Tax savvy
The School of Law Federal Tax Clinic’s mission is to represent, educate, and advocate for low-income and limited English proficiency taxpayers. Samantha Galvin (center) is director. R. Ryan Bennett (JD ‘16) and Lia Smietanski (JD ‘24) say participating in the clinic bolstered their skills in practicing tax law.
Tax savvy
Students develop foundational legal and people skills in the Federal Tax Clinic
When Molly Recar (JD ‘11) enrolled at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, she had no intention of taking any tax law courses. But an IRS revenue agent convinced her otherwise. “It’s actually my twin sister,” Recar says with a laugh. “She told me tax isn’t as scary as people make it out to be.”
This insider tip shifted the trajectory of Recar’s law school journey—and led her to a fulfilling career. After excelling in federal income tax, Recar applied to work in the School of Law’s Federal Tax Clinic, one of six clinics on campus where law students work directly with clients under faculty supervision.
“Once you graduate, you want to be able to point to practical experience that you had,” Recar says. “The clinic definitely provides that.”
Today, Recar is the senior consumer law attorney at Prairie State Legal Services, where she oversees the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC).
Both the LITC and Loyola’s Federal Tax Clinic are supported by a Department of Treasury grant that creates opportunities for low-income taxpayers to access representation and resources. The grant stipulates that generally the client’s income must be under 250% of the federal poverty line. Loyola’s clinic is the only low-income taxpayer clinic housed in a law school in Illinois.
Samantha Galvin is director and Linda Fairbanks is assistant director of the Federal Tax Clinic. “Our students are prepared for any career in tax law or beyond,” Galvin says.
“We don’t prepare tax returns, but we help with anything that can go wrong after a tax return is filed,” says Samantha Galvin, the clinic’s director, who also co-teaches the weekly classroom requisite with Linda Fairbanks (JD ‘23), the clinic’s assistant director. Each semester, approximately 14 students assist clients with a variety of IRS-related issues; annually, the clinic serves 50 to 75 taxpayers.
Galvin divides these issues into two categories: liability disputes and collections. The former includes instances where a client is audited and needs to provide additional documentation, or where the IRS believes the client owes taxes and the client claims otherwise. Collections refers to situations where clients owe taxes but are seeking recourse because they are unable to pay them.
Throughout the course, students conduct research, learn to navigate the IRS’s forms and procedures, write legal memos, attend tax court to consult with unrepresented taxpayers, support anxious clients, and even learn how to fax.
“There’s a misconception that taxes are just numbers and money, but there’s so much more to it,” says Galvin. “Our students are prepared for any career in tax law or beyond.”
“Once you graduate, you want to be able to point to practical experience that you had,” Molly Recar says. “The clinic definitely provides that.”
Confidence Booster
Recar credits the Federal Tax Clinic with helping her obtain her first position with Prairie State Legal Services as a staff attorney. “The LITC was new and there was only one person employed at the time,” she says. “He had a really high caseload, and the organization needed someone who could take some of those cases right away.”
With two semesters of the clinic on her resume, Recar’s direct work experience made her a standout candidate. Recar, who majored in history and sociology, shied away from accounting and business courses in undergrad. But the clinical course provided reassurance that she could thrive in a numbers-heavy career that is also client facing.
“There’s a misconception that taxes are just numbers and money, but there’s so much more to it.”
“Working in the Federal Tax Clinic gave me the confidence that I can do tax work,” Recar says. “I learned a lot of the substantive tax law that I use in my current job, and I also learned how to work with people who are in distress.”
The former Teach for America educator has always been passionate about serving others. “I’m motivated by being in a position where I can help people,” she says. “The clinic was the perfect mix of tax law—something I didn’t know I’d be interested in—and assisting low-income individuals in need.”
Thanks to her experiences at the clinic, Recar can advocate confidently for her clients. “People are really intimidated by the IRS,” she says. “I always try to explain to them that the IRS is reasonable; they will work with you, and I am here to help.”
Prepared on Day One
For two recent alumni, the Federal Tax Clinic provided a critical foundation in legal skills. “I learned how to write a convincing cover letter and other legal documents,” says Feng Liang (JD ‘24). “Before the clinic, I didn’t know how to ‘sound’ like a lawyer.”
