Students working in the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic are supervised by a faculty member and a supervising attorney, both of whom have extensive experience with federal tax controversies.
The Clinic receives guidance from an Advisory Board composed of several leading tax attorneys in Georgia. View Advisory Board roster.
Professor Ronald W. Blasi founded the Clinic in 1992 and is also the Director of the Clinic. He works with the students to improve their writing skills, oversees budgetary matters, teaches the clinic course, and handles a variety of other Clinic matters. He has over 30 years of experience in the field of taxation and extensive administrative experience, and is a tenured, full professor of law at the Georgia State University College of Law.
Professor Blasi served the University in several administrative capacities including Associate Dean and the Acting Dean of the College of Law, and Acting Associate Provost for Academic Affairs. He has an LL.M. in Taxation from New York University Graduate School of Law.
Mr. Timm supervises students on a daily basis and will be teaching the Basic Federal Taxation course during the summer term. Prior to joining the Clinic, Mr. Timm was the Associate Area Counsel (SBSE) in the Atlanta Office of Chief Counsel of the Internal Revenue Service, where he practiced for thirty-six years. He is a graduate of Emory University Law School.
Bonnie Rich works with student attorneys, providing guidance with respect to legal, ethical and professional issues arising from their case files. Prior to joining the Clinic, she practiced in the area of civil litigation in both private law firms and a corporate legal department. She is a 1994 graduate of Georgia State University College of Law.
Sarah Ortiz is a native of Puerto Rico and fluent in both Spanish and English. Prior to joining the Clinic, she was employed as a Chartered Property & Casualty [Insurance] Underwriter and served as President of the Society's Chapter in Georgia following 9 years of active duty on the Board. She holds an Associate's Degree from Massey Junior College and three insurance certifications.
In addition to her administrative duties, Ms. Ortiz assists the student attorneys in their dealings with Spanish-speaking clients. She has also adapted the Clinic's correspondence to include Spanish language documents.
