. We and the tax system will miss him dearly but we and the world in which he lived are so much better because he taught us so much.

Cliff Fleming (BYU):

When I was Professor-in-Residence in the IRS Chief Counsel's Office during the 85-86 year, I once found myself in a meeting with senior staff where I was arguing for a taxpayer-favorable result with respect to a particular type of corporate transaction. When I finished, a senior executive said something to this effect: "your argument sounds right but we're not going to adopt it because I know that if we do, a week later Marty Ginsburg will be in here using it as precedent for approval of a transaction that we never imagined. Meeting over."

Jonathan Forman (Oklahoma):

Marty was a real gentleman, and he was always generous with his time and vast knowledge. I will miss him.

Albert Golbert (Los Angeles tax lawyer and former adjunct professor)

Professor Martin Ginsburg, known to all of us as "Marty," was always a favorite speaker at the annual or periodic meetings of the California Tax bars. We even sent him a offer to speak whenever he had the time or felt the need for a bit of California sunshine. I am not aware of any other speaker who had a standing invitation to address our tax bars any time he or she were willing to make the trek. But Marty was different.

There are any number of speakers who can be informative; others who can do so and also be enlightening. Still others exist who are entertaining. None of them could do what Marty did in terms of educational quality coupled with unparalleled humor. Whether he was reinventing the whole notion of corporate reorganization or dissecting a leveraged buy-out, he had the rapt attention of everyone within earshot. His disquisitions were liberally salted with side-splitting irony or satirical musings, that kept us all amused even as we were being amazed by his erudition. The laughter emanating from his programs could be heard at the far ends of the building, and the glow from his presentations lasted throughout the day.

We shall always remember how Marty amazed us by his ability to turn statutes inside out and upside down while opening new ways of thinking about the extent and limitations of the laws we love to hate and hate to love. Marty was always a major attraction and draw at our programs, and all of us who were witness to his presentations were educated by them and touched by him. We will miss him.

James Halpern (Judge, U.S. Tax Court):

For almost 10 years after I joined the Tax Court I lunched regularly with Judge Ted Tannenwald and Marty Ginsburg. I loved those lunches with two giants of the tax bar. At the memorial ceremony to honor Ted, both Marty and I spoke in praise of Ted. I described how, after those lunches, I would recount for my wife over dinner the delightful conversations we had had at lunch that day. After one of the early lunches, knowing both Ted and Marty (and, of course, me), my wife asked: "Who gets to talk first?" I relayed the question to Ted, who answered for both himself and Marty: "We all do!" Marty and I continued those lunches after Ted died, lately with Professor Ron Pearlman. I loved those lunches. Marty was a good man, a fine teacher, and a true friend. I will miss him.

Christopher Hanna (SMU):

I still remember my first contact with Professor Ginsburg (even though he always told me to call him "Marty," I felt more comfortable addressing him as "Professor Ginsburg"). I was a junior, untenured faculty member and had co-authored a draft of an article on installment sales. One part of the article, for which I was responsible, generated some negative comments from reviewers who thought I had made a "big mistake." Not knowing who to turn to, I decided (with some trepidation) to send a fax to Professor Ginsburg and ask for his opinion on the issue. The next day, I received a fax from him, which read: "I agree with you and cannot guess what the big mistake might be." I still have that fax. I always appreciated Professor Ginsburg taking the time to respond to a question from a junior tax law professor. He really was one of the true giants in our field.

Calvin Johnson (Texas):

Martin Ginsburg gave the most enthralling example of the art of teaching tax that I have heard. In a symposium on I believe on tax simplification he described the history of the reasonable basis standard for positions on a tax return. His example was a business cost, I think a prepayment, which generally accepted accounting would clearly have capitalized. The cost had not expired by year end, it was related to future income like an investment, and it was properly matched against the future income. The question was whether the taxpayer could deduct it immediately under ABA ethics and whether a tax adviser could tell the client to expense it. Marty recounted the history of the reasonable basis standard within the ABA. Proponents analogized the tax return to a complaint initiating a law suit, and stuck to the analogy. Opponents, Marty explained, showed that a tax return is different from a complaint. You can go to jail for what you put on tax return, while there is a liberty right of petition to the courts for redress, even on a quite novel theory. Tax returns are sworn to be correct. The defendant joins suit against complaints, but the IRS audits a return in half a percent of the cases. Marty had us all very skeptical about the low ethical stance of the ABA on return position in his case and then he pulled the rabbit out of the hat: The IRS had ruled in 1943, I believe, that the very expense could not be capitalized. The taxpayer had incurred the cost in 1940 when rates were low and wanted to use the expense against the extraordinary tax rates enacted in 1942, and the IRS representing Uncle Sam ruled tactically. Marty did not say it on that occasion, but it was an illustration of his recurring warning to the IRS: Beware of the rod of Aaron, which will turn into a snake and bite you on the backside. On that day, he had his audience in the palm of his hand.

