IRS Chief Counsel William J. WIlkins seeks applications from full, associate, or assistant law professors at ABA-accredited law schools to serve as the 2011-12 Professor in Residence (September 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012):

The Professor in Residence Program.  The Professor in Residence Program at the IRS Office of Chief Counsel is designed to achieve greater understanding of the academic and governmental perspectives on the development of tax law and policy. The program provides one law school professor per year the opportunity to apply his or her scholarly experience, research and writing in tax law to the full range of technical legal work and litigation handled by the Office of Chief Counsel by serving full-time on the Chief Counsel’s immediate staff for a full academic year. This prestigious position will enhance the professor’s stature within the tax bar and provide him or her the ability to serve the public and the law by meaningfully contributing to the development of tax policy, as well as to attain a comprehensive understanding of the Office of Chief Counsel. The program will also positively reflect upon the sponsoring law school’s reputation for excellence and help stimulate the interest of its students in public service and tax practice. The fresh ideas and perspectives brought to the position by the Professor in Residence will greatly benefit the Office of Chief Counsel and its attorneys as they pursue their mission to provide the best possible legal support to the IRS.

Position Description.  The Professor in Residence will undertake assignments of legal, technical and tax matters. The range of projects the Professor In Residence may be asked to undertake include the development of regulations, rulings, proposed legislation, technical advice, and matters affecting litigation, as directed by the Chief Counsel or his designee. The Professor In Residence will, from time to time, be called upon to perform exhaustive and detailed research on difficult, important, complex and/or complicated legal problems and/or tax matters; consider legal cases or problems that may have broad ramifications that cut across division lines; prepare and/or make recommendations and/or render decisions regarding research and findings; and advise on possible courses of action. In the course of performing these duties, he or she may become involved in interpreting laws, examining procedures, conducting substantive research and preparing technical memoranda. The Professor in Residence will attend meetings, conferences, and other events where invited as a guest speaker before Treasury, IRS, and other professional groups. The Professor in Residence may be engaged in teaching and training assignments as directed by the Chief Counsel to further the exchange of ideas between academia and the attorneys in the Office of Chief Counsel. 

We previously have extolled the virtues of the program, reinstituted by Donald Korb (Sullivan & Cromwell, Washington, D.C.). Here are the pevious Professors in Residence:

• 2010-11:  Charlotte Crane (Northwestern)
• 2009-10:  Jon Forman (Oklahoma)
• 2008-09:  David Hasen (Michigan; now at Santa Clara)
• 2007-08:  Gegg Polsky (Florida State; now at North Carolina)
• 2007:   Calvin Johnson (Texas)
• 1990-91: Laurence B. Wohl (Dayton) & Lawrence A. Zelenak (North Carolina)
• 1988-89: Marilyn E. Brookens (Baylor), Mark W. Cochran (St. Mary’s) & Stanley D. Neeleman (BYU)
• 1987-88: William H. Lyons (Nebraska), Scott A. Taylor (New Mexico)
• 1986-87: Martin J. McMahon, Jr. (Kentucky), Daniel L. Simmons (UC-Davis)
• 1985-86: J. Clifton Fleming, Jr. (BYU) & Robert J. Peroni (Tulane)
• 1984-85: Alan S. Schenk (Wayne State), Henry J. Lischer, Jr. (SMU)
• 1982-83: Daniel Goldberg (Maryland)

Application process:

• Candidates must submit a one page letter of introduction and full CV by December 1, 2010.
• The selection panel will make its decision in early January.

More details:

• The Professor in Residence is detailed by the law school to the IRS Office of Chief Counsel under the Intergovernmental Personnel Act for a full academic year (September – June).
• During the detail period, he or she remains an employee of the university:
  • Salary and benefits continue to be paid by the university;
  • The Office of Chief Counsel provides proportional reimbursement of salary and benefits to the law school under a negotiated cost-sharing agreement.
• The Office of Chief Counsel pays travel to and from Washington and lodging expenses in D.C.