NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 13, 2009

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

MSU LAW TAX TEAM ADVANCES TO SEMIFINALS OF NATIONAL COMPETITION

East Lansing, MI – Michigan State University College of Law applauds third-year students Kristi Braind and Eloise Pinto, who advanced to the semifinal rounds of the American Bar Association's 2008 Law Student Tax Challenge, held last week in New Orleans, Louisiana. Braind and Pinto were one of approximately 25 teams who entered the J.D. division of the competition, and were one of six teams selected to advance to the semifinal rounds.

Michele Halloran, clinical professor of law and director of clinical programs, served as the team’s coach at the competition. "Truly, it was my privilege to have worked with these excellent students as their faculty coach," Halloran states.

Braind and Pinto presented an oral argument before U.S. Tax Court Chief Judge John O. Colvin, Deborah A. Butler, IRS Associate Chief Counsel, and Juan F. Vasquez, Jr., a shareholder with Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Martin in Houston. Their challenge related to tax credits available for the redevelopment of New Orleans, and their evaluation of several proposals offered by their "client" to choose the best course.

"Eloise and Kristi exemplify the energy, dedication, and know-how of MSU Law's tax students," Professor Halloran says. "In this competition, they spent countless hours researching complex tax issues, waded their way through a potentially distracting morass of sub-issues, and prepared a persuasive partner memo and client letter that launched them into the semifinal rounds."

MSU College of Law was in founded in 1891 as the Detroit College of Law and was devoted exclusively to professional education in law. The Law College is one of only a few private law schools to be affiliated with a research university, enabling it to provide a comprehensive interdisciplinary legal education program. Classes offered in its state-of-the-art facilities provide students the benefits of a Big Ten campus while maintaining a small school culture. For more information about the Law College, visit www.law.msu.edu.

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