Tax attorneys work to ensure that clients understand the tax implications of business and personal transactions, maximizing tax savings in a manner that is ethical and complies with the tax laws. The knowledge you’ll gain and skillsets you’ll develop in our program will make you an invaluable resource, not only to law firms but to government agencies, accounting firms and businesses of all types. You’ll study the structure of the current income tax system and become familiar with statutes, regulations, case law and legislative history, and apply them to tax planning and tax controversies. You’ll also consider the importance of tax policy and ethics. 

While studying the nuances of tax law, you can put your skills into practice in our Tax Clinic — the oldest continuously operating clinic of its kind in the country — or through an externship with a judge, tax attorney or the Internal Revenue Service, or by assisting community residents with income tax preparation through our Tax Law Society’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program.

For specific information on the program offerings, please contact:

Professor Jeffrey A. Cooper
Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development
Director, Tax Concentration
Quinnipiac University School of Law
275 Mount Carmel Avenue, Hamden, CT 06518
Phone: 203-582-3731
Fax: 203-582-3244
Email: jeffrey.cooper@qu.edu

Tax Law Concentration

(Updated effective September 1, 2020)

Requirements

To receive the certificate for this concentration, you must earn 20 tax credits (consisting of 17 credits in tax and related coursework and 3 credits of clinical/externship work) and meet all of the other concentration requirements. In addition, you must take Federal Income Tax (LAWS 305) as one of your core electives. Credits for LAWS 305 do not count toward the 20-credit concentration requirement, but the grade in this prerequisite does count toward the GPA requirement for honors. 

1. Required Coursework

In addition to Federal Income Tax (LAWS 305) (credits for which do not count toward the 20-credit requirement), you must take at least 17 credits from the following lists of courses, all of which count toward the 20-credit requirement for the concentration.

Tax Courses

At least 11 of the credits used for the concentration must come from the following list of tax courses. (Note: Not all of these courses are offered every year.)

LAWS 292Independent Research Project W 12
LAWS 293Independent Research Project W 13
LAWS 309Estate and Gift Taxation2
LAWS 312Partnership Tax2-3
LAWS 313Advanced Individual Income Tax3
LAWS 314Employee Benefits2
LAWS 393Business Planning4
LAWS 395Corporate Tax2
LAWS 454Advanced Corp. Tax2
LAWS 475Tax Procedure - Civil2
LAWS 477International Tax2
LAWS 504Tax Policy- S, W2
LAWS 519State & Local Tax2
LAWS 580Taxation of Bus. Enterprises4
LAWS 581Tax Research - S,W 12
LAWS 631Financial Planning: Principles and Taxat2-3
LAWS 670Tax Deals Workshop2
1

Independent research with tax emphasis (with written approval of concentration director and supervising professor).

Related Courses

Up to 6 credits used for the concentration may come from the following list of "Related Courses." (Note: Not all of these courses are offered every year.)

LAWS 205Business Organizations4
LAWS 307Trusts and Estates3
LAWS 355Corporate Finance3
LAWS 369Real Estate Transactions3
LAWS 370Family Law2-3
LAWS 435Advanced Family Law I - S2
LAWS 505Mergers & Acquisitions2
LAWS 516International Business Trans.3
LAWS 628Estate Planning & Drafting2

2. Clinical Requirement

At least 3 credits must be earned through participation in the Tax Clinic and/or externship placement approved by the concentration director. No more than 3 credits count toward the 20-credit requirement for the concentration, except with permission of the concentration director in consultation with the director of the clinic or externship. The director of the clinic may waive ICC (LAWS 599) as a requirement for the Tax Clinic. If a student does enroll in ICC, credits for it will not count toward the clinical requirement.

If a student meets this requirement through an externship placement, the seminar portion of the externship DOES NOT count toward the 3 required clinical credits. If a student meets this requirement through the Tax Clinic, ONE CREDIT of the seminar portion of the externship counts toward the 3 required clinical credits. 

The concentration director may waive the clinical requirement if the student has substantial tax law work experience. If the concentration director waives the clinical requirement, the student must earn additional credits in tax courses (or any related courses specifically allowed by the concentration director) to qualify for the concentration.

3. Writing Requirement

A student must write a substantial paper — or a series of shorter writings that together comprise a substantial amount of written work — on a topic or topics related to tax. (If a student writes a substantial paper, the student may use that paper to satisfy the School of Law's advanced writing requirement, provided that the work meets the guidelines for the Advanced Writing Requirement as set forth in the academic catalog Academic Regulations, section I.E.) The topic or topics for the written work used to satisfy this requirement must be approved by the concentration director. A paper written for a journal may qualify, if the topic is approved by the concentration director. 

4. Waiver  

The concentration director and the associate dean for academic affairs may waive any requirements for the concentration (other than the GPA requirement), if they both agree to do so.