Bruce E. Kayle (Chair of Tax Department, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, New York) has published Pro Bono Tax Matters (Not a Contradiction in Terms):  A Primer, 108 Tax Notes 777 (Aug. 15, 2005), also available on the Tax Analysts web site as Doc 2005-16221, 2005 TNT 157-28.  Here is the abstract:

This report observes, based on anecdotal evidence, that tax practitioners tend to do less pro bono work than peers who practice in other disciplines. The author rejects as an explanation for that observation (if it is even true at all) that tax lawyers are less well-meaning or charitably oriented than other practitioners. Instead the author posits that tax lawyers shy away from pro bono work for lack of familiarity with the substantive tax law, itself insidiously complex, that most frequently is the subject matter of disputes involving low-income taxpayers. Accordingly, even the most accomplished practitioners will tend to find those matters more daunting than they feel capable of taking on efficiently.

The author exhorts his colleagues in the tax bar to take on more pro bono work for low-income taxpayers. Even if the author’s observation about participation of the tax bar in pro bono matters is untrue, he considers it worthwhile to attempt to address what he identifies as the main barrier that prevents many tax lawyers from taking on more pro bono work — lack of a relatively easy path to becoming familiar with the relevant subject matter. This report provides basic background and some practical insights into several of those relevant areas of law, specifically, the EITC, dependency exemptions, head of household filing status, innocent spouse relief, and more. An earlier version of this article was presented to the Tax Forum in New York City on March 27, 2005, many of whose members are now more heavily involved in pro bono tax matters.