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Paul L. Caron
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Pepperdine Caruso
School of Law

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Paul Caron

March 30, 2025

Is There’s A ‘Trump Bump’ In Law School Admissions?

ABC News, 'Trump Bump,' Iffy Economy Cited for Huge Law School Application Spike: Experts:

According to the Law School Admission Council, the number of applicants for law school has jumped more than 20% from 2024.

What's behind the spike?

"I don't think anyone actually knows definitively because I think there's probably multiple factors at play," Anna Ivey, a college and law school admissions consultant, told ABC News.

Ivey said the last time there was such a large increase in the number of law school applicants was during President Donald Trump's first term in the White House.

"We called that the 'Trump bump.' There were a lot of people who thought it was a good time to flock to law school. Anecdotally, I can say there were certainly some portion of law school applicants who were motivated because of what they were perceiving happening in the administration," Ivey said. "I suspect we're having another 'Trump bump.' Now that he's back in office, I would not be surprised if that's happening at scale."

Derek Muller (Notre Dame; Google Scholar), If There's A "Trump Bump" in Law School Admissions, Then Law Students Have Discovered Time Travel:

(more…)

Legal Ed News, Legal Education
Paul Caron

March 30, 2025

The Top Five New Tax Papers
There is a bit of movement in this week's list of the Top 5 Recent Tax Paper Downloads, with a paper returning to the list at #5. The #1 paper is #363 among 11,897 tax papers in all-time downloads.
1. [1,075 Downloads] Tax Fairness: Reconceptualising Taxation and Inequalities, by Rita de la Feria (Leeds; Google Scholar)
2. [732 Downloads] The Role Of Unrealized Gains And Borrowing In The Taxation Of The Rich, by Edward Fox (Michigan; Google Scholar) & Zachary Liscow (Yale; Google Scholar)
3. [276 Downloads] Global Tax Wars in the Digital Era, by Assaf Harpaz (Georgia; Google Scholar) (reviewed by Mirit Eyal-Cohen (Alabama; Google Scholar) here)
4. [242 Downloads] Public International Law and Tax Law: A Fair and Equitable Nexus in International Taxation, by Pasquale Pistone (IBFD, Vienna; Google Scholar), Sam van der Vlugt (IBFD, Erasmus; Google Scholar) & Mariya Serafimova (European Court of Justice)
5. [177 Downloads] Stock Dividends, The Supreme Court, And The Great Crash Of 1929, by John Brooks (Fordham; Google Scholar) (reviewed by Blaine Saito (Ohio State; Google Scholar) here)
Editor's Note: If you would like to receive a daily email with links to tax posts on TaxProf Blog, email me here.
Scholarship, Tax, Tax Daily, Tax Scholarship, Top 5 Downloads
Paul Caron

March 30, 2025

The Top Five New Tax Papers
There is a bit of movement in this week's list of the Top 5 Recent Tax Paper Downloads, with a paper returning to the list at #5. The #1 paper is #363 among 11,897 tax papers in all-time downloads.
1. [1,075 Downloads] Tax Fairness: Reconceptualising Taxation and Inequalities, by Rita de la Feria (Leeds; Google Scholar)
2. [732 Downloads] The Role Of Unrealized Gains And Borrowing In The Taxation Of The Rich, by Edward Fox (Michigan; Google Scholar) & Zachary Liscow (Yale; Google Scholar)
3. [276 Downloads] Global Tax Wars in the Digital Era, by Assaf Harpaz (Georgia; Google Scholar) (reviewed by Mirit Eyal-Cohen (Alabama; Google Scholar) here)
4. [242 Downloads] Public International Law and Tax Law: A Fair and Equitable Nexus in International Taxation, by Pasquale Pistone (IBFD, Vienna; Google Scholar), Sam van der Vlugt (IBFD, Erasmus; Google Scholar) & Mariya Serafimova (European Court of Justice)
5. [177 Downloads] Stock Dividends, The Supreme Court, And The Great Crash Of 1929, by John Brooks (Fordham; Google Scholar) (reviewed by Blaine Saito (Ohio State; Google Scholar) here)
Editor's Note: If you would like to receive a daily email with links to tax posts on TaxProf Blog, email me here.
Scholarship, Tax, Tax Daily, Tax Scholarship, Top 5 Downloads
Paul Caron

