<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I've recently been considering pursuing accounting as a degree and then doing tax law, so I was wondering for tax law, is it absolutely necessary to attend a T14 law school? If you can't get into a top 14, but can get into say a T25 law school, how much worse will your prospects be? </p>
<p>Also, bear with me for a second but I have another question:</p>
<p>So I just transferred out of my previous institution (UT-Austin), not because I didn't enjoy it, but because it was expensive from out of state, and I also felt fairly homesick since it was quite far away from home for me (other than that I loved it). I felt that my homesickness was affecting my schoolwork, so I wanted to transfer out of the institution asap. In doing so, I transferred to a state school that I knew going in would not be my favorite place in the world, but I took it to get closer to home and save costs. Also, I was pre-med at the time, and this school has a reputation in our state for being stronger in the sciences. Now, I want to pursue a more liberal arts/business for which the other state school has a stronger reputation for, so I'm thinking about transferring yet again! So long story short, how much would the top law schools look down upon me for transferring twice, and is there any place where I can address my situation to law schools so that this minimizes how negatively they view me?</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>It is not necessary to attend a T14 or a T25 law school to be a tax lawyer. It helps to be a CPA to practice tax law, but you don't need a CPA to practice tax law. (In fact, Tax accountants are actually practicing tax law, but States permit this; but thats a story for another thread). You can get an LLM and practice tax law, but you don't need that either. All you need to practice tax law is a law degree and passing the bar. </p>
<p>If you attend a lower rated law school but are at the top of your class and you take a lot of tax law classes, you will likely be hired by a tax law firm. </p>
<p>Regarding transfers. Students transfer all the time. The question is how are your transfers affecting your grades? If you get straight A's in school one, but those grades don't count in your GPA at school two, you will need to make up for it somehow.</p>
<p>One of the most successful tax lawyers I know did it this way. He got his accounting degree and passed the CPA. He went to law school and focused on tax law. He graduated and went to work with a business law firm. He retained his CPA license and went to all of the CPA meetings and functions in order to network with every other accountant he could find. He got himself elected as President of his State's CPA organization. He became a very wealthy (but overworked) man. It turns out that knowing every CPA in your state can lead to a lot of client referrals.</p>
<p>Many tax attorneys get an LLM law degree after their JD (regular) law degree. Some strong LLM Programs for tax law are NYU, Florida, Emory & Miami (Estate Tax).</p>
<p>well, what I'm trying to really get is do you need to go to the absolute top law schools in order to get the GOOD jobs as a tax attorney? For example, anyone can practice coporate law, but you can't get a good job unless you go to a T14</p>
<p>oh, and also, what do you mean by I have to make up for it, depending on what grades I get at an institution? Law schools will see all of my grades anyway, won't they?</p>
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do you need to go to the absolute top law schools in order to get the GOOD jobs as a tax attorney?
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<p>Absolutely not. If you go to a law school that is ranked, for example, between top 25 and top 50 AND you are in the top 10 percent of your law class, you won't have a problem joining a law firm with 15 or more lawyers. In fact, if you go to a top 15 law school and are at the bottom of your class, you will have much more difficulty getting a tax law job than the student at the lower tier school but in the top ten percent of his or her law school. </p>
<p>If you also have a CPA, you have two career tracks. You can work for a law firm practicing tax law or your can work for a CPA firm practicing tax accounting. Both can be extremely lucrative. Many tax accountants eventually move into corporations and have wonderful careers as well.</p>
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what do you mean by I have to make up for it
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</p>
<p>I am not sure I can give you an express definition of what I mean by this, but let me give you an analogy. Assume you are an employer and you have two experienced candidates seeking to join your company. They are equal in ever measurable respect except that candidate one has been with the same employer for four years and candidate two has been with four different employers over the past four years. Which candidate would you choose? To me the answer is obvious. I would choose the candidate who had been with the same employer for four years because that candidate's work record reflect stability, loyalty and probably maturity. </p>
<p>Some law school admissions staff may be faced with the same dilemma. Two students who are equal in every respect except that one had been with the same college for four years and another who had been with four colleges in four years. It raises the obvious question -- why did the second student change schools every four years. Will that student be in our law school for all three years or transfer out if he or she does not like the place even though we have invested a lot of time in that student. The chances of getting a better law school student seem higher with the first student than with the second student.</p>
<p>If I had to pick the perfect path for becoming a tax lawyer, it might be something like this.<br>
Get an undergraduate degree in accounting.
Pass the CPA.
Go to law school and take classes in taxation and also litigation.<br>
Graduate in the top third of my law school class.
Get an LLM in taxation from NYU.
Work for the IRS for two to three years.
Work for a big law firm practicing tax law.</p>
<p>Why do I suggest taking litigation classes, you might ask? Much of tax law is reading appellate cases from tax courts and federal courts. Lawyers who have knowledge and experience in courtroom litigation have a far deeper understanding of appellate law than lawyers who do not have litigation experience.</p>