ABA SECTION OF TAXATION
PUBLIC SERVICE FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

The ABA Section of Taxation is pleased to introduce its Public Service Fellowships. The creation of this Public Service Fellowship program reflects the Section’s desire to advance public service efforts in tax law, and to foster a more fair and equitable tax system.

Pro Bono work has been an integral part of the Section’s activities for many years. The Section has actively encouraged member participation in various Pro Bono efforts, held numerous training sessions to that end, and devoted much of its resources to providing legal services to those in need. The Section recognizes the need for funding and fostering recent law school graduates or judicial clerks who wish to dedicate some portion of their professional careers to public service in tax.

Up to two Fellowships will be awarded annually to recent law school graduates or judicial clerks. Both LLM and JD candidates are eligible to apply. The proposed employment must involve taxation or administration of tax law and must be with a public-interest, non-profit section 501(c)(3) organization (the “Sponsoring Organization”). Each Fellow is expected to serve a two-year term with the Sponsoring Organization. The applicant must identify and secure a position with a Sponsoring Organization before applying for the Fellowship (although the position may be contingent upon award of the Fellowship). The application must be accompanied by a commitment letter from the Sponsoring Organization that describes the proposed employment with the Sponsoring Organization and explain why the Sponsoring Organization considers the applicant to be qualified to perform the work. The Sponsoring Organization must agree to hire the applicant if the Fellowship is granted and to fulfill all tax and other reporting obligations with respect to the amounts paid to the applicant. The Sponsoring Organization must also describe how the applicant will be supervised. The Section does not expect to select applicants unless the Sponsoring Organization has identified at least one attorney who will supervise the applicant throughout the fellowship period.

The Section will provide an unrestricted grant to each Sponsoring Organization equal to the Fellow’s salary, payroll taxes, and benefits, which are expected to be commensurate with judicial clerk salaries. The Section will fund the grant in eight quarterly payments. In addition, the Section will provide assistance with educational loans for those Fellows who are not covered by a law school low-income-protection plan. The amount of such educational loan assistance a Fellow will depend on the amount of debt, the type of loans and whether the Fellow is eligible for assistance from any other loan-repayment or loan-assistance program. In general, the Section objective will be to provide funding sufficient to cover the debt service on the applicant’s educational loans during the two-year Fellowship period, but the amount of the assistance provided will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may be subject to an overall limitation to be determined by the Section.

Resources and Services Provide to the Fellows

The Section of Taxation will provide each Fellow with access to one or more mentors from the Section’s membership. The Section expects that Fellows will join and participate in the Section’s activities during the Fellowship and the Section will pay for, or waive, the Fellows’ ABA and Section dues for the duration of the Fellowship. Each Fellow will be required to attend at least two Section meetings per year. The Section will pay travel and meeting expenses associated with these two meetings in accordance with ABA and Section reimbursement policies. The Fellows are strongly encouraged to participate in activities of relevant public service oriented committees, such as the Pro Bono Committee and the Low Income Taxpayers Committee.

ABA Section of Taxation

The ABA Section of Taxation is dedicated to creating and maintaining an equitable tax system that can be fairly administered. The Section's work supports the integrity of the nation's voluntary system for tax reporting and payment. It evaluates the "simplicity, enforceability, fairness and probable effect of the tax system on economic, business and personal behavior...." However, the Section does not speak on political and economic aspects of tax policy, such as special tax treatment designed to stimulate the economy, or on shifts in the tax burden among income groups. The Section’s public policy submissions, including comments on legislative proposals, regulations and other published guidance, are available on the Section’s website at: http://www.abanet.org/tax/.

As of March 31, 2008, the Section of Taxation had 16,016 lawyer members, 463 associates, and 4,616 law student members for a total of 21,095 members.

The application deadline is October 15, 2008.

-Download a pdf copy of the application here.