When I started practice at Paul, Weiss in the early 1970s, Ginsburg’s unpublished outlines were passed around the law firms like samizdat. They were a godsend to a young associate trying to figure out the logic of triangular reorganizations or the limits of installment sales. His outlines had the same clarity and thoroughness that made his “Mergers, Acquisitions and Leveraged Buyouts” so great, and of course on top of all the lovely articles he has written, Mergers and Acquisitions” is the masterwork that celebrates him as such an important figure in tax. Or that and building up Weil Gotshall entirely from scratch and serving on the Columbia and Georgetown Law faculty.

One the great pleasures of being Professor in Residence at IRS Chief Counsel was that Marty’s office was across the street and I could have lunch with him over my stay. I never lose an opportunity to talk to Marty about tax issues, or rather now, alas, I must say I never did. I was often on the other side of the issue under discussion. He represented venture capital funds, and I think the funds are nuts to force C corporations on their portfolio ventures and bury their tax deductions. He is mostly responsible for the liberalization of installment sales in the 1980 Act, and I think the liberalization made great tax shelters and that installment sales should be seriously cut back. I think Elkhorn Coal represents the right norm for spinning off unwanted assets, and he believes in Morrison Trust easy spin off rules. He did represent his clients. Still I would walk the distance between us, if I could, for the opportunity to talk some tax, even if just for one more time. He was always charming, always clear and always a delight.

Michael Knoll (Pennsylvania):

Over the years, I learned much from Marty -- reading his writings, hearing him speak, and occasionally talking with him. I particularly remember Marty describing how the tax system in one of the Scandinavian countries for many years discouraged marriage. He described in great detail the back and forth between taxpayers and tax collectors as to how the tax system would try to assess whether previously legally married couples who had divorced in response to the law were in fact married (same address, cohabitation, etc.), but that the authorities were stymied in collecting the marriage penalty from couples that never married. As a result of the tax system, the standard for a committed relationship was to become engaged (to be married) and just never marry. However, when the law changed and the marriage penalty was eliminated, many couples including those with grown kids who had been together for many years, decided to tie the knot. I remember Marty finishing the story by describing attending such friends' wedding. I often use this story in my basic tax class as an example of how tax can affect behavior.

Jeffrey Kwall (Loyola-Chicago):

I don't recall speaking to Marty in person, but I was privileged on several occasions to talk with him over the phone to get his reactions to drafts I had asked him to read. No matter how busy he was, he was always receptive to reading and commenting on the work of a young colleague. And he never did a superficial read; rather, he provided detailed, thoughtful comments and insisted on reviewing his comments over the phone no matter how long that might take. His comments were always helpful and his generosity in time and spirit will always be remembered.

Louis Lobenhofer (Ohio Northern):

I only met Prof. Ginsburg once, at the NYU Graduate Tax Workshop, but I was very impressed by his encyclopedic knowledge and his brilliant analysis of tax issues. In addition, both in his writings and in the talks I heard him give, he had the rare ability not only to teach all of us in the tax world but to do so in a witty, engaging, and delightful manner. I will miss him for both his wit and his wisdom in generously sharing his brilliance with the rest of us. Each of the past several years, and probably every year until I retire, I will quote Marty on the first day of Federal Income Tax to the effect that "Federal Income Tax is the only truly humorous course in law school," in an attempt to get the students to let go of their fears and engage the subject.

Roberta Mann (Oregon):

Marty represented the taxpayer in my first adverse conference at the IRS, as a young docket attorney in Corporate. I wondered if the deferential attitude of my superiors towards Marty was the usual tone set by government attorneys towards taxpayer's counsel (No.) Later, when I was teaching at Georgetown as an adjunct, I attended a reception for faculty, and spied Marty across the room. I charged over to greet him and bask in his wisdom. My husband asked, "aren't you going to say hello to the Justice?" In my tax nerdiness, I had shoved Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg aside to greet my hero. His speech in accepting the ABA Tax Section Distinguished Service Award is my all-time favorite. As I recall, he started with something like, "Perhaps you are all wondering why I am receiving this award, as my entire practice has consisted of making wealthy people wealthier. Like all good things, it is because of my wife." I'm sure that you can find the precise quote, but I prefer to remember it this way.

Elliott Manning (Miami):

It is hard to figure out how to begin writing about Marty. We met more than fifth years ago at Harvard Law School when he returned from the military stint that interrupted his law school career after the first year. During the next two years, we took the same tax classes, including the Ernie Brown seminar., and studied together for both, including commiserating about our seminar papers. In addition, I officially edited Ruth's contribution to the Supreme Court note on Libson Shops, or, more accurately co-edited. During the two years, I also had more than one opportunity to sample Marty's famous cooking talents, and to meet the three year old Carol. We started practice in New York, at the same time, at different firms, but my practice was interrupted by a six month army reserve stint. During that time Marty started, and dropped out of, the NYU LLM program on the ground that it would take two years to cover what we already had, and that by that time Ted Tannenwald would have taught him the rest. We served together on various NYSBA Tax Section projects, etc. We also visited at Stanford Law School in Spring 1978, on sabbaticals from our respective firms. Indeed, Marty's sabbatical, which enabled him to be with Ruth who had a fellowship at the Hoover Institute, was negotiated in part on the basis of mine. There was some kind of virus in the air, because it inspired both of us to go into academia. Marty made it a year before me, largely because I was delayed by family issues. We also spent ten years together on the CCH, Tax Transactions Library Board, which led to his (and Jack Levin's) Mergers and Acquisitions volume(s). Marty conceived the idea for the tax transactions libary and assembled a great group of tas experts, and served as an extremely effective chair, but his timing was off. The project was essentially killed by the early '90s recession and by changes in the tax publishing business, but, of course, the mergers and acquisitions volumes lived on.

