TaxProf Blog

October 20, 2009

2010 Princeton Review Top 50 Law Schools

Last week, I blogged the lists of the Top 10 law schools in eleven categories posted on Princeton Review's web site in connection with its publication of the 2010 edition of Best 172 Law Schools (with the University of Cincinnati College of Law on the cover). The rankings are the result of Princeton Review's survey of 18,000 students at the 172 law schools, along with school statistics provided by administrators.

I extracted from the individual profiles of the 172 law schools all of the available data and blogged the Top 25 and Bottom 25 schools in each of six categories:

To conclude the series, I present here Princeton Review's Top 50 Law Schools, determined by (1) focusing on those five categories with reported scores in the 60-99 range (thus excluding the study hours category), (2) combining the Professors: Accessible and Professors: Interesting categories into a single category, and (3) adding the scores in the resulting four categories:

Academic Experience
Admissions Selectivity
Career Preparation
Professors: Accessible & Interesting

	School	Score		School	Score
1	Stanford	393.0	27	Washington & Lee	354.5
2	Chicago	389.5	28	William & Mary	353.5
3	Virginia	389.0	29	USC	350.5
4	Boston University	383.0	30	Illinois	349.5
5	Texas	381.5	31	Indiana-Bloomington	349.0
	Vanderbilt	381.5	32	Cardozo	347.5
7	Michigan	381.0	33	Wake Forest	345.5
8	Northwestern	379.5		Iowa	345.5
9	NYU	377.5	35	Arizona	344.0
10	Geo. Washington	375.0		Tulane	344.0
11	Pennsylvania	374.0	37	Yale	342.5
12	BYU	373.0	38	Rutgers-Camden	342.0
	Boston College	373.0	39	Mercer	339.0
	Georgetown	373.0	40	UC-Davis	338.5
15	Duke	371.0	41	American	337.5
16	UCLA	368.0		Wisconsin	337.5
17	UC-Berkeley	367.5	43	St. Thomas (Minn.)	336.5
18	Fordham	367.0		Villanova	336.5
19	Chapman	361.5	45	Temple	336.0
20	Loyola-L.A.	360.0	46	Houston	335.5
21	Emory	359.5	47	Maryland	335.0
	Georgia	359.5	48	Tennessee	334.5
23	Notre Dame	358.0		Richmond	334.5
24	Columbia	357.5	50	Ave Maria	334.0
25	Pepperdine	356.5		Samford	334.0
26	Harvard	356.0		Ohio State	334.0

Unfortunately, the Princeton Review did not release the response rate per school, so it is impossible to determine how the rankings are affected by each school's representation among the respondents.

For prior years' rankings, see:

Law School Rankings, Legal Education

Paul Caron

October 20, 2009

Gerzog: Reforming the Charitable Split Interest Rules

Wendy C. Gerzog (Baltimore) has posted The Times They are Not A-Changin': Reforming the Charitable Split Interest Rules (Again), 84 Chi.-Kent. L. Rev. ___ (2010), on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

The article reviews the history of the tax treatment of charitable split interest gifts, explains the inequities that Congress both cured and generated in its 1969 reforms, and proposes solutions that are consistent with the goals of the 1969 legislation. The article discusses variations in the 1969 definition of a charitable split interest, which, because of the enacted statutory language, applies in instances where there is no abuse potential. The inequity produced by that definition penalizes the donor and flouts the rationale behind the 1969 legislation. By contrast, the creation of some required statutory forms of charitable split interests in trust, enacted to prevent abuse, have themselves created new opportunities for donors to evade taxes in ways unanticipated by the 1969 Act. In the spirit of the 1969 law, the article makes several recommendations, including proposals: (1) to modify the statutory definition of charitable split interest to provide an exception from the statutory requirements where there is no statutory mandate to calculate value by means of the actuarial tables under section 7520 and no abuse potential; and (2) to eliminate, or to restrict the tax avoidance aspects of, some of the charitable split interest in trust devices created in the 1969 legislation.

