Tax Dispute Resolution Clinic

The Tax Dispute Resolution Clinic will give you invaluable experience in negotiating on behalf of your client and the specialized skills of practicing before an administrative agency, something that is increasingly important for all lawyers in the modern regulatory state. You will also develop skills in researching a complex body of statutory and regulatory law and in interpreting government communications to diagnosis the client’s problem. Along with other core lawyering skills (negotiating, interviewing, client relationships and counseling, oral and written advocacy, time keeping, ethical issues), the clinic will help prepare you for a future career even if you don’t plan to practice tax law, while also providing an important service to taxpayers.

The clinic functions as a law office. You will work directly with clients and have primary responsibility for your assigned cases. You will have special authorization to negotiate directly with IRS personnel in various offices (audit, collections, appeals, etc.). If you have a case in Tax Court, you will handle pre-trial matters, including negotiations with opposing counsel, and will be able to participate in hearings or a trial, with permission by the judge.

Some of the ways in which our students help taxpayers include:

  • Representation during IRS audits;
  • Challenging an audit determination through the internal IRS appeals process;
  • Challenging an audit determination in the U.S. Tax Court; and
  • Negotiating payment alternatives for taxes owed.

Course Information

In the Tax Dispute Resolution Clinic, students work directly with clients and have primary responsibility for their assigned cases, under the supervision of the supervising attorney. They will receive a special authorization to practice before the Internal Revenue Service and can participate in Tax Court trials with the judge’s permission. This clinic provides students valuable experience and skills that are relevant to tax practice but is also applicable in other regulatory settings.

Pre-requisites/Co-requisites:
In order to enroll in a Fall or Spring clinic, you must have completed or be concurrently enrolled in Professional Responsibility. Students who have not completed Professional Responsibility will be automatically enrolled in a section when admitted to a clinic. There are limited waivers of this requirement, but only if a student worked full-time in a law firm or other position requiring the handling of confidential information for one year or more before attending law school.
Regarding summer clinics, Professional Responsibility is preferred but not required. In lieu of the Professional Responsibility requirement, the Summer Clinic will include an intensive training on ethics.

Recommended Courses:
• Federal Income Tax -- ​completed or concurrently enrolled; strongly recommended
No other tax courses or experience ​beyond the requisites are required to be selected.

Eligibility to Enroll:
• Completed first year of law school in a JD program.
​• Must be in good academic standing.
• No Honor Code violations.

Credit Hours/Experiential Hours:
​Four to six (​4-6) hours credit in the Fall and Spring.
Counts towards oral skills requirement.

Terms available:
Fall, Spring and Summer

Evaluation:
Graded

Dropping Clinics:
Given the unique nature of clinics and the ethical obligations that arise for our attorneys when they expose students to actual client cases, students will not be allowed to drop a clinic after the first week of classes.

Faculty:
Prof. Bob Probasco

Considerations

Since clinics operate differently than doctrinal, writing, and other simulation courses, students must keep in mind the following before enrolling:

  • All clinical courses meet in the Clinical Program Office located in the Star-Telegram Building at 307 W. 7th Street, Fort Worth, Texas. It is a 0.6 mile walk from the Law School building to the clinical space.

  • All 3 and 4 unit clinic courses require that students spend a minimum of 6-8 hours per week at the clinical space.

  • Per our Academic Standards, students are expected to submit logs of their time to their supervising attorneys to receive credit. Your instructor will provide you with direction of how to keep track of your time.

  • In order to provide all of our students with a clinical opportunity, you cannot enroll in more than one clinic in any one semester.

  • You may not enroll in an externship and a clinic in the same semester unless authorized by the Associate Dean for Experiential Education.

  • If you plan to be employed by a law firm, government agency, or other unit engaged in providing legal services during the semester, you must disclose the employer’s information so the clinical program can determine if there are any conflicts that prevent the student from enrolling in the clinic.

  • Once a student is admitted to a clinic, the student must commit to attend a mandatory Clinical Skills Training the first Friday of the semester from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

  • Unless a special accommodation is necessary, free student parking is not available in the clinic space. The cost to valet in the Star-Telegram Building is $10. There is additional parking in the area that ranges from $6 to $10. Street metered parking is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Student Application

Students are advised to review the Clinic Application & Registration Information Packet before submitting an application.

The student clinic application is only available online:

  • Use this new, single CLINIC APPLICATION LINK to apply for first-time clinic enrollment in any Fall or Spring semester clinic, for available Summer semester clinics, or for second or subsequent semesters in a clinic.
  • Please note that as part of the application submission, you will be required to upload your current resume as a PDF.

There is no Howdy registration for clinics. Instead, applications are reviewed and students are accepted during registration period on a rolling basis. Priority is given to applications we receive by the priority deadline -- please refer to the Course Schedule for the current priority deadline. Students are encouraged to apply as early as possible in order to secure a seat in the clinic of their choice for the semester they would like. Once a seat has been secured, registration is handled on your behalf by a faculty member or administrator in the Clinical Program Office. Questions about the clinics or the application process can be answered by emailing experiential@law.tamu.edu.

Participation in the clinic requires approval by the clinic director, based on an application. A maximum of 8 students per semester will be enrolled.

Once a student is admitted to a clinic, the student must commit to attend a mandatory Clinical Skills Training the first Friday of the semester from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Conflicts:
Clinics operate as law firms. Conflicts may arise if students enroll in a clinic and also work in a law firm or government agency in the first semester. If you plan to intern, extern, or otherwise, work during the semester you are in clinic, you will need to discuss with Dean Herrera. On the application you will be asked to indicate if you plan to intern, extern, or work elsewhere during the semester(s) you are applying for.