Business and Tax Clinic

Pre-requisite: Completion of first year curriculum. Pre-or-co-requisite: Ethics
Preference: Completion of Federal Income Tax and any Business Law courses.

The Business & Tax (“B&T”) clinic is part of the law school's Economic Development program.  Although specific types of client matters cannot be guaranteed, B&T clinic students typically represent the following types of clients:

• low-income small business entrepreneurs who cannot afford private counsel;
• low-income individuals in tax  disputes before the IRS, the U.S. Tax Court and the New Mexico Taxation & Revenue Department (“NMTRD”);
• nonprofit organizations seeking an IRS determination of tax-exempt status; and
• individuals with consumer debt issues (including foreclosure defense and bankruptcy counseling and filing).

Small-business cases generally include the following:

• advising on the selection of, and help with formation of, business entities;
• reviewing and drafting contracts and leases;
• advising on simple copyright and trademark issues; and
• resolving business disputes.

Tax cases typically involve:

• helping clients select evidence to support their positions;
• communicating with the IRS and NMTRD, by phone or letter;
• preparing or amending federal and state income tax returns;
• preparing and filing protests and U.S. Tax Court petitions;
• counseling clients about and pursuing collection alternatives.

Classroom instruction focuses first on imparting the skills and knowledge required to handle typical B&T clinic cases and then broadens into more general skills and knowledge development for transactional and tax work.

Clients of the law school’s Clinical Law Programs include individuals and organizations that have multiple legal and non-legal needs and objectives.  B&T clinic students often collaborate with students of the Community Lawyering Clinic or Southwest Indian Law Clinic in providing services to these clients.

Students will be required (1) to attend and actively participate in up to five classroom sessions (ten during summer’s first three weeks) during each week of the academic semester and (2) to maintain a schedule of 24 (minimum 2-hour blocks) office hours each week during the summer semester and 16 (minimum 2-hour blocks) office hours each week during the fall and spring semesters.

Updated: March 16, 2012