Scholarship, Tax

Paul Caron

October 20, 2009

Blattmachr & Nammacher: H.R. 436 Would Have Far Reaching Effect on Gift and Estate Tax Valuation

Jonathan G. Blattmachr (Milbank, New York) & Scott A. Nammacher have posted Bill Would Have Far Reaching Effect on Gift and Estate Tax Valuation on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

Representative Earl Pomeroy (D. North Dakota) has introduced a bill, HR 436, that would have significant impact on the value of interests in real estate, investment holding and possibly operating entities, for estate and gift tax purposes. This echoes proposals made during the Clinton Administration. Certain aspects of the proposed bill seem to be difficult to discern and further refinements and debate are surely going to come if it moves forward in committee. But, if enacted, it or similar bills, will likely will change the valuation of these kinds of “property,” in many cases.

Update: AICPA Comments on H.R. 436. (Hat Tip: Hani Sarji.)

Scholarship, Tax

Paul Caron

October 19, 2009

Galle Presents The Role of Charity in a Federal System Today at Loyola-L.A.

Brian D. Galle (Florida State) presents Foundation or Empire? The Role of Charity in a Federal System at Loyola-L.A. today as part of its Tax Policy Colloquium Series. Kik J. Stark (UCLA) is the commentator. Here is the abstract:

This Article critiques the prevailing justification for subsidies for the charitable sector, and suggests a new alternative. According to contemporary accounts, charity corrects the failure of the private market to provide public goods, and further corrects the failure of government to provide goods other than those demanded by the median voter.

However, the claim that government can meet the needs only of a single “median voter” neglects both federalism and public choice theory. Citizens dissatisfied with the services of one government can move to or even create another. Alternatively, they may use the threat of exit to lobby for local change. Subsidies for charity inefficiently distort the operation of these markets for legal rules.

Nonetheless, there remains a strong case for subsidizing charity, albeit on grounds new to the literature. Charity serves as gap-filler when federalism mechanisms break down. For example, frictions on exit produce too little jurisdictional competition, and excessively easy exit produces too much competition — a race to the bottom. At the same time, competition from government constrains inefficient charities. Thus, charity and government each perform best as complements to the other.

Finally, this Article sketches the normative legal consequences of these claims. Most significantly, I respond to the claims by Malani and Posner that for-profit charity would be superior to current arrangements. That suggestion would fatally weaken competition between charity and government, defeating the only persuasive purpose for charitable subsidies.

Colloquia, Scholarship, Tax

Paul Caron

October 19, 2009

Harvard Blows $1.8 Billion by Investing “Cash” Holdings in Hedge Funds

Boston Globe, Harvard Admits to $1.8b Gaffe in Cash Holdings; Operating Funds Were Lost to Stock, Hedge Fund Trades:

Harvard University, one of the world’s richest educational institutions, stumbled into its financial crisis in part by breaking one of the most basic rules of corporate or family finance: Don’t gamble with the money you need to pay the daily bills.

The university disclosed yesterday that it had lost $1.8 billion in cash – money it relies on for the school’s everyday expenses – by investing it with its endowment fund, instead of keeping it in safe, bank-like accounts.

Legal Education

Paul Caron

October 19, 2009

Union Carbide and the Research Tax Credit

Charles Medallis (KPMG) & Leonard "Jay" Hite (KPMG) have posted Union Carbide: Good News and Guidance on the Research Credit, 125 Tax Notes 213 (Oct. 12, 2009), on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

This article suggests that the news may actually be good for taxpayers that engage in manufacturing process research, including those companies that must conduct experimental trial runs as part of their process of experimentation. The article makes observations regarding the court’s analyses and conclusions on several contentious issues that have arisen in recent research credit controversies between taxpayers and the IRS, and it concludes with some industry specific observations on the application of the court’s analyses.

