OU Law places third in ABA Section of Taxation Law Student Tax Challenge

Congratulations to our National Tax Challenge Team:  Jessica S. Cory and Brandee R. Raney.  They placed third in the American Bar Association Section of Taxation’s 11th Annual Law Student Tax Challenge.  An alternative to traditional moot court competitions, this national competition asks two-person teams of students to solve a cutting-edge and complex business problem that might arise in everyday tax practice.

Teams were initially evaluated on two criteria:  a memorandum to a senior partner and a letter to the client explaining the result.  Based on that written work, six teams from the J.D. Division and four teams from the LL.M. Division received a free trip (including airfare and accommodations for two nights) to the Tax Section’s 2012 Midyear Meeting, February 16-18 at the Manchester Grand Hyatt, San Diego, CA, where they defended their written submissions before a panel of some of the country’s top tax lawyers.

Jessica S. Cory and Brandee R. Raney were among the six J.D. semifinalist teams with the best written submissions in the country (out of more than 90 J.D. Division teams that submitted solutions).  After the first round of the competition in San Diego, the Cory-Raney team was selected for a final round of oral presentations, and ultimately the Cory-Raney team won third place in the J.D. Division.  In addition to receiving plaques recognizing their national achievement, each student won a monetary award, free membership in the American Bar Association Tax Section for a year after graduation, and free meeting registrations for a year. 

Congratulations also to Professor Jonathan B. Forman, who served as the team’s coach.