Since I cannot really add anything to what has been and will be said about his magnificent sense of humor, and ability to come up with the right phrase at the right time, I will leave it there. We will all miss him and not see his like again.

P.S. I notice in the item in the Miami Herald and others that Marty is referred to as Ruth's husband. Marty would have relished that. He often referred to himself as an American member of the Dennis Thatcher Society.

James Maule (Villanova):

Most tax law professors’ names – other than those in whose classes I sat -- came into my brain (whether through my eyes or ears) when I began teaching, though some had registered on account of research for articles I wrote before I began to teach. Marty Ginsburg’s name was one of very few whose name was uttered while I was still a student, by someone teaching a tax class. I thought it was remarkable that one tax law professor would refer to another tax law professor in glowing terms, though I’ve since come to understand why. Marty Ginsburg was one of those special tax lawyers turned tax law professor who brought practical insights into his teaching, never lost touch with his client experience roots, and contributed in countless ways to a better tax law education world and a tax practice world. If there were a tax law professor Hall of Fame, he would be in it. He would, I’m sure, laugh at both the idea of a tax law professor Hall of Fame and at the suggestion that he be in it. That’s the way he was, and his departure is our loss.

Joel Newman (Wake Forest):

In the summer of 2008, I team taught a comparative tax course in Venice with Marty Ginsburg, while my colleague, Suzanne Reynolds, team taught with his wife, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

It was a delight to teach with Marty; the students and I learned a great deal. It was an even greater delight to get to know the Ginsburgs as a couple. Marty teased his wife, constantly. For her part, she would occasionally smirk, and, on at least one occasion, jabbed him with her elbow.

Dean Morant and his wife spent some time in Venice while the Ginsburgs were there. Before he arrived, Dean Morant e-mailed to ask me to invite the Ginsburgs to have dinner with them. I happened to see Marty, sitting alone, and told him, “The Morants would like to have dinner with you on Wednesday.” “That’s fine,” Marty said, “but what about my wife?”

According to Marty, his wife was a world-class shopper. One day, my wife and I were walking toward the Piazza San Marco, and met the Ginsburgs coming the other way. “Don’t bother going to Ferragamos’s,” Marty warned. “Ruth just left, and she cleaned out the place.”

At dinner one evening, Justice Ginsburg complimented my wife, Jane, on her pendant. There was a story behind that pendant, so we told it. Jane and I were in the North Carolina mountains, some 85 miles from our home. She admired the pendant in an antique store, and I urged her to buy it. She wouldn’t. She said that it was enough to admire it in the store. The next time she was out of town, I drove back to the mountains and bought it for her. The Ginsburgs listened in silence. Then, Marty turned to his wife and said, “Ruth, you know that I would never do anything like that for you.” What made it so funny is that that was exactly the sort of thing that Marty would have done for his wife.

It was a privilege to spend time with an amazing tax lawyer and tax teacher. It was even more profound, however, to watch the interaction of a truly amazing couple.

Robert Peroni (Texas):

I have had the great pleasure to spend time with Marty in various settings over the past 20 years, including briefly as his faculty colleague when I was a visitor at Georgetown during the Fall 2009 semester. He was a remarkable human being in all respects and we have truly lost a giant in the tax law field. He will be sorely missed by all who had the chance to spend any time with him whether in a professional or personal setting. I am sure he is now entertaining his fellow occupants in Heaven with his great wit and sense of humor. I extend my deepest condolences to Justice Ginsburg and to the other members of Marty’s family.

Randle Pollard (Widener):

During my attendance at Georgetown University Law Center (GULC) in the late 1980’s, I made every effort to avoid taking Professor Ginsburg’s tax classes. Professor Ginsburg had the reputation of being the “hardest” professor at GULC and I allowed peer pressure to sway me from taking his classes (I took my tax classes from other professors). In my later years, I learned what I missed by not having been taught “tax” by such a fine professor. Rest in peace and God bless Professor Marty Ginsburg.

Toni Robinson (Quinnipiac):

When I was a law student at Columbia, I was a research assistant to Professor George Cooper. George was, at the time, writing a book on how high-income taxpayers passed large amounts of wealth on to subsequent generations without the imposition of tax. I and my fellow research assistant conducted many interviews on our own. But, George joined us for interviews with a few of the top tax lawyers in New York. One of them was Marty. I was amazed at his willingness to share his “secrets,” knowing that they would become public. His demonstration of an interest in good tax policy, even though revealing his techniques might lead to changes in the law, was an important lesson to an aspiring tax lawyer. That meeting with Marty, in part, led me to active membership in the Tax Section of the ABA, where lawyers, like Marty, often put their interests in the law above their financial interests in maintaining strategies for clients.

