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paul1454 wrote:

Lots of tax lawyers work for the big 4 auditing firms, and they have a lot more hands on work than those tax lawyers at firms. I've also been told that only the large firms have dedicated tax units, while midsize firms will only have a few dedicated tax people and small firms probably won't have any. Lastly, another thing to look into would be working for the government. The IRS employs a lot of tax lawyers, mainly to audit larger companies.

Note: I got this all from my school's information program on tax law. They had a few large firm tax lawyers there along with a guy from the IRS who enjoys pwnzing companies that don't pay their taxes.

paul1454 wrote:Tax law is not really a hot field of law. It is a slow grower, but a necessary part of many firm's practice areas. Only in a minority of cases will any client come to the firm simply for a tax related question (i.e. challenging the IRS, help on an audit, etc...). More often, tax really is just around to help on other projects, mainly M&A or other stuff funneled in from the corporate department. It is, however, a field that isn't going anywhere any time soon.

Lots of tax lawyers work for the big 4 auditing firms, and they have a lot more hands on work than those tax lawyers at firms. I've also been told that only the large firms have dedicated tax units, while midsize firms will only have a few dedicated tax people and small firms probably won't have any. Lastly, another thing to look into would be working for the government. The IRS employs a lot of tax lawyers, mainly to audit larger companies.

Note: I got this all from my school's information program on tax law. They had a few large firm tax lawyers there along with a guy from the IRS who enjoys pwnzing companies that don't pay their taxes.]

That is very true that many attorneys work in the Big 4 accounting firms. Note that working in the tax department of these firms (I'm talking regular federal. M&A, International and SALT aren't quite so bad) of those firms typically doing very mind-numbing compliance work (I know, I used to work in one). As an attorney working in a Big 4 accounting firm, you are very limited in what you can do. In fact, you are not allowed to even "practice law," although some of the tax planning you may do (if you are able to get any sophisticated work as a young attorney) may fall on the border of legal work. Another thing to consider is that Big 4 accounting firms will not take into acount your additional education in terms of pay. A JD with an LLM in tax will be paid only marginally more (usually about 5%) and someone straight out of undergrad with their accounting degree. All in all, attorneys working at Big 4 firms are generally unhappier than their accountant counterparts, mainly because they feel like they have wasted their JD degree. I think the only time Big 4 would be worthwhile for an attorney is if (1) they REALLY want to do tax; and (2) they don't have the qualifications to get into a large law firm with a tax department, but of course, that is just my opinion and others may not find that the case. If you would like some really good information on careers in tax, check outhttp://www.taxtalent.com

I just wanted to clear that up in case anyone reading this thread was considering tax. I know this isn't solely about tax law.

Nothing is recession proof, you are paid a price based on your value.

Darth Topher wrote:What's "M & A?"

bocifious wrote:Thanks for the info. I have bookmarked that site and plan on checking it out. I actually don't have an undergrad background in business/finance/accounting (philosophy!! woo!!) but I am very interested in tax law and had just heard about working for the big 4. I didn't know much about them other than what I had heard, and that they have big shiny offices in the areas where I want to end up working. I will look into this more. I should have the grades to get biglaw somewhere, so I am not too worried about it. I was also thinking about working for the government though. I heard that the IRS jobs aren't too bad. Basically the alumni who came to school from the IRS said the lawyers there pretty much just help do the audits of companies. Are you familiar with government tax work at all? I am looking into it because we all know government hours are super reasonable and the pay isn't too bad (plus you can see the actual pay scales and figure out what you will be making down the line).

im interested in the rationale behind naming water law.

hbb wrote:

im interested in the rationale behind naming water law.

one example

RATRATRAT wrote:

bocifious wrote:Space law

What's funny is this is actually what my dad does . . .