Liang spent the summer as a public interest law initiative fellow for Ladder Up’s Low Income Taxpayer Clinic: “I hit the ground running and started writing a cover letter on my first day.”
Now a first-year associate at a Chicago law firm, Liang remains interested in tax law. “In the long term, it’s something I’d like to do,” Liang says. “I really loved everything about the clinic.”
Now a trusts and estates law clerk, Lia Smietanski worked in the Federal Tax Clinic for two semesters.
Like Liang, Lia Smietanski (JD ‘24) worked in the Federal Tax Clinic for two semesters. “I spent way more time and energy—willingly—on the clinic than any other law school class,” Smietanski says.
Entering law school with an interest in estate planning, Smietanski packed her schedule with tax courses. “I studied tax all three years, but it wasn’t until my time in the clinic that I really started working with IRS forms, learning about their strict deadlines, and understanding how the IRS functions,” Smietanski says. “If you’re doing anything related to tax law, that’s great experience to have.”
As a Trusts & Estates law clerk at Levenfeld Pearlstein LLC, Smietanski knows those insights will continue to serve her well. She’ll also draw on the research skills she honed while working on a complicated project related to unreported interest on child support payments. “That was the first time I spoke in tax court for a continuance,” Smietanski says. “And I’m happy to report that we got a good result.”
R. Ryan Bennett says that the Federal Tax Clinic was one of the most beneficial opportunities he had in law school.
Complexity Simplified
From the vantage point of being of counsel at IceMiller, where he focuses on complex estate planning, tax planning and compliance, tax controversy, and more, R. Ryan Bennett (JD ‘16) can state assuredly that the Federal Tax Clinic was one of the most beneficial opportunities he had in law school.
“It was a fast track to the real world,” he says. “By the time I graduated, I had already sat across the table from an IRS agent. I’d seen a live audit. I understood how the IRS operates and what their philosophy is.”
While Bennett currently advises high-net-worth clients, he draws regularly on the communication skills he strengthened while assisting low-income taxpayers.
“Can you take a complex concept and boil it down into something a client can understand? That’s a really valid skill,” Bennett says. “The clinic sets you up to be able to convey technical subject matter in a way that is easily understood and analyzed.”
“By the time I graduated, I had already sat across the table from an IRS agent. I’d seen a live audit. I understood how the IRS operates and what their philosophy is.”
Bennett notes that some of the challenges he saw in the clinic aren’t exclusive to low-income taxpayers. People across tax brackets have issues related to spousal support or identity theft, for example.
And although Bennett graduated with a certificate in tax and a determination to work in this field, he wants prospective students to know that the clinic isn’t only for students considering tax law.
“You don’t know where your career will take you,” he says. “But the clinic will be valuable to you no matter where you end up.” –Kelsey Schagemann (October 2024)
When Molly Recar (JD ‘11) enrolled at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, she had no intention of taking any tax law courses. But an IRS revenue agent convinced her otherwise. “It’s actually my twin sister,” Recar says with a laugh. “She told me tax isn’t as scary as people make it out to be.”
This insider tip shifted the trajectory of Recar’s law school journey—and led her to a fulfilling career. After excelling in federal income tax, Recar applied to work in the School of Law’s Federal Tax Clinic, one of six clinics on campus where law students work directly with clients under faculty supervision.
“Once you graduate, you want to be able to point to practical experience that you had,” Recar says. “The clinic definitely provides that.”
Today, Recar is the senior consumer law attorney at Prairie State Legal Services, where she oversees the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC).
Both the LITC and Loyola’s Federal Tax Clinic are supported by a Department of Treasury grant that creates opportunities for low-income taxpayers to access representation and resources. The grant stipulates that generally the client’s income must be under 250% of the federal poverty line. Loyola’s clinic is the only low-income taxpayer clinic housed in a law school in Illinois.
“We don’t prepare tax returns, but we help with anything that can go wrong after a tax return is filed,” says Samantha Galvin, the clinic’s director, who also co-teaches the weekly classroom requisite with Linda Fairbanks (JD ‘23), the clinic’s assistant director. Each semester, approximately 14 students assist clients with a variety of IRS-related issues; annually, the clinic serves 50 to 75 taxpayers.
Galvin divides these issues into two categories: liability disputes and collections. The former includes instances where a client is audited and needs to provide additional documentation, or where the IRS believes the client owes taxes and the client claims otherwise. Collections refers to situations where clients owe taxes but are seeking recourse because they are unable to pay them.