Adam Rosenzweig (Washington University):

Although I did not know him as well as I wish I had, Marty Ginsburg was a great teacher and inspiration to me, as well a generous supporter of my career. I almost missed out on one of the better experiences of my law school career – taking Marty Ginsburg’s Structuring Venture Capital and Private Equity course – due to the immense reputation which preceded him at Georgetown. Marty was renowned for being one of the most thoughtful, entertaining and funny professors at Georgetown while also being one of the most difficult, intimidating and challenging. Due (in part) to my fear of the latter, I had not taken a course with Marty until my third year, at which time I fortunately decided to take the risk and enroll in his course. It was in this class where I learned the true elegance of structuring a transaction to navigate the shoals of not only the tax law, but also securities law, bankruptcy law, contract law, ERISA, and others, as well as the unique skills and value that a lawyer can bring to a transaction.

To this day, I carry two distinct memories from Marty’s class: first, “there is always a way” … meaning that a good lawyer should always be able to find a way to resolve a legal issue, and second, never try to win a battle of wits with Marty Ginsburg. I am still not sure which was the more valuable lesson. Marty’s humor was legendary, and I remember to this day how it could be supportive and acerbic, sarcastic and inspiring, all at the same time. The stories about his experiences with Ross Perot and the GM/EDS tracking stock and horizontal double dummy transactions, among others, exposed me to a world of the law that I had never before conceived was possible.

Marty was instrumental in helping my career by agreeing to act as a reference for me on multiple occasions, although he may have never appreciated just how much so. It soon became abundantly clear that one word from Marty Ginsburg opened doors that might have otherwise been closed. He advised me on tax practice in New York when I was deciding where to begin my career as an associate out of law school. Later, when I was beginning to consider entering academia, I asked Marty what he thought it took to be a good scholar and teacher; he answered in typical fashion that he didn’t know since he was “just” a tax lawyer. When I began as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Northwestern I sent him an email thanking him for his help obtaining the position and promptly received a response thanking me for writing him such a thoughtful note. When I was asked on the law professor hiring market which teacher of mine I would like to emulate, my answer was Marty Ginsburg. I continue to aspire to this goal.

In my experience Marty Ginsburg was truly a brilliant, witty, and inspiring teacher and lawyer. I am honored to have been a student of his, and the legal community has suffered a great loss with his passing.

Deborah Schenk (NYU):

As everyone will note, Marty was a giant. Among Marty's many contributions to the tax law were his efforts on behalf of tax simplification. Unlike many of us, Marty actually had a major effect. He was the driving force behind the Subchapter S Simplification Act as well as the Installment Sale Simplification Act. Marty visited at NYU the semester that Ruth's appointment to the Court was being considered. Although I had many enjoyable conversations with Marty from which I learned a lot about triangular mergers and the like, I was struck most by his devotion to his family. He worked tirelessly to promote Ruth's appointment and turned us all into cheerleaders for the cause. Whenever the subject of his children came up, perhaps by mentioning an article of Jane's that I had seen, he acknowledged her success, but promptly told me about James' latest recording. And of course I laughed more that semester than perhaps any other. His wit and wisdom will be sorely missed.

David Shakow (Pennsylvania):

Marty had an incredibly encyclopedic knowledge of tax law and authorities, subject to instant recall, which would surely have excited envy if displayed by someone else. But you couldn't feel negatively about Marty for two reasons, at least. First, he was a very nice man, and that became obvious to anyone who spent the briefest time with him. Second, he was very generous. I remember sitting in on a talk Marty was giving to a group at the IRS on tax straddles, an issue I had been working on at Treasury. In the middle of the talk, Marty turned to me to explain some aspect of the tax straddle structure. The memory of Marty needing me to explain something warmed my heart for months, until I woke up one day and realized that Marty undoubtedly could have explained it himself--he was just finding a friendly way to be nice to me.

Marty also had an incredibly practical approach to tax issues. I sat in once on an ALI project's discussion of net operating losses. The issue on the table was allowing refundability of NOLs. Stanley Surrey was there, and he was pained at the prospect but hadn't found a way to convince the advocates of the error of their ways. Marty took a direct approach. He said, basically, "let me at 'em." In other words, he didn't bother to worry through the niceties of the proposal. He basically warned those in favor of the idea that, no matter how well they thought they could draft a provision, the tax bar would find a way to exploit the proposal to achieve unintended consequences.

Marty was the sort of person you were always happy to see, and he made it clear that he was happy to see you too. He was irrepressible and irreplaceable.

Deborah Schenk (NYU):

 

Daniel Shaviro (NYU):

I was very saddened by the news of Marty's death, though I had known he was ill. Truly a wonderful and lovely man (gentle, ironic, appreciative of life), as well as a preeminent and brilliant legal scholar from a different era.

He was a delightful colleague for a semester at Chicago many years ago, although I suspect the students still have nightmares thinking about the final exam he gave. (I thought it was pretty challenging.) Then again, he probably graded it gently.

