The four-part program for U.S. educated tax practitioners, namely EAs, JDs, LLBs and CPAs, et al. may be taken at your own pace and is distributed electronically as follows:
Comprehensive Federal Income Taxation I & II
Topics introduces non-attorneys to the complex and absorbing study of Federal taxation covering a broad range of subjects, beginning with basic concepts and individual taxation. Once the fundamentals are covered, tax accounting and the taxation of partnerships and corporations become the focus. The final section of the tutorial presents estate and gift taxation, along with income taxation of trusts and estates and retirement planning. Deferred compensation, education savings, international tax, and state and local taxation are also addressed.
U.S. Tax Court Rules of Practice & Procedure
U.S. Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure is designed to familiarize the non-attorney bar candidate with the tax court rules of practice and procedure, including any Interim New Rules and Amendments to the Rules. The second part of the tutorial sets forth a code of conduct, as prescribed under the ABA Model Rules of Professional Responsibility, which tax practitioners must follow in representing taxpayers. The Rules prescribe what must or must not be done. They also advise what a tax practitioner should do. These provisions represent aspirational conduct for the tax practitioner and provide the guide for proper behavior, even if the client objects. The tutorial then addresses how the U.S. Tax Court may discipline non-attorney practitioners for violating mandatory rules and the procedural rules for disciplinary proceedings when the Treasury Department seeks to suspend or disbar a practitioner from practice before the Internal Revenue Service.
Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE)
Federal Rules of Evidence is designed for USTC bar candidates with no prior exposure to the subject. This tutorial presents the law of evidence and provides a rule-by-rule commentary. Because knowledge of the law of evidence is not enough, this course recognizes that it is one thing to know the rules; it is another to know just how to introduce a letter, lay a foundation for a business record, refresh a witness' recollection, or question a character witness. Hence, the focus is on helping the USTC bar candidate bridge the gap from knowing the law of evidence to knowing how to present his or her answers on the USTC Exam in an IRAC format. We will review common objections and responses to evidence along with a range of possible responses for "opposing counsel," supplemented with authority. Finally, we provide the guide that will help you get through the daunting task of introducing documents, laying the proper foundation for hearsay exceptions, and overcoming a myriad of other evidentiary hurdles, along with "how-to-do-it" examples in question and answer format.
Professional Responsibility of Lawyers (Legal Ethics)
Professional Responsibility of Lawyers addresses how attorneys are often their own worst legal advisers. They know the law affecting their clients because it is there business to know that, but too frequently, they know little about the law affecting themselves. This tutorial presents the rules and regulations that have been promulgated for attorneys by the American Bar Association. It is a study of professional responsibility and legal ethics, which together, makeup the ABA Model Code. This tutorial is an especially important subject for individuals who will practice before the U.S. Tax Court. Endemic to the tax law is the very fact that taxpayers sometimes, unwittingly or intentionally, violate the law. The newly-admitted USTC Practitioner must be aware of when he is at risk of violating the ABA code of ethics in trying to help his client. He or she must also be aware that clients are not always truthful and may often knowingly mislead the practitioner in an effort to find a "fall guy." The consequence for the tax practitioner could well be censorship, suspension, disbarment and could result also in civil liability or criminal prosecution.
Fee: $5,000 - includes digital and telephonic tutorials