New Cases, Scholarship, Tax

Paul Caron

October 19, 2009

WSJ: ObamaCare’s Tax on Work

Editorial in today's Wall Street Journal, ObamaCare's Tax on Work: Middle-Income Families Will Face a Big Marginal Rate Increase:

None of the new distortions that the Senate health-care bill will layer onto the already-distorted tax code have received the attention they deserve, but in particular its effects on marginal tax rates could use scrutiny. Incredibly, for those with lower incomes, ObamaCare will impose a penalty as high as 34% on . . . work.

Central to Max Baucus's plan—assuming the public option stays dead—is an insurance "exchange," through which individuals and families could choose from a menu of standardized policies offered at heavily subsidized rates, provided that their employers do not offer coverage. The subsidies are distributed on a sliding scale based on income, and according to the Congressional Budget Office 23 million people will participate a decade from now, at a cost to taxpayers of some $461 billion.

Think about a family of four earning $42,000 in 2016, which is between 150% and 200% of the federal poverty level. CBO says a mid-level "silver" plan will cost about $14,700 in premiums, of which the family will pay $2,600—since the government would pay the other $12,100. If the family breadwinner (or breadwinners, because the subsidies are based on combined gross income) then gets a raise or works overtime and wages rise to $54,000, the subsidy drops to $9,900. That amounts to an implicit 34% tax on each additional dollar of income.

Tax

Paul Caron

October 19, 2009

Median Family Income by State

The Census Bureau has released Median Family Income By Family Size. Here are the ten states with the highest and lower median family incomes:

	State	1 Earner	Family Size
	State	1 Earner	2 People	3 People	4 People
1	New Jersey	$60,026	$72,000	$86,070	$103,261
2	Connecticut	$58,529	$72,586	$86,643	$102,124
3	Hawaii	$55,418	$67,199	$77,539	$91,483
4	Maryland	$55,238	$73,061	$85,455	$101,803
5	Massachusetts	$53,505	$69,451	$82,591	$99,648
6	Alaska	$52,130	$74,073	$77,544	$85,422
7	New Hampshire	$51,515	$64,204	$79,668	$93,926
8	Washington	$51,344	$64,158	$72,533	$82,716
9	Utah	$50,568	$56,932	$61,905	$69,990
10	Virginia	$48,362	$65,122	$74,151	$85,939
42	North Carolina	$38,794	$52,194	$56,930	$67,295
43	Alabama	$38,415	$48,075	$55,631	$65,311
44	Tennessee	$37,732	$49,110	$54,014	$64,228
45	Kentucky	$37,584	$45,653	$54,683	$64,459
46	Louisiana	$37,464	$48,287	$53,461	$66,256
47	North Dakota	$36,884	$54,662	$62,635	$75,140
	South Dakota	$36,844	$54,331	$63,153	$70,182
49	New Mexico	$36,773	$50,637	$50,637	$55,561
50	Arkansas	$33,531	$44,415	$48,721	$57,905
51	Mississippi	$32,068	$42,758	$46,685	$58,518

For more, see The Faculty Lounge, Credit Slips.

Tax

Paul Caron

October 19, 2009

State Tax Revenues Plummet 16.3%

The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government reports that state tax revenues continue to decline at a record rate, down 16.3% in the second quarter of 2009. Personal income tax revenues declined 27.5% and sales tax revenues declined 9.5% — the steepest declines since 1963. Combined state and local tax revenues declined 12.2% (again the steepest decline since 1963). State Tax Revenues Show Record Drop, for Second Consecutive Quarter (press release):

1

Alaska

-86.5%

2

New Mexico

-30.8%

3

Oregon

-27.3%

4

Arizona

-26.7%

5

Delaware

-25.1%

6

Wisconsin

-24.3%

7

Colorado

-23.6%

8

New York

-22.0%

9

North Carolina

-21.9%

10

Oklahoma

-21.8%

Tax, Think Tank Reports

Paul Caron

October 19, 2009

2010 Princeton Review Law School Rankings: Which Students Study the Most (and Least)?

Last week, I blogged the lists of the Top 10 law schools in eleven categories posted on Princeton Review’s web site in connection with its publication of the 2010 edition of Best 172 Law Schools (with the University of Cincinnati College of Law on the cover). The rankings are the result of Princeton Review’s survey of 18,000 students at the 172 law schools, along with school statistics provided by administrators.