In Tax I, I always mention his article "The Leaky Tax Shelter," along with his pretended initial tax shelter idea, which was something like: "Give me your money and I'll run off to Mexico, then you can simply claim a loss deduction!" (Leaving aside 165 limits et al -- but the point he was making, of course, was that the key to a tax shelter is NOT actually suffering the losses you deduct.)

Please visit Georgetown web page, In Memory of Professor Martin D. Ginsburg. In lieu of flowers, donations in Marty's memory may be made to:

The Chicago Classical Recording Foundation (CCRF)
1205 West Balmoral Avenue
Chicago, IL 60640

Death of Marty Ginsburg

Renowned tax professor (Georgetown) and tax lawyer (Fried Frank) Martin D. Ginsburg, husband of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, died today (June 27, 2010) at his home in Washington, D.C., due to complications of metastatic cancer.  From the Supreme Court's press release:

Martin Ginsburg was born in Brooklyn, New York on June 10, 1932. He was the son of Morris Ginsburg and Evelyn (Bayer) Ginsburg. He earned an A.B. from Cornell University in 1953 and a J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1958. It was at Cornell University that Martin Ginsburg and Ruth Bader Ginsburg met on a blind date in 1951. They were married on June 23, 1954 at his parents’ home on Long Island.

Martin Ginsburg served in the U.S. Army from 1954 until 1956 and was stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma where he taught in the Artillery School. He returned to law school in 1956 and joined the firm of Weil, Gotshal & Manges following graduation. He was admitted to the New York bar in 1959 and to the District of Columbia bar in 1980. He taught at New York University Law School in the 1960s and was the Beekman Professor of Law at Columbia Law School. When Ruth Bader Ginsburg was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1980 and the family moved to Washington, D.C., Martin Ginsburg joined the faculty of the Georgetown University Law Center. He was also of counsel to the firm of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson. He was a visiting professor at Stanford Law School in the spring of 1978, at Harvard Law School in the spring of 1986, at University of Chicago Law School in the spring of 1990, and at New York University Law School in the spring of 1993.

Professor Ginsburg was co-author, with Jack S. Levin of Chicago, of Mergers, Acquisitions, and Buyouts, a semi-annually updated tax treatise. He held numerous positions as an expert in the tax field including chair of the Committee on Simplification of the American Bar Associations Tax Section, chair of the New York State Bar Association’s Tax Section, and consultant to the American Law Institute’s Federal Income Tax Project. He also served as a member of advisory groups to the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue, the Treasury Department, and the Tax Division of the Department of Justice. In 2006, he was awarded the American Bar Association Tax Section’s Distinguished Service Award.

Mr. Ginsburg is survived by his wife and his two children, Jane Carol Ginsburg, the Morton Janklow Professor of Literary and Artistic Property at Columbia Law School, and James Steven Ginsburg, founder and president of the Chicago Classical Recording Foundation. He is also survived by four grandchildren.

A private interment service will be held at Arlington National Cemetery.

• Above the Law
• Associated Press
• CNN
• National Law Journal
• New York Times
• Wall Street Journal
• Washington Post

For posts that capture Marty's unique personality:

• TaxProf Blog, Marty Ginsburg: "The Funniest [Tax] Law Professor in America" (Dec. 27, 2007)
• Speech by Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Mar. 13, 2009)
• Georgetown Law Center, In His Own Words

(Hat Tip: Calvin Johnson.)

Update: Jack Bogdanski (Lewis & Clark), Heaven Just Got Funnier:

Leave it to Marty to leave this world when matters of death and taxes are unsettled. He and his previously departed colleagues are probably laughing it up right now over the fact that nobody knows for sure what the tax "basis" is in the stuff he left behind.

Death of Alvin Storrs

Tax Prof Alvin Storrs (Michigan State) died Monday, April 26, 2010, after a lengthy illness. From the Michigan State press release:

"This is a terrible loss for the Law College," said Joan Howarth, dean of MSU College of Law. "Al Storrs exemplified the highest values of our law school and our profession. With his passing, we have lost a wonderful teacher, a masterful and inspiring leader, and an exceptional man of principle, vision, and grace."

Professor Storrs had been a highly-respected member of the MSU College of Law faculty since 1987. He was chair of the Taxation Law concentration program and proudly served as faculty advisor to the Black Law Students Association (BLSA). Professor Storrs taught Basic Income Taxation, Corporate Income Taxation, and Deferred and Executive Compensation at the Law College, teaching most recently in the fall 2009 semester. ... 

Professor Storrs is survived by his wife, Regina, and their two children, Alvin and Ashley; his oldest daughters, Verna Nevels and Heather Holloway; his granddaughter, Ashlyn; and his dear mother, Amye Davis. Those who wish to share fond memories or extend condolences to the family may send them to The Family of Professor Alvin Storrs, c/o Michigan State University College of Law, 368 Law College Building, East Lansing, MI 48824-1300. ...

