Top Schools for Taxation, preLaw 49 (Fall 2016):
There has never been a more exciting time to be a tax lawyer.
That's straight from the mouth of Paul Caron, professor of law at Pepperdine University School of Law and the publisher of TaxProf Blog.
Employment prospects are currently and will likely remain high, compared to other areas of law, making the specialty a fairly safe one to enter. Tax law is not subject to booms and busts like real estate, said Caron.
"There are always tax needs, and tax professionals need to meet those needs," Caron said. "It's never really a booming practice, but the upside is, it's never really a down practice area."
One hundred and nine schools offer either concentrations or certificates in taxation, but just two schools earned A grades [90% or higher] from Pre Law magazine for the breadth of their curricular offerings [30% for a concentration, 24% for a clinic, 12% for a center, 12% for an externship, 9% for a journal, 8% for a student group and 5% for a certificate]: Loyola Law School, Los Angeles and Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University. ... Nine schools earned A- [75%-89%], and eight more earned B+.
Students at the top schools for tax law have numerous opportunities for experiential learning and extracurricular activities. Many offer clinics that allow students to work with real clients, many of whom may be low-income and have limited options to deal with their personal tax issues.