tax attorney vs regular tax accountant

Graduate School Law School
1

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>I've recently just learned about tax attorneys, and this sounds like something I might be interested in. I was wondering what you guys think the better career is? Can tax attorneys become M&A attorneys and move into other fields? Also, does the T14 rule apply to tax attorneys? I keep reading about this for corporate law, but what about tax law in general? If you get into a decent (i.e. T20) law school, are you really that screwed for corporate or tax law?</p>

<p>thanks</p>

2

<p>

</p>

<p>You can practice tax law with a law firm or an accounting firm. If you major in accounting and get a CPA and got to law school, you have both options. There are some tax lawyers who do not have accounting degrees, but their options are often more limited to law firms and not accounting firms. </p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Sure, but you don’t have to be a tax lawyer to do so.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>I don’t agree that there is such a think as T14 rule. If you go to a good regional school and do well and get a job in a tax law firm, you will have a good life as a tax lawyer. Some of the best lawyers in America went to regional law schools and performed well there.</p>

3

<p>

</p>

<p>Really? Take a look at this thread:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/law-school/749810-do-not-attend-non-top-14-law-school-economy.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/law-school/749810-do-not-attend-non-top-14-law-school-economy.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Everyone, not just the OP, says not to go to a non-T14 law school. Obviously, it could vary from field to field (from what I understand, T14 is meant more for “Big Law”), but if I were to pursue this field, how much would I need to worry if I don’t get into the absolute best law school?</p>

<p>Also, not to sound like I just want the money, but do tax attorneys make decent money compared to other corporate attorneys?</p>

4

<p>Tax attorneys who practice in BIGLAW firms typically make the exact same amount of money as their M&A, securities, litigation, etc. counterparts.</p>

<p>A significant number of tax attorneys in BIGLAW practice typically do go back to school either full time or part time, after working for a little while, to get their LLM degrees in tax law (many in NYC do so at NYU).</p>