Pro Bono Opportunities

Pro Bono: Getting Involved

The Tax Section is pleased to assist tax attorneys in locating meaningful pro bono opportunities. Below find descriptions of some of the programs we use to link members with pro bono work. Please also feel free to contact us if you have questions specific to your area of interest or geography and we will do our best to help you locate an opportunity that fits your interests and background

• Assist Disaster Survivors
  
  We have gathered resources that can be used by tax attorneys find ways to help when a disaster strikes.
• Assist Elderly Taxpayers
  
  The Section is concerned with ensuring the needs of special populations of taxpayers are met.
• Assist Service Members
  
  Help our service members with your tax experience through training VITA volunteers on military bases, or signing up for the ABA Military Pro Bono Project.
• Calendar Call Programs
  
  Calendar Call programs provide important advice and assistance to low-income, otherwise unrepresented taxpayers who have disputes with the IRS.
• Inmate Tax Assistance Project
  
  The Inmate Tax Assistance Project is a collaboration between the ABA Tax Section and the Center for Taxpayer Rights to assist formerly and currently incarcerated people resolve tax issues.
• Low Income Taxpayer Clinics
  
  LITCs provide representation before the IRS or in court on audits, tax collection disputes, and other issues for free or for a small fee.
• Resources on the Expanded and Advance Child Tax Credit
  
  The 2021 expansion of the Child Tax Credit along with the ability to access the 2021 credit from July to December rather than during the 2022 filing season, has provided a much needed financial boost to millions of American families. Learn more about how to conduct outreach, assist families in accessing the credit, and the policy around the CTC.
  
• Virtual Settlement Week
  
  After a successful third Virtual Settlement Week in July 2023, the Tax Section and the IRS partnered again to host a fourth joint Virtual Settlement Week from November 7th-9th, 2023.
• Volunteer Income Tax Assistance 
  
  Provide free tax preparation for low-income individuals, families, and seniors through the IRS’ national program operated locally in your neighborhood.

Pro Bono Pledge

At the Fall Tax Meeting in Atlanta in October 2018, the Section officially launched the Pro Bono Pledge Program. The Section of Taxation is committed to advancing access to representation for low-income and other vulnerable taxpayers, promoting education and the understanding of tax law and advancing fairness and equity in the tax system. 

Recordings of Educational Sessions

Access our free library of full webinar recordings & slides from past pro bono webinars! The Tax Section is pleased to offer free educational programs relating to the representation of low-income taxpayers by Low Income Taxpayer Clinic practitioners and pro bono attorneys. We offer both CLE and non-CLE sessions regularly on a wide range of topics: ranging from a full series on those new to collection cases, to appearing in Tax Court, to timely issues impacting low-income taxpayers presented by the top experts in the field at our Tax Section Meetings. The recordings of these sessions are also available for free - just click the link above to take a look!. To attend live programming and/or to purchase these sessions as On Demand CLE, please create a free ABA membership account and sign up for the Tax Section.

Tax Assistance Public Service (TAPS)

The Tax Assistance Public Service (TAPS) endowment fund provides stable, long-term funding for the Tax Section’s tax-related public service programs. The TAPS endowment fund primarily supports the Christine A. Brunswick Public Service Fellowship program, which provides two-year fellowships for recent law school graduates to work for non-profit organizations offering tax-related legal assistance to underserved communities.

To date, the TAPS endowment fund has supported nearly 20 fellows providing dozens of years of service and unique projects to advance services to low-income taxpayers. Not only have the fellows produced impressive results, but many have secured positions in the field of low-income tax assistance and continue to serve low-income communities and train a new generation of law students to provide these services after their fellowships. Other fellows have clerked for judges of the U.S. Tax Court who value their experiences working with underserved taxpayers and their perspectives gained from their first-hand involvement in low-income tax issues. Fellows who practice tax law in other settings such as major law firms and the government, continue to contribute to the Tax Section by remaining active in pro bono initiatives, speaking on panels, leading committees, drafting comments, and mentoring fellows and other new lawyers. This program has been incredibly successful both in serving taxpayers who otherwise might not have representation, making systemic change in local communities and in providing a springboard to careers in low-income tax services.

Consider giving to the TAPS endowment fund today. Your generous support will help ensure that the Section can continue its mission to provide legal assistance to those in need.

Tax Section Pro Bono Related Publications

Members of the Tax Section gain access to our full library of publications.  Nonprofit, academic and government individuals or institutions can get a discount on certain titles including the popular Effectively Representing Your Client Before the IRS, 8th Edition.   Our journal, The Tax Lawyer and our member e-newsletter, ABA Tax Times,  frequently include articles of interest with respect to pro bono representation or Low-Income Tax Clinic work. We have compiled a sample of some of these articles and made them available for free as a public service. And we will continue to add to this list over time.

Listserv and Other Resources

• Pro Bono and Tax Clinics Listserv: The PBTC Tax-LITC Listserv is a mailing list where over 1,000 pro bono tax attorneys and LITC practitioners are able to communicate about questions, resources, publications, training and job opportunities and more. The Section has made this community open to anyone who creates a free ABA account even if you are not a member of the ABA as a service to the community. So join today!
• Christine A. Brunswick Public Service Fellowship:  The Public Service Fellowship program was developed to provide legal service assistance to low income taxpayers in underserved areas of the country, and to foster an interest in tax-related public service for those young tax lawyers who participate.
• Janet R. Spragens Pro Bono Award: The Pro Bono Award recognizes one or more individuals or law firms that have provided meritorious pro bono service in the representation to low-income taxpayers. The award is intended to encourage pro bono activities by all members through public recognition of the pro bono services of the annual award winners.