February 2, 2024
For the fourth time in five years, Temple Law has reigned supreme at the Tax Section of the American Bar Association’s (the “ABA”) Law Student Tax Challenge (the “Tax Challenge”). On January 19, 2024, the Temple 10-Q’s very own Student Editor Victor Ficarra (LAW ’24) and his teammate Natalie Romano-Nuesch (LAW ’24) were crowned the first place winners of the J.D. Division in the 2024 Tax Challenge. Ficarra and Romano-Nuesch were coached by Professor Kathy Mandelbaum, Associate Professor of Law at Temple Law.
The Tax Challenge is a yearly competition put on by the ABA Tax Section, which takes place in two stages. First, each September, the Tax Section posts a new problem, one for J.D. students and another for LL.M. students. Teams of two from ABA-accredited law schools across the country compete anonymously to achieve among the highest scores from their prepared written submissions. This year, the problem consisted of a complex set of facts from which teams were required to prepare a ten-page memorandum to a senior partner and a five-page letter to the client analyzing and counseling on the tax implications from the problem’s facts.
Over 60 teams from 45 different law schools sent in submissions this year, from which the top six J.D. scorers and the top four LL.M. scorers were selected as semifinalists and flown out by the ABA to continue the competition at the ABA Tax Section’s Midyear Tax Meeting in San Francisco. The semifinals consisted of an oral competition in which various attorneys from across the country roleplayed the senior partner and client. The competitors were tasked with handling a 25-minute meeting, in front of the competition’s judges, with the senior partner and client counseling them on the contents of the memo. After receiving some feedback from the judges, the top three highest J.D. team scorers and the top two highest LL.M. team scorers advanced to the final round, which was a 40-minute meeting in the same format as the semifinals.
After an intensive day involving discussions on home office expense deductions, real property exchanges, hobby vs. business categorizations, and even some professional responsibility questions, Ficarra and Romano-Nuesch’s months of work and preparation finally paid off, as the duo was awarded first place among the J.D. Division competitors. Their prize consisted of $500 each, three years of ABA Tax Section membership, and three years of paid dues for Tax Section meetings. Teams from West Virginia University College of Law and UNT Dallas College of Law rounded out the top three for the J.D. Division, with two teams from Georgetown University Law Center claiming first and second place in the LL.M. Division.
Ficarra and Romano-Nuesch’s coach, Professor Mandelbaum, was instrumental in helping the team prepare for the oral competition in San Francisco by organizing two moot sessions to hone their oral advocacy skills and practice client interactions. One of the moot sessions was orchestrated by various members of the Temple Law faculty, while the other session was put on by previous Tax Challenge winners and Temple Law alumni Jennifer Breton (LL.M. ’20), Michael Rios (LAW ’21), Louis Couture (LAW ’21), and Adnan Alam (LL.M. ’22).
In addition to the moot sessions, Ficarra attributed much of the team’s success and his personal comfort in the competition to Temple Law’s Integrated Transactional Program (“ITP”), in which both he and Romano-Nuesch were enrolled during their 2L year. Ficarra noted, “ITP showed us how to integrate classroom exam learning with professional responsibility rules and execute them in real time during client and partner meetings.” Ficarra and Romano-Nuesch agreed that the practical training that ITP provided them was invaluable experience, which they were able to draw upon at various instances during the competition. Romano-Nuesch also felt that their tax courses at Temple and extracurricular participation in tax-related clinics and events, including in the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic, primed them for the victory.
Above the monetary and membership prizes they claimed, Ficarra and Romano-Nuesch benefited from the other events put on at the Tax Section’s Midyear Meeting, including various seminars and a careers in tax panel. The team was also able to network with many tax practitioners at the meeting who were eager to make the acquaintance of the winning pair. Romano-Nuesch stated, “Attending the competition was an extraordinarily unique experience. I was introduced to professionals I’d never otherwise have had the chance of meeting, and left with more confidence and opportunities.”
The Temple Law faculty have consistently promoted the Tax Challenge each year. Professor Mandelbaum expressed her fondness—for reasons other than Temple Law’s high rate of victory—for the Tax Challenge: “I think the competition is a great way to get a moot court equivalent in an area of law without a huge deal of controversy work.” Specifically regarding Ficarra and Romano-Nuesch’s performance, Professor Mandelbaum noted, “I was incredibly proud. They nailed every question.”
Congratulations to Ficarra, Romano-Nuesch, and Professor Mandelbaum for their tremendous accomplishment and for adding another Tax Challenge trophy to Temple Law’s already heavy mantel.
Josh Meyerson (LAW ’24) is a Senior Student Editor for the Temple 10-Q.