Fall Semester 2013

Instructors: Professor Ronald W. Blasi, Mr. Willard N. Timm, Jr., Mrs. Bonnie Rich,
Class in Room 653
Class times: Saturday, August 24 (8:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.)
Mondays 4:10 P.M. – 5:50 p.m.
Clinic work in Room 150
Office Hours - Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Office Phone: 404-413-9230
Website: www.gsulitc.org
E-mail: rblasi@gsu.edu

 

Books: The Clinic website is the electronic textbook for this course. The website contains guidance as to all aspects of your activities in the Clinic, including summaries of procedural and substantive tax law that you will be dealing with in the Clinic.

Attendance, Class Participation, and Makeup Classes: Attendance is required. Excessive absences may result in exclusion from the class and/or a failing grade, at the discretion of the instructor. Absence from more than 4 hours of class will be considered excessive. You are expected to devote approximately 9 hours, on average, each week throughout the semester to the Clinic for a total of 126 hours. Time spent in class is applied toward that time commitment. Six of those hours must take place in the Clinic offices during normal business hours. During the first couple of weeks of the term, you will probably have to work more than the average number of hours in order to familiarize yourself with your cases. During the fall you are encouraged to spread your time commitment over the semester and up to December 13, 2013.

Structure and Grading: Your grade is based on the following criteria: (a) professionalism , which includes your interaction with your clients, Internal Revenue Service personnel, fellow students and staff, appropriate dress when necessary; (b) adherence to Clinic administrative and other procedures including meeting all time sensitive deadlines; (c) quality of service you render to your clients as determined in part by the evaluations you will receive from your clients at the end of the semester; (d) accuracy and thoroughness of written documents and memoranda; (e) progress of cases especially the submission of at least one memoranda by mid-term and one or more memoranda by the end of the extended term to your supervisor and finalization of documents for submission to the I.R.S.; (f) success in resolving cases including timely closing cases; (g) class participation and involvement in the Clinic; (h) meeting the minimum required Clinic hours; (i) proper maintenance of your electronic (Amicus) and paper files; and (j) compliance with statutory and administrative deadlines. Missing a statutory deadline may result in a failing grade in this course. See additional information on Clinic website relating to standards for grading.

If you have any questions or concerns relating to your progress during the term you should discuss them with Professor Blasi as soon as your questions or concerns arise.

Prerequisites: In order to handle the issues commonly encountered in the Clinic, students must have successfully completed Basic Federal Taxation (Law 7095).

Goals and Approach: The principal objective of the Tax Clinic is to provide you with an environment in which you learn to exercise professional judgment in a supervised setting. You will be confronted with ethical and professionalism issues. You also will develop the essential lawyering skills of interviewing clients, gathering and verifying facts, preparing documents that will be filed in court or with administrative agencies, etc... Considerable time will be spent drafting memoranda that will improve your writing. Although students in the Clinic work on tax matters, the practice skills that are developed are applicable to all areas of the law.

Extra Material: There are several books designed to help understand I.R.S. procedure. Among them are Saltzman, IRS Practice and Procedure, published by Warren, Gorham & Lamont and Effectively Representing Your Client Before the IRS. This is a product of the American Bar Association Section of Taxation Low Income Taxpayers and Pro Bono Committees. There are some copies in the Clinic library.

