I’d Like To Become A Tax Lawyer. How Can I Do This?
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010 at
4:29 pm
I’m a Junior in an accounting major. After graduating, I plan on working for a BIG 4 (or some other big firm) and then take the CPA exam. Being that I can opt to be in the field of taxes, eventually I’d like to become a tax lawyer. Will passing the CPA beforehand help at all? What is the best route to take if I’d like to become a tax lawyer. All input is appreciated! Thanks!!
Also…..what is the nature of the work?
Thanks so much!
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You won’t want for work as a tax attorney. A B.A. in Accounting, followed by a few years at a Big Four firm will position you very well for law school. Having not worked in accounting myself, I don’t know what the best trajectory is before going to law school. I believe it’s common in the industry to move between the Big Four firms, but I can’t say definitively how long you’d want to stay before going back to school for your JD. Two years wouldn’t be unusual, but more than three or four probably is overkill.
I can’t say much about the CPA exam, but I know enough to say that it’s very difficult and that passing it on your first try will be impressive both on your law school applications and as a credential to future law firm employers, though not an absolutely necessary credential.
Obviously, you’ll want to look for a law school with an excellent tax program. NYU is particularly well-regarded in this field, but you’ll do well at any of the top law schools.
A law degree (J.D.) is a three-year program, and you’ll want to spend the summers working for New York law firms with top tax practices, or else government agencies like the IRS or SEC. There’s also international tax work that is both very interesting and increasingly significant. Obviously, you’ll want to work hard at your first year Contracts and Property courses, and take as many courses as you can in Taxation, International Taxation, Corporations, Securities Regulation, Corporate Taxation, Trusts and Estates, and the like. The names of the classes will differ, but if you know this is your field, take every tax-related class you can get your hands on.
The trend at top law schools and firms is to spend the summer between your second and third years of school with a law firm that will then offer you a full-time job upon graduation. Again, most of the top tax shops are in New York, but you’ll learn more about that in law school.
After you’ve graduated and spent a year or two at a law firm, it’s worth considering another year of school to earn your Master’s of Laws (LLM) in Tax at NYU, or possibly Georgetown. It’s pretty rare for lawyers in the States to go back for an LLM, but taxation is an exception, and NYU is really the place to do it. The typical trajectory is to work for a year or two, then go back for a year to earn your LLM.
After you get your CPA then go to law school.
What you do is try to find ways for companies and rich people to avoid taxes. Then defend them in court if the dodges do not work out.