I have extracted from the individual profiles of the 172 law schools all of the available data to rank the schools in six categories. I will report each day on one of the ranking categories.

Hours of Study Per Day. From our student survey. The average number of hours students at the school report studying each day.

Here are the law schools where students study the most and the least per day:

	School	Hours		School	Hours
1	Villanova	7.50	138	Georgia State	3.76
2	Loyola-Chicago	6.60		Virginia	3.76
3	Campbell	5.70	140	Florida State	3.75
4	Baylor	5.57	141	Mississippi College	3.74
5	Cornell	5.50		UC-Berkeley	3.74
6	BYU	5.42	143	New Mexico	3.73
7	Roger Williams	5.35		Wayne State	3.73
8	Franklin Pierce	5.30	145	Fordham	3.68
9	Syracuse	5.26	146	Harvard	3.67
10	District of Columbia	5.20		Southwestern	3.67
11	N. Carolina Central	5.20	148	North Dakota	3.63
12	McGeorge	5.18	149	Rutgers-Newark	3.59
13	Gonzaga	5.17	150	Northern Illinois	3.58
	Thomas Cooley	5.17		UCLA	3.58
15	Mercer	5.14	152	Nova	3.55
16	Albany	5.13	153	Mississippi	3.53
17	John Marshall	5.12	154	Cardozo	3.50
18	Vermont	5.08		Oklahoma	3.50
19	Willamette	5.07	156	LSU	3.41
20	West Virginia	5.06	157	Kansas	3.38
21	Michigan State	5.04	158	USC	3.32
22	Dayton	5.00		Texas	3.32
23	La Verne	4.99	160	Nebraska	3.28
24	Ohio Northern	4.97	161	Illinois	1.50
25	Boston University	4.94		Yale	1.50

Ten schools did not report this data to the Princeton Review: Appalachian, Ave Maria, Charleston, CUNY, Florida International, Phoenix, Rutgers-Camden, St. Thomas (Minneapolis), SUNY-Buffalo, and UNLV.

Unfortunately, the Princeton Review did not release the response rate per school, so it is impossible to determine how the rankings are affected by each school’s representation among the respondents.

For prior years’ rankings, see:

Law School Rankings, Legal Education

2010 Princeton Review Top 50 Law Schools

Gerzog: Reforming the Charitable Split Interest Rules

Blattmachr & Nammacher: H.R. 436 Would Have Far Reaching Effect on Gift and Estate Tax Valuation

Galle Presents The Role of Charity in a Federal System Today at Loyola-L.A.

Harvard Blows $1.8 Billion by Investing “Cash” Holdings in Hedge Funds

Union Carbide and the Research Tax Credit

WSJ: ObamaCare’s Tax on Work

Median Family Income by State

State Tax Revenues Plummet 16.3%

2010 Princeton Review Law School Rankings: Which Students Study the Most (and Least)?

2026-27 U.S. News Constitutional Law Rankings

McCormick-Unilever and the Next Wave of Reverse Morris Trust Deals

Top Law Schools in Government Law?

1	Alaska	-86.5%
2	New Mexico	-30.8%
3	Oregon	-27.3%
4	Arizona	-26.7%
5	Delaware	-25.1%
6	Wisconsin	-24.3%
7	Colorado	-23.6%
8	New York	-22.0%
9	North Carolina	-21.9%
10	Oklahoma	-21.8%