March 29, 2025

This Week’s Ten Most Popular TaxProf Blog Posts
Legal Education:
1. Derek Muller (Notre Dame), Law School Admissions Practices Continue To Look At The LSAT Like It's 2005
2. ABA Section of Legal Education, St. Thomas Law School Out Of Compliance With Financial Resources Accreditation Standard
3. The Atlantic, The Feminist Law Professor Who Wants To Stop Arresting People For Domestic Violence
4. John Bliss (Denver), Teaching Law In The Age of Generative AI
5. ABA Journal, Straight, White Female Loses Bias Claim Over King & Spalding's Summer Associate Diversity Program
6. Law360, Federal Judge Questions Wayne State's Refusal To Allow Blind Law Student To Take Classes Online
7. Lima News, Ohio Northern Settles With Terminated Tenured Law Professor
8. Chronicle of Higher Education, Plans To Hike The College Endowment Tax Are Not What You’d Expect
9. ABA Journal, Jones Day And Two Former Associates Settle Lawsuit Claiming Dad Bias
10. ABA Section of Legal Education, New Hampshire Law School Out Of Compliance With Financial Resources Accreditation Standard
Editor's Note: If you would like to receive a daily email with links to legal education posts on TaxProf Blog, email me here.

Tax:
1. Young Ran (Christine) Kim (Cardozo), Review Of U.N. International Tax Cooperation By Leopoldo Parada (King's College London)
2. Washington Post, IRS Braces For 10 Percent Less Tax Revenue ($500 Billion) Due To DOGE Staff And Budget Cuts
3. Janet Holtzblatt (Tax Policy Center), Presentation Of New Performance Metrics For A New IRS At Georgetown
4. SSRN, The Top Five New Tax Papers
5. Chronicle of Higher Education, Plans To Hike The College Endowment Tax Are Not What You’d Expect
6. Kristin Hickman (Minnesota) & Amy Wildermuth (Pittsburgh), Harmonizing Delegation And Deference After Loper Bright
7. New York Times, IRS Nears Deal To Give ICE Addresses Of Immigrants Targeted For Deportation
8. Susannah Camic Tahk (Wisconsin), A Tale of Two Credits
9. Clint Wallace (South Carolina) & Bret Wells (Houston), The Past And Future Of Taxing ‘Incomes’
10. Luís Calderón Gómez (Cardozo), Taxation’s Limits
Editor's Note: If you would like to receive a daily email with links to tax posts on TaxProf Blog, email me here.

Faith:
1. New York Times (Ruth Graham), The Malcolm Gladwell Of Conservative Christianity
2. Inside Higher Ed, Can Faith-Based Colleges (And Law Schools) Use Religious Freedom To Defend Against Trump’s Attacks On DEI?
3. Christianity Today, ‘Severance,’ Suffering, And Faith
4. Grove City College, Regent Law School Dean Brad Lingo Named President
5. Dispatch Faith, The False Battle Between Justice And Mercy
  Wall Street Journal Op-Ed (Gary Saul Morson (Northwestern)), Dostoevsky’s (And Our) Struggle With Faith
Editor's Note: If you would like to receive a weekly email each Sunday with links to faith posts on TaxProf Blog, email me here.
About This Blog, Faith, Legal Education, Tax, Weekly Top 10 TaxProf Blog Posts
Paul Caron

March 29, 2025

This Week’s Ten Most Popular TaxProf Blog Posts
Legal Education:
1. Derek Muller (Notre Dame), Law School Admissions Practices Continue To Look At The LSAT Like It's 2005
2. ABA Section of Legal Education, St. Thomas Law School Out Of Compliance With Financial Resources Accreditation Standard
3. The Atlantic, The Feminist Law Professor Who Wants To Stop Arresting People For Domestic Violence
4. John Bliss (Denver), Teaching Law In The Age of Generative AI
5. ABA Journal, Straight, White Female Loses Bias Claim Over King & Spalding's Summer Associate Diversity Program
6. Law360, Federal Judge Questions Wayne State's Refusal To Allow Blind Law Student To Take Classes Online
7. Lima News, Ohio Northern Settles With Terminated Tenured Law Professor
8. Chronicle of Higher Education, Plans To Hike The College Endowment Tax Are Not What You’d Expect
9. ABA Journal, Jones Day And Two Former Associates Settle Lawsuit Claiming Dad Bias
10. ABA Section of Legal Education, New Hampshire Law School Out Of Compliance With Financial Resources Accreditation Standard
Editor's Note: If you would like to receive a daily email with links to legal education posts on TaxProf Blog, email me here.