Throughout the course, students conduct research, learn to navigate the IRS’s forms and procedures, write legal memos, attend tax court to consult with unrepresented taxpayers, support anxious clients, and even learn how to fax.
“There’s a misconception that taxes are just numbers and money, but there’s so much more to it,” says Galvin. “Our students are prepared for any career in tax law or beyond.”
Confidence Booster
Recar credits the Federal Tax Clinic with helping her obtain her first position with Prairie State Legal Services as a staff attorney. “The LITC was new and there was only one person employed at the time,” she says. “He had a really high caseload, and the organization needed someone who could take some of those cases right away.”
With two semesters of the clinic on her resume, Recar’s direct work experience made her a standout candidate. Recar, who majored in history and sociology, shied away from accounting and business courses in undergrad. But the clinical course provided reassurance that she could thrive in a numbers-heavy career that is also client facing.
“Working in the Federal Tax Clinic gave me the confidence that I can do tax work,” Recar says. “I learned a lot of the substantive tax law that I use in my current job, and I also learned how to work with people who are in distress.”
The former Teach for America educator has always been passionate about serving others. “I’m motivated by being in a position where I can help people,” she says. “The clinic was the perfect mix of tax law—something I didn’t know I’d be interested in—and assisting low-income individuals in need.”
Thanks to her experiences at the clinic, Recar can advocate confidently for her clients. “People are really intimidated by the IRS,” she says. “I always try to explain to them that the IRS is reasonable; they will work with you, and I am here to help.”
Prepared on Day One
For two recent alumni, the Federal Tax Clinic provided a critical foundation in legal skills. “I learned how to write a convincing cover letter and other legal documents,” says Feng Liang (JD ‘24). “Before the clinic, I didn’t know how to ‘sound’ like a lawyer.”
Liang spent the summer as a public interest law initiative fellow for Ladder Up’s Low Income Taxpayer Clinic: “I hit the ground running and started writing a cover letter on my first day.”
Now a first-year associate at a Chicago law firm, Liang remains interested in tax law. “In the long term, it’s something I’d like to do,” Liang says. “I really loved everything about the clinic.”
Like Liang, Lia Smietanski (JD ‘24) worked in the Federal Tax Clinic for two semesters. “I spent way more time and energy—willingly—on the clinic than any other law school class,” Smietanski says.
Entering law school with an interest in estate planning, Smietanski packed her schedule with tax courses. “I studied tax all three years, but it wasn’t until my time in the clinic that I really started working with IRS forms, learning about their strict deadlines, and understanding how the IRS functions,” Smietanski says. “If you’re doing anything related to tax law, that’s great experience to have.”
As a Trusts & Estates law clerk at Levenfeld Pearlstein LLC, Smietanski knows those insights will continue to serve her well. She’ll also draw on the research skills she honed while working on a complicated project related to unreported interest on child support payments. “That was the first time I spoke in tax court for a continuance,” Smietanski says. “And I’m happy to report that we got a good result.”
Complexity Simplified
From the vantage point of being of counsel at IceMiller, where he focuses on complex estate planning, tax planning and compliance, tax controversy, and more, R. Ryan Bennett (JD ‘16) can state assuredly that the Federal Tax Clinic was one of the most beneficial opportunities he had in law school.
“It was a fast track to the real world,” he says. “By the time I graduated, I had already sat across the table from an IRS agent. I’d seen a live audit. I understood how the IRS operates and what their philosophy is.”
While Bennett currently advises high-net-worth clients, he draws regularly on the communication skills he strengthened while assisting low-income taxpayers.
“Can you take a complex concept and boil it down into something a client can understand? That’s a really valid skill,” Bennett says. “The clinic sets you up to be able to convey technical subject matter in a way that is easily understood and analyzed.”
Bennett notes that some of the challenges he saw in the clinic aren’t exclusive to low-income taxpayers. People across tax brackets have issues related to spousal support or identity theft, for example.
And although Bennett graduated with a certificate in tax and a determination to work in this field, he wants prospective students to know that the clinic isn’t only for students considering tax law.
“You don’t know where your career will take you,” he says. “But the clinic will be valuable to you no matter where you end up.” –Kelsey Schagemann (October 2024)