NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 17, 2009

CONTACT: KATIE GALLAGHER
517/432-6848, galla145@law.msu.edu

MSU Law Tax Clinic to Establish THAW (Tax Help for Abused Women)

Clinic Will Use New Funds from Allstate Foundation Grant to Start THAW

East Lansing, MI – Michigan State University College of Law's Tax Clinic recently received a $30,000 grant from the Allstate Foundation to enable the Clinic to establish THAW (Tax Help for Abused Women), designed to assist domestic violence survivors with relief from tax burdens and to provide them with opportunities to take advantage of various tax deductions and credits to elevate their economic circumstances.

"We are most honored that the Allstate Foundation has recognized the extreme value of our proposal to reach out to these women and specifically address their concerns and issues from a unique perspective, that of tax," Professor Michele Halloran, director of the Tax Clinic and Clinical Programs, says. "This program is a vehicle through which the Tax Clinic and its student clinicians can engage the Clinic's mission to provide excellent tax-related legal assistance to those in need, here specifically women who have been the victims of domestic violence."

With the funding from the Allstate Foundation, the Clinic's THAW program will conduct a rigorous campaign to counsel with women affected by domestic violence, to assist them with their tax issues at no charge, and to conduct numerous community educational sessions informing them about tax relief options available to them. In addition to the goal of enabling these women to enhance their economic situations through available tax credits and deductions, THAW intends to provide them with relief from the extreme stresses associated with tax debt and tax collection.

The Tax Clinic opened in 2000, and since that time has continued to cultivate and receive active recognition throughout the State of Michigan as an entity that provides a critically- needed service. The Clinic's goal is to offer high-quality, effective federal and state tax-related legal services to those who cannot afford to retain counsel to assist them. Additionally, the Clinic aims to enhance clinicians' analytical and practical proficiency, to provide them with opportunities to engage in scholarship, to foster their professional and personal development, and to instill the highest ethical standards and concern for those who otherwise have no meaningful access to justice.

Michigan State University College of Law is a leading institution of legal education with a long history of creating practice-ready attorneys. As one of a few private law schools affiliated with a major research university, MSU Law offers comprehensive interdisciplinary opportunities combined with a personalized legal education. After a hundred years as a private and independent Law College, the affiliation with MSU has put the Law College on an upward trajectory of national and international reputation and reach. MSU Law professors are gifted teachers and distinguished scholars. Law College curriculum is rigorous and challenging and the facility is equipped with the latest resources-all affirming MSU Law's commitment to educating 21st century lawyers.

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