Tuesdays, 10:30 a.m. 1:00 p.m., or by appointment. Other Information Faculty Assistant Phone and General Course Information

Transcription

1 Course Section Professor Tax Research, L.L.M. Course Number: 317A One, for one credit Michael Daw Term Fall 2015 Meetings Once per week, Thursday evenings, 6:30 9:10 p.m. Professor s Contact Information Office Phone Office Location Address Office Hours Law Library, Plaza Level, directly behind Reference Desk mdaw@ggu.edu Tuesdays, 10:30 a.m. 1:00 p.m., or by appointment. Other Information Faculty Assistant Phone and none na General Course Information Required Texts & Materials Federal Tax Research: A Guide to Materials and Techniques, 9th ed., by Gail Levin Richmond Suggested Texts, Readings, & Materials Web-enhanced elements These will be suggested during class. You will need your Westlaw, Lexis, and Bloomberglaw account information; if you do not have a student Westlaw, Lexis, or Bloomberglaw account or have lost your access codes, please contact Michael Daw in the Law Library, who will provide you with one ( , mdaw@ggu.edu). From the beginning of the first class meeting, all students will need to have access to their Westlaw, Lexis, and Bloomberglaw accounts, for inclass demonstrations and skill-drills. Traditional Westlaw and Lexis may be used; students will be introduced to WestlawNext and Lexis Advance. Other online tax-related databases will be used, as well. Course Objectives This is a seminar aimed at teaching and sharpening legal research skills. It is intended to familiarize the student with essential legal resources, so that the student will be able to use them efficiently and effectively in legal research. Upon completion of this class, the student will: Understand the three primary sources of law as they relate to U.S. 1 of 5

2 federal income taxation: how each branch of government has authority to make law, and how statutes, regulations, IRS pronouncements, and case law combine to resolve a legal issue; Be able to construct effective research lines of attack with consideration given to the format of annotated research analysis, the time allotted for project, and the research project s cost constraints; Appreciate the use and value of citators, tax treatises, and practice guides; Determine which documents contain legislative and regulatory intent and how to find them; Improve analytical skills and writing ability; and Identify and locate the opinions of the various courts authorized to hear federal tax cases. Upper Division Writing? Experiential Learning? Not satisfied by this course. Not satisfied by this course. Course Policies Attendance, Preparedness, and Class Participation Computer and Internet Policy Accommodations Grading Method Midterm Exam Final Exam Attendance on time is mandatory for all classes. Since each class builds research knowledge in basic research skills by gradually adding more, and more sophisticated research tools and strategies, attendance in this class is critical. Late arrival may be grounds for lowered grades. All students are expected to prepare for and attend all classes. Preparation consists at a minimum of reading and considering the assigned materials and completing the homework assignments. This course requires regular attendance and preparation. Any student who misses more than two class meetings, will have his or her final grade reduced by one step/grade level (i.e., from A- to B+ ). A sign-in sheet will be passed among students to take attendance. Laptops are allowed and encouraged during class for the purpose of taking notes and for following in-class demonstrations. Use of the internet that is not related to classroom work is distracting and interferes with class discussion. Non-class-related Internet use and computer games are not permitted during class. Golden Gate University School of Law seeks to provide reasonable and necessary accommodations to students with disabilities. Please meet with the Disability Service Coordinator in Room 3339 or lawds@ggu.edu for information on how to receive accommodations. All communications with the Disability Service office are confidential. Weekly take-home research assignments will be given and will be due at the next class meeting. No midterm examination will be given. No final examination will be given. 2 of 5

3 Papers Presentations There will be five (5) take-home assignments. Each assignment will be counted 20 points toward the final grade. Each assignment will consist of from one to 12 questions. Each question is designed to illustrate research concepts discussed in class. Most questions will require the student to provide: the research services used, the databases researched, precisely how each database was used to complete the research, and answer(s) to the question(s) asked. Failure to provide any one of these will result in a deduction of points. Students will be expected to craft their responses to these assignment questions as if they were drafting an office memorandum for a senior law partner or associate. Points will also be subtracted if student work does not present a professional, finished product. Proper citation format is expected; failure to provide proper citation for a response will result in points off. Prof. Daw will strive to return each assignment, graded, the week following its due date, for in-class and after-class review. Students assignments from a previous week may constitute subject matter for a later class discussion, if relevant. None, although students may be called on during class. This is a research seminar, so lively discussion will be encouraged and anticipated. 3 of 5

4 Assignments & Academic Calendar Week Topic Pages Code & Rules Week 1 Class 1, October 22, 2015: Overview and We ll work with Introduction to course. Review of cases for our early Syllabus, course requirements. Review of searches. legal research and the research process (Richmond, pp. 1-24) Primary and Secondary Sources, generally. Boolean and Natural Language searching. Introduction to Westlaw, Lexis Advance, Bloomberglaw, IntelliConnect, Checkpoint. Assignment 1 distributed. No Assignment is due for the first class. Week 2 Class 2, October 29, 2015, Legislation: Treaties, International Material (pp ). The Constitution, Public Laws, and the Internal Revenue Code (pp ). Legislative Histories (pp ). Assignment Two distributed, due beginning of next class. Assignment 1 is due. Week 3 Class 3, November 5, 2015: Administrative and Judicial. Week 4 Week 5 Assignment 2 is due. Class 4, November 12, 2015: Secondary Sources and Citators (pp ); RIA Checkpoint and CCH IntelliConnect online (pp ); Legal Periodicals (pp ); Forms & Checklists (pp ); Newsletters (pp ). Assignment 4 distributed, due beginning of next class and will require some research in print. Assignment 3 is due. Class 5, November 19, 2015: Online Sources and Concerns Misc. Lexis, Westlaw, Bloomberg, IntelliConnect, Checkpoint, Internet (pp ); Miscellaneous tax websites, plus some computer / Internet concerns. Last assignment distributed, due Wednesday, November 25, 2015 Assignment 4 is due. For class 2, please read Richmond, Federal Tax Research, pp. 1-24, For your Boolean / Terms and Connectors assignment, you may find pp. 321, 325, 329, and 335 helpful. For Class 3, please read Richmond, Federal Tax Research, Treasury Regulations (pp ); Internal Revenue Service Pronouncements (pp ); Court decisions (pp ) For Class 4 please read Richmond, Federal Tax Research, pp For Class 5, please read Richmond, Federal Tax Research, pp Tax Treaties Internal Rev. Code Congressional documents Regulations Cases Admin. Pronouncements 4 of 5

5 Week 6 Assignment 5 is due Wednesday, November 25, 2015 These descriptions and timelines are subject to change at the discretion of the Professor. 5 of 5