Alumni Profiles
Tax Careers
Graduates of our law school pursue careers in every area of tax practice, and in every region of the country. Many are tax partners and associates in law firms, both large and small. Others work at various government agencies that administer the tax laws, including the U.S. Treasury Department, the Honors Program of the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, and the Oregon Department of Revenue.
In recent years, several graduates of the law school have served as law clerks to various judges on the U.S. Tax Court, based in Washington, D.C. Still others handle tax matters as in-house counsel for private businesses or as attorneys in large accounting firms. The law school’s energetic Office of Career Services has been quite successful in matching upper-division students with prospective employers in the tax arena, as well as with graduate tax programs.
Pro bono work in the tax field
The ABA Section of Taxation recently announced a new program that will support recent law school graduates who are engaged in public service work in the field of taxation. The section’s Public Service Fellowship program will provide unrestricted grants to sponsoring nonprofit organizations to pay the salary, payroll taxes, and benefits for attorneys who work for those nonprofit groups upon graduation from law school or after finishing a judicial clerkship. In addition, the ABA unit will help fellows in the program pay their student loans during their two-year fellowship period.
Life after law school
Jennifer L. Woodhouse, class of 2008, focuses her practice in the area of tax controversy and estate planning for Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt where she assists estate planning clients with probate, trust administration and the preparation of wills, trusts, advance directives and powers of attorney.
Jennifer was recently honored as a 2014 Rising Star by the Lewis & Clark Law School. She also received an Up & Coming Lawyer for 2012 by the Daily Journal of Commerce of Oregon; a distinction that recognizes outstanding commitment to both the legal profession and the community.
Lewis & Clark teams have won many prizes in national tax competitions in recent years, and the students who have excelled in these contests have often gone on to success in tax practice, and other types of law practice.