Tax:
1. Young Ran (Christine) Kim (Cardozo), Review Of U.N. International Tax Cooperation By Leopoldo Parada (King's College London)
2. Washington Post, IRS Braces For 10 Percent Less Tax Revenue ($500 Billion) Due To DOGE Staff And Budget Cuts
3. Janet Holtzblatt (Tax Policy Center), Presentation Of New Performance Metrics For A New IRS At Georgetown
4. SSRN, The Top Five New Tax Papers
5. Chronicle of Higher Education, Plans To Hike The College Endowment Tax Are Not What You’d Expect
6. Kristin Hickman (Minnesota) & Amy Wildermuth (Pittsburgh), Harmonizing Delegation And Deference After Loper Bright
7. New York Times, IRS Nears Deal To Give ICE Addresses Of Immigrants Targeted For Deportation
8. Susannah Camic Tahk (Wisconsin), A Tale of Two Credits
9. Clint Wallace (South Carolina) & Bret Wells (Houston), The Past And Future Of Taxing ‘Incomes’
10. Luís Calderón Gómez (Cardozo), Taxation’s Limits
Editor's Note: If you would like to receive a daily email with links to tax posts on TaxProf Blog, email me here.

Faith:
1. New York Times (Ruth Graham), The Malcolm Gladwell Of Conservative Christianity
2. Inside Higher Ed, Can Faith-Based Colleges (And Law Schools) Use Religious Freedom To Defend Against Trump’s Attacks On DEI?
3. Christianity Today, ‘Severance,’ Suffering, And Faith
4. Grove City College, Regent Law School Dean Brad Lingo Named President
5. Dispatch Faith, The False Battle Between Justice And Mercy
  Wall Street Journal Op-Ed (Gary Saul Morson (Northwestern)), Dostoevsky’s (And Our) Struggle With Faith
Editor's Note: If you would like to receive a weekly email each Sunday with links to faith posts on TaxProf Blog, email me here.
About This Blog, Faith, Legal Education, Tax, Weekly Top 10 TaxProf Blog Posts
Paul Caron

March 29, 2025

Hemel: Capital Taxation In The Middle Of History

Daniel J. Hemel (NYU; Google Scholar), Capital Taxation in the Middle of History, 99 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 1554 (2024):

This Article frames the problem of capital taxation as a dilemma of the middle of history. At the “beginning of history”—before any wealth inequality has emerged and before individuals have made any saving choices—the much-cited Atkinson-Stiglitz theorem teaches that the optimal capital tax is zero. At the “end of history”—after individuals have made all of their saving choices—the optimal capital tax is generally agreed to be 100%, since a capital tax today cannot distort decisions made in the past. Neither result tells us how to proceed in the “middle of history”—after significant wealth inequality has emerged but while the shadow of the future still looms large. Yet absent an imminent apocalypse, the “middle of history” is the temporal reality with which our tax policies must contend.

(more…)

Scholarship, Tax, Tax Daily, Tax Scholarship
Paul Caron

March 29, 2025

Hemel: Capital Taxation In The Middle Of History

Daniel J. Hemel (NYU; Google Scholar), Capital Taxation in the Middle of History, 99 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 1554 (2024):

This Article frames the problem of capital taxation as a dilemma of the middle of history. At the “beginning of history”—before any wealth inequality has emerged and before individuals have made any saving choices—the much-cited Atkinson-Stiglitz theorem teaches that the optimal capital tax is zero. At the “end of history”—after individuals have made all of their saving choices—the optimal capital tax is generally agreed to be 100%, since a capital tax today cannot distort decisions made in the past. Neither result tells us how to proceed in the “middle of history”—after significant wealth inequality has emerged but while the shadow of the future still looms large. Yet absent an imminent apocalypse, the “middle of history” is the temporal reality with which our tax policies must contend.

