Working/Functional Title

Director, Taxpayer Clinic, Fixed Term

Position Summary

The College of Law is looking to hire a director of its Alvin L. Storrs Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic.  The Director will be a full-time, 12-month, fixed-term, Assistant/Associate/Full Professor and will manage the Clinic’s operations and funding, perform and supervise casework and outreach, and teach the Clinic seminar.  Candidates’ experience should demonstrate a strong interest in actively pursuing service and/or scholarly opportunities, to enrich the intellectual life and governance of the law school, relevant professional associations, and beyond.

The Alvin L. Storrs Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic at Michigan State University College of Law was initially funded by the Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) grant program administered by the IRS in 2000.  The Clinic is currently entering year two of a three-year grant from the IRS and it represents low-income and English-as-second-language taxpayers who live throughout Michigan. The Clinic is one of eight in-house clinics at the Law School.  Like all LITCs, the Clinic handles tax controversies with the IRS and generally does not provide tax return preparation services. The Clinic also handles tax controversies with the Michigan Department of Treasury and various cities’ income tax departments.  It also manages a toll-free hotline for homeowners who need assistance in requesting the poverty or disabled veteran’s exemption from property tax.  Law students take the lead on most Clinic cases, provide community and educational outreach, and participate in Tax Court and the Michigan Tax Tribunal.

Key responsibilities include:

• Teach, train, development, and supervision of law student attorneys.
• Supervise the client screening process including students and staff that are assisting in screening cases for tax controversy issues appropriate for representation by the student attorneys in the Clinic.
• Supervise cases and student attorneys, meeting with students, reviewing and providing comments on student work, accompanying them to court, and working on other activities, including education and outreach initiatives.
• Teaching weekly seminar to help students synthesize their clinical casework and develop their lawyering skills, ethical awareness, and professionalism.
• Apply for and manage the LITC grant that includes work in collaboration with the Michigan State University Contract and Grant Administration Office.
• Develop and maintain partnerships and community engagement to provide education on tax law, issues, and policy.
• Participate and collaborate with other clinical faculty members at regular meetings.

Review of applications begins on March 20, 2023.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, age, disability or protected veteran status.

Required Degree

Doctorate - Law

Minimum Requirements

Candidates must:

• Doctorate degree is required to be hired at all ranks of Assistant/Associate/Full Professor.
• have an excellent academic record.
• be a member in good standing of the Bar of any U.S. jurisdiction.
• be members in good standing of the Michigan State Bar or be able to gain admission upon hire.
• have sufficient tax law expertise to be considered a “Qualifying Tax Expert” under the Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic program’s grant.
• have expertise to perform and oversee the substantive and procedural aspects of client representation in controversies with the Internal Revenue Service.
• be admitted to practice before the U.S. Tax Court or eligible for such admission.  

Desired Qualifications

• Preference will be given to candidates who also have a history of commitment in working with low-income clients.
• Candidates should have knowledge of the best practices in clinical pedagogy and the ability to supervise student attorneys (as well as other Clinic staff, such as any legal counselors or fellows) to ensure that clients receive high-quality representation and that students learn about the effective, ethical, and reflective practice of law.

Required Application Materials

The search committee is committed to respecting and maintaining confidentiality.

Application materials must include:

• Cover Letter
• Current Curriculum Vitae or Resume
• At least three professional references (not to be contacted without the permission of the applicant)

Special Instructions

Applicants will be considered on a rolling basis so applications should be submitted as soon as possible.  Initial interviews, which will be conducted online could begin as early as March 20, 2023.

Applicants may be asked to submit a professional writing sample when invited for an interview.

If you require reasonable accommodation in completing the application, interviewing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please direct your inquiries to Teresa Eldred, College of Law Human Resources Manager at 517.432.6819 or eldredt@law.msu.edu.

Review of Applications Begins On

03/20/2023

Remote Work Statement

MSU strives to provide a flexible work environment and this position has been designated as remote-friendly. Remote-friendly means some or all of the duties can be performed remotely as mutually agreed upon.

Website

www.law.msu.edu

Department Statement

Michigan State University College of Law is a diverse and inclusive learning community with roots dating to 1891 when it opened as Detroit College of Law in Detroit, Michigan. It moved to its current East Lansing location in 1995 and remained a private institution until 2021 when it became a fully integrated college of Michigan State University. 

Today, MSU Law has more than 700 students, 55 faculty members, 50 staff members, five librarians, and a world-wide network of some 11,500 alumni. MSU Law operates seven legal clinics overseen by nationally recognized faculty that provide students an opportunity to work on actual legal cases. Additionally, it offers some of nation’s leading law programs in new and emerging legal education, including Intellectual Property and Trial Advocacy, Indigenous Law and Policy Center, the Lori E. Talsky Center for Human Rights of Women and Children, Conservation Law Center, and Animal Legal and Historical Web Center.

MSU College of Law, operating under the principles of its DEI Strategic Plan, is poised to become the state’s preeminent law school, preparing a diverse community of lawyer-leaders to serve diverse communities in Michigan and beyond. It is committed to providing a legal education that is taught by leading scholars in their fields, includes best-in-class experiential opportunities, and helps students graduate without excessive debt.

MSU Statement

Michigan State University has been advancing the common good with uncommon will for more than 160 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU pushes the boundaries of discovery and forges enduring partnerships to solve the most pressing global challenges while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.

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About Michigan State University

Spartans work every day to advance the common good in uncommon ways.Together, we tackle some of the world?s toughest problems to find solutions that make life better?from alternative energy to better food safety to breakthrough medical and environmental applications achieved through rare isotope research.We teach. We explore and we discover. We collaborate and lead. We innovate, inspire, and empower. We achieve our potential and create circumstances that help our students and others achieve theirs.We're good at it, and we've been at it for more than 150 years.The nation?s pioneer land-grant university, MSU began as a bold experiment that democratized higher education and helped bring science and innovation into everyday life. The revolutionary concept became a model for the nation.Today, MSU is one of the top research universities in the world?on one of the biggest, greenest campuses in the nation. Home to nationally ranked and recognized academic, residential college, and service-learning programs, we?re a diverse community of dedicated students and scholars, athletes and artists, scientists and leaders.In ways both practical and profound, we work to create a stronger, more sustainable, and more hopeful future for all.

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