Winners of the 22nd Annual Law Student Tax Challenge

The Section is pleased to announce the winners of the 22nd Annual Law Student Tax Challenge, a contest designed to give students an opportunity to research, write about, and present their analyses of a real-life tax planning problem. The competition is open to both J.D. and LL.M. law students. Tracy Costanzo and Amanda Hepinger of Syracuse University College of Law were awarded first place in the J.D. Division. Their coach was Robert Nassau. Andrii Buznytskyi and Marharyta Bahno of the University of Miami Law School were awarded first place in the LL.M. Division. Their Coach was Rebecca Rosenberg. The teams presented oral arguments before a panel of distinguished tax lawyers and tax court judges attending the Section of Taxation 2023 Midyear Tax Meeting in San Diego, CA, with the winners honored at an awards ceremony during the meeting.

The other awardees from this year’s competition include:

J.D. Division

1st Place:
Tracy Costanzo and Amanda Hepinger
Syracuse University, College of Law

2nd Place and Best Written:
Ivan Rudd and Isaac Fuhrman Borgman
University of Miami School of Law

3rd Place:
Justin Sung and Judd Baguioro
University of California College of the Law, San Francisco

Semi-Finalists:
Aaron Anderson and Sydney Jensen
Brigham Young University, J. Reuben Clark Law School

Daniela Curiel and Doug Duggan
St. Thomas University College of Law

Nicholas Grimes and Michael Kohn
Widener Commonwealth Law School

LL.M. Division

1st Place:
Andrii Buznytskyi and Marharyta Bahno
University of Miami School of Law

2nd Place and Best Written:
Amalia Castro and Justin Welsh
Northwestern Pritzker School of Law

Finalists:
Andres Berdugo and Eddie Coronado
University of California College of the Law, San Francisco

Deepa Patil and Charlotte Schmidt
Boston University School of Law

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 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. For more information about the LSTC, go to https://www.americanbar.org/groups/taxation/awards/law_student_tax_challenge/.