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Certificate in Federal Tax Law

Please be advised that the Certificate in Federal Taxation is being phased out and replaced with a Concentration in Federal Taxation within the Business Law Certificate. Students who began their studies at Lewis & Clark Law in Fall 2023 or earlier have the option to secure the Certificate in Federal Taxation if they meet all of the requirements stated below. However, those entering in Fall 2024 or later will not be able to secure that Certificate, and should instead consider the Concentration in Federal Taxation within the Business Law Certificate.

Certificate in Federal Tax Law

The Certificate in Federal Tax Law, awarded to qualified Lewis & Clark students at graduation, recognizes successful curriculum concentration in the field of federal tax law. Students who believe that they will fulfill the requirements as set forth below must complete an application that is available from the Registrar in order to be awarded a Certificate

This page describes the requirements to obtain a certificate in Federal Tax Law and provides links to the documents that must be submitted to the Registrar’s Office by February 1st for a May graduation date or October 31st for a January graduation date.

Please also visit the Tax Law program page for general information about Tax Law at Lewis & Clark Law School.

Documents:

Application

Students qualify for a Certificate in Federal Tax Law by satisfying the following requirements

For students who entered law school after July 31, 2017:

1. Complete Income Tax I, Income Tax II, and Estate and Gift Tax, and seven (7) additional credits in courses approved for the Federal Tax Law Certificate program. A list of these courses appears below. A minimum of four (4) of these additional credits must be in approved classroom courses. No more than one course or program graded on a credit/no credit basis may be used to meet these credit requirements. Course credit may be allowed, in the discretion of the Program Director, for one course, of up to three (3) units of graded credit, taken at another law school. (Questions regarding courses added to or removed from the curriculum from time to time, or the equivalency of any courses taken at other law schools, should be addressed to the Program Director.)

2. Complete one substantial research paper primarily on one or more topics relating directly to Federal Tax Law. To qualify toward requirements for the Certificate, a paper must satisfy the Capstone writing requirement, and be one of the following: (a) a paper written to fulfill course requirements in Advanced Tax; (b) a paper written to fulfill course requirements in Estate Planning, but only with advance approval of the topic and subsequent review of the paper by the Program Director; or (c) an Individual Research paper, for a minimum of two semester hours, but only with advance approval of the topic and subsequent review of the paper by the Program Director. Note: Papers not written for graded credit do not satisfy this requirement.

3. Maintain a grade point average of B (3.00) or better in courses taken and selected as qualifying for the Certificate. To obtain the Certificate “with Distinction,” a student must maintain an overall grade point average of 3.67 or better in courses that are taken and submitted to satisfy the requirements of the Certificate.

No grades from course credits transferred from another law school and accepted for use toward the Certificate will be taken into account in computing the grade point average.

Federal Tax Certificate Courses –

Students Entering After July 31, 2017

Advanced Business*

Advanced Corporate Tax

Advanced Partnership Tax

Advanced Tax

Estate Planning

Externship (Federal Tax Law placement)‡

Federal Tax Procedure

Individual Research (Federal Tax Law topic)‡

International Tax

Moot Court: ABA Tax†

Nonprofit Law*

Tax Clinic‡

* No more than one (1) credit from this course may be used to satisfy Certificate requirements.

† No more than two (2) credits from this program may be used to satisfy Certificate requirements.

‡ No more than three (3) credits from this program may be used to satisfy Certificate requirements

For students who entered law school before August 1, 2017:

1. Complete Income Tax I, Corporate Tax, and Estate and Gift Tax, and six (6) additional credits in courses approved for the Federal Tax Law Certificate program. A list of these courses appears below. A minimum of three (3) of these additional credits must be in approved classroom courses. No more than one course or program graded on a credit/no credit basis may be used to meet these credit requirements. Course credit may be allowed, in the discretion of the Program Director, for one course, of up to three (3) units of credit, taken at another law school. (Questions regarding courses added to or removed from the curriculum from time to time, or the equivalency of any courses taken at other law schools, should be addressed to the Program Director.)

2. Complete one substantial research paper exclusively on one or more topics relating directly to Federal Tax Law. To qualify toward requirements for the Certificate, a paper must satisfy the Capstone writing requirement, and be one of the following: (a) a paper written to fulfill course requirements in Advanced Tax; (b) a paper written to fulfill course requirements in Estate Planning, but only with advance approval of the topic and subsequent review of the paper by the Program Director; (c) an externship paper, but only in connection with a Federal Tax Externship; or (d) an Individual Research paper, for a minimum of two semester hours, but only with advance approval of the topic and subsequent review of the paper by the Program Director. Note: Papers not written for graded credit do not satisfy this requirement.

3. Maintain a grade point average of B (3.00) or better in courses taken and selected as qualifying for the Certificate. No grades from course credits transferred from another law school and accepted for use toward the Certificate will be taken into account in computing the grade point average.