Fall 2021
Impact in Washington:
Clausing Joins Treasury Department
UCLA School of Law’s robust and renowned tax law program excels with a dual purpose: to educate the next generation of leaders in tax law and policy, and to craft and apply cutting-edge scholarship that makes a meaningful and lasting impact on the issues at the center of the national conversation.
This mission earned renewed focus in early 2021, when UCLA Law Professor Kimberly Clausing joined the Biden administration as a deputy assistant secretary at the treasury department. In the months since, Clausing has led the Office of Tax Analysis under the leadership of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, focusing on pandemic relief, climate change, social inequities, and other pressing matters.
Clausing is the Eric M. Zolt Professor of Tax Law and Policy. A widely admired tax analyst and researcher, she is a prolific author — including of the 2019 book Open: The Progressive Case for Free Trade, Immigration, and Global Capital — and has worked with the International Monetary Fund, the Center for American Progress, and other key institutions. “The treasury department is incredibly fortunate to have her on board,” says Steven Bank, UCLA Law’s Paul Hastings Professor of Business Law. “Kim is among the nation’s leading experts in tax law and policy, and her scholarship is on the cutting edge of the field, with a keen eye on creating progressive, solution-based policies.”
Outstanding Alumna:
Ontiveros Earns
Hochman Award
Dana Ontiveros ’21 of Snell & Wilmer won the Bruce I. Hochman Award in tax law: “Studying tax law will help prepare you for nearly any career in law. If you can comb through the tax code and apply its sometimes dense provisions to real world numbers, analyzing statutes and regulations in other subjects will come with ease.”
Honors for Oh:
New Milken Chair
Testifies in Congress
Tax policy authority Jason Oh, a leading voice on public finance, was appointed to the Lowell Milken Chair in Law and testified before the House Ways and Means Committee in 2021: “Pairing tax increases on the wealthy with spending programs focused on low- and middle-income households could dramatically improve progressivity.”
Tax Law in Focus:
New Program in Philanthropy and Nonprofits
Research into the wide-ranging impact of tax policy on nonprofit organizations is a key component of UCLA Law’s new Program on Philanthropy and Nonprofits, which arises as baby boomers are expected to transfer tens of trillions of dollars in wealth to younger generations. Residing in the Lowell Milken Institute for Business Law and Policy, the program’s inaugural faculty director is Jill Horwitz, who holds the David Sanders Professorship in Law and Medicine and served as the reporter for the recently published first Restatement of the Law, Charitable Nonprofit Organizations. “The nonprofit sector is undergoing an epochal shift,” she says, “and lawyers will be at the center of this transformation.”
Innovation in the Classroom:
Courses Emphasize Tax Policy, Skills Training
UCLA Law’s tax faculty members have developed a suite of classes that augment the tax law curriculum by focusing on the importance of tax policy in shaping modern society and by zeroing in on the skills that any successful tax practitioner needs:
- Business Strategy and Corporate Governance — Professor Emeritus Eric Zolt (pictured, left) has students look at the role of the tax system in encouraging transparency and accountability and the problems involved in taxing cross-border transactions and international corporate giants such as Apple.
- Cities in Distress — Professor Kirk Stark explores the root causes of the fiscal crises in cities including Flint, Michigan; Stockton, California; and Ferguson, Missouri. He identifies and critiques the various legal tools available to assist these communities in achieving long-term fiscal sustainability.
- Executive Compensation — Professor Steven Bank examines the legal, financial, and social issues that surround the compensation of CEOs and others in the C-suite. He looks at the theory behind limiting the pay of public companies’ senior officers and offers tools for lawyers to advise companies on the crucial issue of compensation.
- Tax Practice — Professor Jason Oh prepares students for success as fresh tax associates in his novel experiential course. Through simulations of real-world tax problems, students learn to apply substantive tax law and practice the skills of planning, drafting, and communication that are critical to effective young lawyers.
