Law Student Tax Challenge

Congratulations to the following finalist and semi-finalist teams in the 2024-2025 Law Student Tax Challenge! The 2025-2026 dates will be announced soon, check back for details on next year’s competition.

J.D. Division

Semi-Finalists:

• Ashley Martinez and Raissa Ebeh from Fordham University School of Law. Their coach was Elizabeth Maresca.
• Seth Stancroff and Ben Gelman from Columbia Law School. Their coach was Alex Raskolnikov.

1st Place:

• Rachel Lang and Kelsey Oleksak from Western New England School of Law. Their coach was Fred Royal.

2nd Place:

• Nolan Schafer and Andrew Harker from the University of Nebraska, College of Law. Their coach was Adam Thimmesch.

3rd Place:

• Daisy Gonzales and Bob Anderson from the University of Georgia School of Law. Their Coach was Assaf Harpaz.

Best Written:

• Jessica Kowalski and Margaret Callahan from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. Their coach was Samantha Galvin. 
  • Best Written Entry

LL.M. Division

Finalists:

• Mirian Daniela Marcelino da Silva and Eli Nahmias from the University of Washington School of Law. Their coach was Michael Hatfield.

1^st Place:

• James Whippo and Tony Xu from Georgetown University Law Center. Their Coach was Michael Caballero. 

2^nd Place:

• Vanessa Baron and Cameron Bateman from Boston University Law School. Their coach was Kevin Wall. 

Best Written:

• Maxwell Holleman and Remon Youssef from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. Their Coach was Genevieve Tokic. 
  • Best Written Entry

About

An alternative to traditional moot court competitions, the Law Student Tax Challenge (LSTC) is organized by the Section’s Young Lawyers Forum. The LSTC asks two-person teams of students to solve a complex business problem that might arise in everyday tax practice. Teams are initially evaluated on two criteria: a memorandum to a senior partner and a letter to a client explaining the result. Based on the written work product, six teams from the J.D. Division and four teams from the LL.M. Division receive a free trip to the Tax Section’s Midyear Meeting, where each team presents its submission before a panel of judges consisting of the country’s top tax practitioners and government officials, including tax court judges. The competition is a great way for law students to showcase their knowledge in a real-world setting and gain valuable exposure to the tax law community. 

2024-2025 Materials

• J.D. Rules
• J.D. Problem

• LL.M. Rules
  
• LL.M. Problem

Information Session

Want to learn more about the ABA Tax Section's Law Student Tax Challenge? Hear from past challenge winners and coaches about their experiences, how they prepared for the competition, and tips/tricks for those entering, and how winning has impacted their law school journey and/or career paths.

Volunteer Opportunity

Learn more about the various ways to support LSTC, from problem drafting and grading to in-person oral defense judging, there are a variety of opportunities to support the next generation of tax professionals.

Challenge Archive

Access are archive of past Law Student Tax Challenge videos, problems, best written winners, results, and more.