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made in Professor Storrs' name to any of the following:

• Black Law Students Association (BLSA) Scholarship Fund: Donations to the BLSA Scholarship Fund may be made by completing the online form at www.law.msu.edu/donate, by calling the Office of Advancement at 517-432-6844, or by printing and mailing the BLSA Gift Form.
• Marvin L. Winans Academy of Performing Arts
  7616 E. Nevada
  Detroit, MI 48234
  Phone: 313-365-5578
• Second Baptist Church of Detroit
  441 Monroe St.
  Detroit, MI 48226
  Phone: 313-961-0920

Death of Jack Bierman

Jacquin D. Bierman, former Director of the Miami Graduate Tax Program and the first Professor-in-Residence in the IRS Chief Counsel's Office, died on March 23 at the age of 95.  From the New York Times obituary:

A product of the New York City school system who graduated first in his class at NYU, and obtained his law degree from Yale, where he was an editor of the Yale Law Quarterly, Mr. Bierman began his career with the chief counsel's office of the IRS in Washington. ... In 1947, Mr. Bierman left the chief counsel's office for private practice. He became a partner in both the national accounting firm of J.K. Lasser & Co. and its legal advisor, the law firm of Chase & Bierman.

During Mr. Bierman's career, he was a prodigious writer and lecturer. Among many other works, he co-authored "Income Tax Differentials" with William J. Casey, former director of the CIA. He taught at the NYU Law School and was instrumental in developing the NYU master of laws program in taxation. He was a major force and frequent chairman at the NYU Practising Law Institute, NYU's continuing legal education program for tax lawyers. ...

He was undoubtedly one of the pre-eminent tax lawyers of his day. In 1977, at age 62, he moved to Florida, and began a second career. He became a professor at the University of Miami School of Law, where then Dean Soia Mentschikoff appointed him director of the graduate law program in taxation. At age 67, the IRS asked Mr. Bierman to return as professor-in-residence. ...

Returning to Miami at age 77, Mr. Bierman began his third career by enrolling as a student at the University of Miami and earning a master's degree in mental health counseling. At age 81, as a mental health counselor, he spent a number of years counseling troubled youths in Miami's Liberty City. Until he was 90, he guided a large number of young people into useful and productive lives

Mr. Bierman was a religious man and a major philanthropic force in the Miami Beach Jewish community. Among the many beneficiaries of his philanthropic efforts were the Talmudic University, the Ascent Institute, and a Jewish women's homeless shelter. The endowed chair in taxation at Yale Law School bears his name.

Remembering Ward Hussey

Following up on my prior post, Death of Ward M. Hussey:  today's Washington Post has a letter to the editor, A Legislative Master at Work:

He was a master of his art, what the Japanese call a living national treasure, an inspiration to others who strive to achieve excellence. And he put his consummate skill to the service of the public.

(Hat Tip: Robert Weinberger.)

Death of Ward M. Hussey

Ward M. Hussey, who worked for 42 years in the Office of Legislative Counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives and was the primary drafter of the Internal Revenue Codes of 1954 and 1986, died on November 16 at the age of 89.  He began work in the Office of Legislative Counsel in 1946 and served from 1972 until his retirement in 1989 as Legislative Counsel.

• Congressional Resolution Honoring Ward M. Hussey (H. Res. 97)
• Co-author, Basic World Tax Code and Commentary (Tax Analysts, 1996)
• Daniel M. Shaviro (NYU), Sad News

Death of Walter Giles

I previously blogged about my wonderful undergraduate years at Georgetown, where one man sparked my interest in law and teaching that became my lifelong calling:  Dr. Walter I. Giles.  I took five of Dr. Giles' legendary courses and seminars on constitutional law, and was honored to spend my senior year as his teaching assistant.  I learned much about law, politics, and life from Dr. Giles, including a love for martinis and the Washington Redskins. I cherished the dozens of old Washington Post front pages he gave me chronicling the history of Watergate and other epochal political stories.

The Washington Post reports that Dr. Giles has passed away:

Walter I. "Jack" Giles, 89, a government professor at Georgetown University whose American government and constitutional law classes were considered intellectual proving grounds for future lawyers and legislators, including President Bill Clinton, died of congestive heart failure Oct. 9 at the Emeritus assisted living facility in Arlington County.

Dr. Giles joined the Georgetown faculty in 1947 and retired in 1990. Clinton, of the Georgetown Class of 1968, called Dr. Giles one of his favorite professors, according to David Maraniss's biography of the former president, "First In His Class" (1995).

Dr. Giles altered the trajectory of my life -- I simply would not be where I am today had he not taken an interest in a scared, painfully shy and awkward kid away from home for the first time in his life.  I can only hope that I have had a fraction of an impact on my students that Dr. Giles had on me.

Death of Katarina Savino

Katarina O. Savino, a 35 year-old Washington, D.C. tax lawyer, died of brain cancer on October 10.  From yesterday's Washington Post obituary:

Mrs. Savino worked at Miller and Chevalier from 2002 to 2007. She then worked for McKee Nelson, which became Bingham. She left the firm in August. ... [She] received a bachelor's degree in economics and political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1996. She received a law degree from Harvard in 2002.

Death of BYU's Michael Goldsmith

Following up on my March 2009 post, Another Law Prof Dying of ALS:  the New York Times reports that BYU Law Prof Michael Goldsmith (BYU) died on Sunday at age 58.