Spotlight on Scholarship: ‘Insider Giving’ Enters
Tax Conversation
Professor Andrew Verstein, faculty co-director of the Lowell Milken Institute and an authority on market abuse issues, co-wrote a forthcoming article and has driven discussions in the media and academy on people who gain tax benefits by donating stocks that they know will drop in value.
The Cutting Edge: Colloquium on Tax Law and Public Finance
Led by Professors Kirk Stark and Jason Oh, the colloquium welcomes thought leaders who present their cutting-edge work to students and faculty each week. Recent guest scholars included Elaine Maag of the Urban-Brookings Tax Center and Philip Hackney of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.
Steering Success: Scholarships Boost Tax Law Students
The most promising tax law students in each entering class at UCLA Law have the opportunity to earn substantial scholarships that propel their study of tax law and admit them to a top-tier network of practitioners and classmates. This year, Cole Frost ’24 and Jack Santoro ’24 received the Thomas A. Kirschbaum Scholarship and Joseph Auer ’24 and William Wu ’24 were awarded the Buddy Epstein and Christine Kim Endowed Scholarship. They join the ranks of 39 prior Kirschbaum and Epstein-Kim scholars who together form a vibrant community of UCLA Law students and alumni that support each other in the study and practice of tax and business law.
Recent Faculty Scholarship and Honors
STEVEN A. BANK
Paul Hastings Professor of Business Law
Professor Bank received the Journal of Legal Aspects of Sport Best Paper Award for his article “FIFA, Forced Arbitration, and the U.S. Soccer Lawsuits.”
Publications
- Selected Sections Federal Income Tax Code and Regulations, 2021-2022, with Kirk J. Stark, Foundation Press (2021).
- Selected Sections Corporate and Partnership Income Tax Code and Regulations, 2021-2022, with Kirk J. Stark, Foundation Press (2021).
- “The False Dichotomy in Name, Image, and Likeness Legislation,” Harvard Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law (2020).
KIMBERLY CLAUSING
Eric M. Zolt Chair in Tax Law and Policy
Professor Clausing joined the U.S. Department of the Treasury as deputy assistant secretary for tax analysis, leading the Office of Tax Policy, in February.
Publications
- “Five Lessons on Profit Shifting from the U.S. Country by Country Data,” 169 Tax Notes Federal 925 (2020).
JILL R. HORWITZ
David Sanders Professorship in Law and Medicine
Professor Horwitz was appointed to the executive committee of the Association of American Law Schools’ Section on Nonprofit and Philanthropy Law and to the board of advisors of the National Center on Philanthropy and the Law at NYU School of Law. She served as an advisor on the Restatement of the Law Third, Torts.
Publications
- Restatement of the Law, Charitable Nonprofit Organizations, reporter with Marion R. Fremont-Smith (reporter) and Nancy A. Mclaughlin (associate reporter), American Law Institute (2021).
JASON OH
Lowell Milken Chair in Law
Faculty Co-Director, Lowell Milken Institute for Business Law and Policy
Professor Oh testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee’s Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures in May, participating in a panel titled “Funding Our Nation’s Priorities: Reforming the Tax Code’s Advantageous Treatment of the Wealthy.”
KIRK J. STARK
Barrall Family Professor of Tax Law and Policy
Publications
- “Wayfair in Constitutional Perspective: Who Sets the Ground Rules of US Fiscal Federalism?,” 74 National Tax Journal 221 (2021).
- Selected Sections Federal Income Tax Code and Regulations, 2021-2022, with Steven A. Bank, Foundation Press (2021).
- Selected Sections Corporate and Partnership Income Tax Code and Regulations, 2021-2022, with Steven A. Bank, Foundation Press (2021).
ERIC M. ZOLT
Michael H. Schill Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus
Professor Zolt was awarded a two-year appointment as extraordinary professor at the African Tax Institute at the University of Pretoria in South Africa.
Publications
- “Cross-Border Philanthropy: A U.S. Perspective,” The Routledge Handbook of Taxation and Philanthropy, edited by Henry Peter and Giedre Lideikyte-Huber, Routledge (forthcoming 2021).
Keep up with everything at UCLA Law!