(more…)

Scholarship, Tax, Tax Daily, Tax Scholarship
Paul Caron

March 29, 2025

Symposium: Fifty Years Of Clinical Legal Education At American University Washington College of Law
Symposium, Fifty Years of Clinical Legal Education at American University Washington College of Law, 31 Am. U. J. Gender Soc. Pol’y & L. 257-484 (2023):
- Robert D. Dinerstein (American), Elliott S. Milstein (American) & Ann C. Shalleck (American), The Evolution of a Movement in Theory, Practice, and People, 31 Am. U. J. Gender Soc. Pol’y & L. 257 (2023)
- Susan Bennett (American), Binny Miller (American), Michelle Assad (Western New England), Maria Dooner, Mariam Hinds (Fordham; Google Scholar), Jessica Millward (Idaho), Citlalli Ochoa (American), Charles Ross (American), Anne Schaufele (District of Columbia) & Caroline Wick (Villanova), Building a Culture of Scholarship with New Clinical Teachers by Writing about Social Justice Lawyering, 31 Am. U. J. Gender Soc. Pol’y & L. 311 (2023)
(more…)
Legal Ed Scholarship, Legal Education, Scholarship
Paul Caron

March 29, 2025

Symposium: Fifty Years Of Clinical Legal Education At American University Washington College of Law
Symposium, Fifty Years of Clinical Legal Education at American University Washington College of Law, 31 Am. U. J. Gender Soc. Pol’y & L. 257-484 (2023):
- Robert D. Dinerstein (American), Elliott S. Milstein (American) & Ann C. Shalleck (American), The Evolution of a Movement in Theory, Practice, and People, 31 Am. U. J. Gender Soc. Pol’y & L. 257 (2023)
- Susan Bennett (American), Binny Miller (American), Michelle Assad (Western New England), Maria Dooner, Mariam Hinds (Fordham; Google Scholar), Jessica Millward (Idaho), Citlalli Ochoa (American), Charles Ross (American), Anne Schaufele (District of Columbia) & Caroline Wick (Villanova), Building a Culture of Scholarship with New Clinical Teachers by Writing about Social Justice Lawyering, 31 Am. U. J. Gender Soc. Pol’y & L. 311 (2023)
(more…)
Legal Ed Scholarship, Legal Education, Scholarship
Paul Caron

March 29, 2025

Will AI Replace Lawyers?

Forbes, Risk Or Revolution: Will AI Replace Lawyers?:

As artificial intelligence reshapes many industries, the legal field faces its own crossroads. Over the past few years, a growing number of legal professionals have embraced AI tools to boost efficiency and reduce costs. According to recent figures, nearly 73% of legal experts now plan to incorporate AI into their daily operations. 65% of law firms agree that "effective use of generative AI will separate the successful and unsuccessful law firms in the next five years."

Investors have shown strong support for AI-powered legal startups, with funding reaching new record highs in 2024 with total capital investment of $477 million. The appeal for VCs is the potential that 44% of legal work could potentially be automated by emerging AI tools. Startups like Harvey, raised a $100 million Series C round at a $1.5 billion valuation.

We explore the current state of legal automation with Ben Su, Co-founder and Head of Growth of Capita, the world’s first AI lawyer, and discuss how this shift towards AI could reshape the delivery of legal services. Carey Lening, a legal-tech consultant and “recovering” attorney who focuses on privacy and data protection and Jide Afolabi, a probate lawyer, a graduate of Osgoode Law School with over 20 years of experience weigh in on the promises and pitfalls of automation in the legal sector. What are the challenges and criticism facing this change? What are its effects on legal education? What will AI might mean for the future of work? …

Rethinking Legal Education And Professional Development
One of the more challenging issues raised by the shift toward AI in legal services is the role of legal education.

(more…)

Legal Ed News, Legal Education

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TaxProf Blog

Is There’s A ‘Trump Bump’ In Law School Admissions?

The Top Five New Tax Papers

The Top Five New Tax Papers

This Week’s Ten Most Popular TaxProf Blog Posts

This Week’s Ten Most Popular TaxProf Blog Posts

Hemel: Capital Taxation In The Middle Of History

Hemel: Capital Taxation In The Middle Of History

Symposium: Fifty Years Of Clinical Legal Education At American University Washington College of Law

Symposium: Fifty Years Of Clinical Legal Education At American University Washington College of Law

Will AI Replace Lawyers?

Becher & Alarie: Superjustice: Law in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

From the Bookshelves: How to Lead Academic Departments Successfully

Ramamurti on the Democrats’ Ambitious, Controversial New Tax Proposals