Experienced Attorney Taking Questions About Tax LLMs, Law School, and Life Forum

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TAOC

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Experienced Attorney Taking Questions About Tax LLMs, Law School, and Life

Post by TAOC » Fri Dec 07, 2018 6:28 pm

I used to post for advice on either this board or a similar board back in the day. To pay it forward I'm going to make myself available for any and all questions this weekend, and will be on for several hours each day.

So, here is the fun part. I am going to totally out myself by posting a link to where you can find my bio here: https://taxattorneyoc.com. I am the first named partner in the firm. I have also worked for a large national firm, V100, that is not mentioned in my bio. I ask that you do not post my name here, just to help me maintain some level of anonymity if someone were later to do a search of my name. This will allow me to be a little more open about internal thoughts that I otherwise would not post on the internet. As long as everyone abides by the deal, I am here to help.

Ask away!

AJordan

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Re: Experienced Attorney Taking Questions About Tax LLMs, Law School, and Life

Post by AJordan » Fri Dec 07, 2018 7:14 pm

TAOC wrote:I used to post for advice on either this board or a similar board back in the day. To pay it forward I'm going to make myself available for any and all questions this weekend, and will be on for several hours each day.

So, here is the fun part. I am going to totally out myself by posting a link to where you can find my bio here: https://taxattorneyoc.com. I am the first named partner in the firm. I have also worked for a large national firm, V100, that is not mentioned in my bio. I ask that you do not post my name here, just to help me maintain some level of anonymity if someone were later to do a search of my name. This will allow me to be a little more open about internal thoughts that I otherwise would not post on the internet. As long as everyone abides by the deal, I am here to help.

Ask away!
It seems to be common wisdom that the only Tax LLMs that move the needle come from NYU, Georgetown, and Florida. Do you feel like that's in line with your experience?

TAOC

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Experienced Attorney Taking Questions About Tax LLMs, Law School, and Life

Post by TAOC » Fri Dec 07, 2018 7:42 pm

I believe NYU moves the needle a lot more than GULC, if you need the needle to move a lot. But other schools can serve a purpose, if you need to move the needle a little. I picked up my LLM from Golden Gate University. It rates as a solid tax LLM in California despite the law program's status in the lower tier. I actually did a write-up on this, https://taxattorneyoc.com/blog/2017/06/ ... ell-known/. GGU's master of science in taxation program is fairly well-known and respected for a number of reasons detailed there. In addition, it is the only Tax LLM in San Francisco.

So, in terms of clients and networking, I like my GGU LLM, and it has that value in and of itself. I actually give it a huge amount of credit for landing my first tax law job. But, that may be more specific to me because I already had the University of Chicago credential, so the needle was already moved a lot of the way. I was just missing the local connections and tax credential to move forward. I did noticeably better than other students my year in the LLM program, in terms of job opportunities.

Edit: For clarity, I reference the MST because its popularity makes the LLM look better among tax professionals generally, as opposed to just lawyers. I'm not conflating the two.

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