Clinic I Classes

Monday, Aug. 19	Mission Transition to Practice Professional Judgment Service
	Background Formation Advisory Committee Funding Graduates
	Dispute Resolution Success Achieved through collaboration Relationship with the IRS
	Staff and their functions Professor Blasi Professor Timm Ms. Rich GRA's Accessibility
	Client Confidentiality Need for Security Access to Clinic and files Locker combination
	Use of offices Equipment Phones Guests
	Standard for grading Quality of service Adherence to Clinic Procedures Progress on Cases Mid-term reviews Weekly meetings
	Difference with other law school courses: Confidentiality Collegiality No fixed assignments Ingenuity Web site
	Getting started Powers Of Attorney
Saturday, Aug. 24	Flow Chart
	Relationship with clients Interviewing clients Keeping client informed and files documented Interviewing exercise
	Collection Alternatives (overview) OIC, CNC, IAs Audit Reconsideration Investigative tools OIC Exercise
	Record Keeping Amicus Keeping time File system
Monday, Aug. 26	Transcripts
	Collection Alternatives (In detail) Offer in Compromise Installment Agreement Currently Not Collectible Form 433A
Monday, Sept. 2	No class
Monday, Sept. 9	U.S. Tax Court
Monday, Sept. 16	Innocent spouse relief Injured spouse relief Statute of limitations Petition and appeals
Monday, Sept. 23	Selected tax procedure issues
Monday, Sept. 30	Miscellaneous issues
Monday, Oct. 7	Mid-semester all week reviews with Professor Blasi, Ms. Rich and Mr. Timm
Monday, Nov. 11	Transitioning cases

Clinic II

Attendance, Class Participation, and Makeup Classes: You are expected to devote approximately 9 hours, on average, each week throughout the semester to the Clinic for a total of 126 hours. Time spent in class is applied toward that time commitment. Six of those hours must take place in the Clinic offices during normal business hours. During the first couple of weeks of the term, you will probably have to work more than the average number of hours in order to familiarize yourself with your cases. During the fall you are encouraged to spread your time commitment over the semester and up to December 20, 2013.

Structure and Grading: Your grade is based on the following criteria: (a) professionalism, which includes your interaction with your clients, Internal Revenue Service personnel, fellow students and staff, appropriate dress when necessary; (b) adherence to Clinic administrative and other procedures including meeting all time sensitive deadlines; (c) quality of service you render to your clients as determined in part by the evaluations you will receive from your clients at the end of the semester; (d) accuracy and thoroughness of written documents and memoranda; (e) progress of cases especially the submission of at least one memoranda by mid-term and one or more memoranda by the end of the extended term to your supervisor and finalization of documents for submission to the I.R.S.; (f) success in resolving cases including timely closing cases; (g) class participation and involvement in the Clinic; (h) meeting the minimum required Clinic hours; (i) proper maintenance of your electronic (Amicus) and paper files; and (j) compliance with statutory and administrative deadlines. Missing a statutory deadline may result in a failing grade in this course. See additional information on Clinic website relating to standards for grading.

If you have any questions or concerns relating to your progress during the term you should discuss them with Professor Blasi as soon as your questions or concerns arise.

In addition, as a Clinic II or GRA student, you will be evaluated on the basis of your mentoring Clinic I students. Mentoring requires that you provide as part of your clinical hours assistance to Clinic I students in working and resolving their cases and learning the administrative procedures of the Clinic. You are also required to attend one class at 3:30 p.m. on August 19, 2013. When the Clinic I class begins at 4:10 p.m. you will be introduced to the new students.

Prerequisites: In order to handle the issues commonly encountered in the Clinic, students must have successfully completed Basic Federal Taxation (Law 7095) and Tax Clinic I (7600).

Goals and Approach: The principal objective of the Tax Clinic is to provide you with an environment in which you learn to exercise professional judgment in a supervised setting. You will be confronted with ethical and professionalism issues. You also will develop the essential lawyering skills of interviewing clients, gathering and verifying facts, preparing documents that will be filed in court or with administrative agencies, etc... Considerable time will be spent on tasks that will improve your writing. Although students in the Clinic work on tax matters, the practice skills that are developed are applicable to all areas of the law.

Extra Material: Among them are Saltzman, IRS Practice and Procedure, published by Warren, Gorham & Lamont and Effectively Representing Your Client Before the IRS. This is a product of the American Bar Association Section of Taxation Low Income Taxpayers and Pro Bono Committees.