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

Death of Susan Kalinka

Tax Prof Susan Kalinka, the Harriet S. Daggett-Frances Leggio Landry Professor of Law at the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center, died this morning.  She was 60 years old.  From LSU Chancellor Jack M. Weiss:

Professor Kalinka was an exceptional teacher and scholar of tax law. She inspired dozens of students to seek specialized degrees in tax law and to pursue careers in that field. She was passionate about her work and about her students. She will be missed greatly and remembered fondly.

Update #1:   From Susan's tax colleague, Chris Pietruszkiewicz, Vice Chancellor - Business and Financial Affairs & J.Y. Sanders Professor of Law at LSU:

I am saddened to report that Professor Susan Kalinka passed early this morning after a sudden illness. Susan joined the LSU faculty in 1988 and, for 20 years, has only ever had one passion – students. Some people have a personality that others want to follow but Susan had much more than that, building a tax program in which over 90% of our students enroll in at least one tax class despite its absence from the Louisiana Bar Exam. She not only encouraged tax students to apply for LL.M. programs, but she funded their application fees, sending over 35 students to tax LL.M. programs in the last five years. Without fanfare, she devoted countless hours to the Baton Rouge community with her VITA program.

Her gift was inspiring students and, we are enormously thankful for everything that she did and everything that she represents. As a colleague for nine years, I gained a mentor – and a friend, one who created a fantastic place to be a tax professor. Two decades of students had the benefit of the kindness and dedication of Professor Mom and, while we are very sorry to see her pass so early in life, we celebrate her life as a colleague, teacher, mentor, and, most importantly, a wonderful person.

Update #2:  From the LSU press release:

Professor Kalinka had been diagnosed recently with cancer. She had been undergoing treatment for only a few weeks, and her condition deteriorated rapidly over the weekend.

Family members have asked that colleagues, students, alumni, and friends send written comments regarding Professor Kalinka and her teaching career at LSU. Comments, photos, and personal remembrances may be sent to KalinkaCondolences@law.lsu.edu.

Death of Edwin Kahn

Arent Fox (Washington, D.C.) today announced the death of Edwin L. Kahn, one of the founders of the firm, at the age of 91:

Edwin L. Kahn joined the firm in 1955 after serving in high-level positions with the Internal Revenue Service, where he played a prominent role in drafting the 1954 Internal Revenue Code. He was instrumental in establishing Arent Fox's national reputation in the field of federal income taxation.

 “Ed Kahn was one of the great Washington, DC lawyers of our time and a nationally recognized master of tax law,” said Arent Fox Managing Partner William Charyk.

(Hat Tip: Jeff Kahn, The Blog of Legal Times.)

Death of Tom Lefevre

Thomas V. Lefevre, former tax lawyer and Chair of Morgan, Lewis, has died at the age of 90.  From the firm's press release (via Blog of Legal Times):

Tom’s history at Morgan Lewis began in 1955, when he joined the firm as a tax law associate. He made partner a year later....  Tom developed a segment of tax practice focused on leveraged lease transactions – the success of which ultimately spawned the opening of our New York office. ... 

Born in Dallas on December 5, 1918, Tom graduated from high school at age 16, and earned his B.A. and law degrees from the University of Florida in 1939 and 1942, respectively. He enlisted in the Marines, survived heavy combat in World War II and rose to the rank of major before retiring from the service in 1945 and obtaining his L.L.M. from Harvard the following year.

Before joining Morgan Lewis, Tom practiced as a litigation associate at Sullivan & Cromwell; as a trial lawyer at the IRS; at a Washington, D.C. firm launched by former Sen. Claude Pepper; at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind Wharton & Garrison; and finally at Chapman, Bryson, Walsh & O’Connell. ...

Tom left Morgan Lewis in 1979 to become VP of corporate development for longtime firm client UGI Corp. A year later, he became UGI’s president, and, ultimately, its chairman and CEO – a position he held until his retirement in 1989.

Death of Dick Loengard

I am sorry to bring you new of the death on Sunday of Richard O. Loengard, Jr., the former head of  Fried Frank's tax department.  He was 77 years old.  Dick joined Fried Frank in 1956 after graduating from Harvard Law School.  He became a tax partner in 1967, and retired in 1997. His primary area of practice was in international tax.  His funeral will be held on Friday at 2 p.m. at the Church of the Incarnation, 35th Street and Madison Avenue.

More on the Death of Erik Bluemel

Following up on yesterday's post on the tragic death of Erik Bluemel:  the University of Denver has issued this press release:

DU’s Sturm College of Law community is mourning the loss of Assistant Professor Erik Bluemel, who died May 6 from injuries suffered in what authorities are investigating as a bicycle accident.  ...

“We have all lost a wonderful colleague, teacher and friend,” says Law Dean José (Beto) Juárez Jr. “I know that the College of Law community will continue to show their support for Erik’s family as we go through this unimaginable period. Please keep Erik’s family in your thoughts and prayers. Erik’s family and parents have drawn from the great support and love of the College of Law community.”

The Denver Police Department reports Bluemel apparently was involved in a bicycle accident shortly after midnight on Tuesday, May 5, along 15th Street in Denver’s Lower Downtown district.

Death of Erik Bluemel

I am sorry to bring you the tragic news that Erik Bluemel, a 32-year old first-year assistant professor at Denver University School of Law, is on life support and is not expected to survive as a result of injuries suffered in an incident on a Denver bike path.  The Denver Post has more of the horrible details.  From Erik's home page:

Erik Bluemel holds a J.D. from New York University, a L.L.M. from Georgetown University Law Center, and a B.A. in political economy from the University of California-Berkeley. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, Bluemel clerked for the Honorable Barefoot Sanders in the Northern District of Texas and the Honorable Kermit Edward Bye in the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. He also served as a staff attorney and teaching fellow at Georgetown University Law Center’s Institute for Public Representation, where he represented dozens of national and local groups on administrative, environmental, and public land law issues. Bluemel teaches courses in Administrative, Environmental, and Indigenous Peoples Law, and his research interests include environmental federalism, climate governance, international administrative law, and environmental rights. Bluemel is happy to be back out West, where he can once again romp about in the mountains.

Harvard Law Review Tribute to Oliver Oldman

I previously blogged the death of Oliver Oldman, long time Harvard Tax prof and Director of its International Tax Program.  The March 2009 issue of the Harvard Law Review is dedicated to Professor Oldman's memory, with tributes by:

• William P. Alford (Harvard Law School), 122 Harv. L. Rev. 1285 (2009)
• Richard M. Bird (University of Toronto), 122 Harv. L. Rev. 1288 (2009)
• Michael J. McIntyre (Wayne State Law School), 122 Harv. L. Rev. 1291 (2009)
• Minoru Nakazato (University of Tokyo) & J. Mark Ramseyer (Harvard Law Schoo), 122 Harv. L. Rev. 1296 (2009)
• Richard Pomp (UConn Law School), 122 Harv. L. Rev. 1299 (2009)
• Eric M. Zolt (UCLA Law School), 122 Harv. L. Rev. 1303 (2009)

Death of Larry Stone

I am sorry to bring you the news that Lawrence M. Stone, tax partner at Irell & Manella (Los Angeles) and Tax Prof at UC-Berkeley for twelve years, died on Sunday, March 15, 2009, from Pulmonary Fibrosis. From Larry's profile:

A respected author in the field of income taxation, Mr. Stone is co-author of two widely used law school teaching books: Klein, Bankman, Bittker & Stone -- Federal Income Taxation (Aspen); and Doernberg, Abrams, Bittker & Stone -- Federal Income Taxation of Corporations (Aspen). He is a member of the American Law Institute and its Tax Advisory Group and various ABA committees including Standards of Tax Practice. He has served as a member of the IRS Commissioner's Advisory Group (1973-74) and the President's Nominating Commission for Appointments to the U.S. Tax Court (1976-1980).

In lieu of flowers, Larry asked that donations be made to:

• American Friends of Magen David Adom, P.O Box 30999, Los Angeles, CA 90030
• American Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, 28 Arrandale Ave, Great Neck, NY 11024
• Friends of Israel Disabled Veterans, 1133 Broadway, Ste. 232, New York, NY 10010

(Hat Tip: Jennifer Kowal.)

Death of Pam Champine

I am sorry to bring you the news that Tax Prof Pamela R. Champine (New York Law School) died on March 8 at the age of 44.  From the press release:

In a moving tribute announcing the news of Professor Champine’s death to the faculty, Professor William P. LaPiana, her close friend and colleague, talked about the great joy she found in teaching. “Pam saw every day of her life as a law professor as a gift,” he said. “She counted it a privilege to teach, read, think, and write, and next to her family, it was what gave her life meaning.” Professor LaPiana added that Professor Champine was “as inspiring as she was effective as she led her students to a thorough understanding of the subjects to which she devoted her efforts. She brought innovative techniques to the classroom and showed her students that what they might have once thought was dry and uninteresting was full of life.” ...

Professor Champine is survived by her husband David Simonetti and their daughter Isabella.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 14th, at 1:00 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church, on Fifth Avenue between 11th and 12th Streets, in Manhattan. A reception will follow, at the church.

The family requests no flowers but suggests that donations may be made to a fund to be established in Professor Champine's memory to the Law School. (Donations may be sent to the Office of Development via interoffice mail, of course, or to New York Law School, Office of Development, 57 Worth Street, NYC 10013.)

Memorial Service for Donald Alexander

I previously blogged the February 2 death of Donald C. Alexander, IRS Commissioner from 1973 to 1977 and a tax partner at Akin Gump (Washington, D.C.), at the age of 87.  For the obituary, see Newsday and the Washington Post.  From the Tax Policy Center:

Don's memorial service is scheduled for Sat., Feb 21. at 11:00 a.m. at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church
3001 Wisconsin Avenue N.W.
Washington, DC 20016 

You may send condolences to Don's son and his family (Jim, Martha and Bea Alexander) to the following address:
Mr. & Mrs. James M. Alexander
123 Edgehill Road
New Haven, CT 06511

In lieu of flowers, please send contributions to:
Alexander Fund for Tax Research
c/o Harvard Law School Alumni Center
125 Mt. Auburn Street
Cambridge, MA 02138