Photo: Fort Rucker (CC BY 2.0)
Job description
Structures transactions and business entities to manage their tax consequences, represents clients in audits and disputes with the IRS or state tax authorities, and stays current on tax law that changes frequently. The role often means working alongside accountants on the same client matters, drafting memoranda and opinions that document a recommended tax position. The pace intensifies sharply around filing deadlines and deal closings, and since a misread provision can cost a client real money, precision matters as much as legal judgment.
Pros
- High earning ceiling (up to $250k), with strong pay even early in a career
- Intellectually demanding work interpreting complex, frequently changing tax law
- Desk-based, climate-controlled office setting rather than physically demanding conditions
Cons
- Long hours (up to 60/week) that spike sharply around filing deadlines and deal closings
- Many practitioners pursue an additional LLM in taxation, extending the training timeline
- High-precision work, where a misread provision can cost a client real money
A typical day
The morning starts with a client acquiring a competitor, and the question on the table is worth millions: structure it as an asset deal or a stock deal, and the tax outcomes diverge sharply. Research eats two hours -- code sections, regulations, and a recent Tax Court opinion that cuts uncomfortably close to the client's position. The afternoon holds a call with the IRS on an audit defense, where preparation and documented reasonableness do the arguing. The day ends drafting an opinion letter with every conclusion supported, because clients rely on it and malpractice lawyers read them too.
Tasks at the job
- Research federal, state, and local tax statutes and regulations to advise clients on the tax consequences of a transaction.
- Draft memoranda, opinions, and filings that document a recommended tax position.
- Structure mergers, business formations, or estate transfers to minimize tax liability within legal bounds.
- Represent clients in disputes, audits, or negotiations with the IRS or state tax authorities.
- Review contracts and financial statements for tax exposure before deals close.
- Track legislative and regulatory changes that could affect existing client positions.
Workplace & working conditions
Work happens indoors in a climate-controlled office, with most of the day spent at a desk reviewing documents or on client calls.
The pace intensifies sharply around filing deadlines and deal closings, and you're expected to exercise significant independent judgment interpreting ambiguous tax code. Precision is essential, since a misread provision can cost a client real money.
Education necessary or common
Juris Doctor (JD) plus bar admission; many also earn a Master of Laws (LLM) in taxation
Common college majors
Licenses & certifications
- Juris Doctor (JD) plus state bar admission
- LLM in Taxation (common)
- CPA (some tax attorneys hold both)
Career path
Related fields
Courses to take
- AP US Government -- law lives inside this framework
- AP English Language -- legal writing is argument in prose
- AP Economics -- tax is economics with enforcement
- Accounting electives -- the numbers side of the practice
- AP Statistics or Calculus -- quantitative comfort for financial structures
Clubs, activities & competitions
- Mock trial -- legal reasoning and advocacy practice
- Debate team -- building arguments from rules and facts
- DECA or FBLA -- business context for the work
- Volunteer with a VITA free tax-prep site when age-eligible
First steps you can take now
- Help a family member prepare a simple tax return and trace where every number goes
- Read a plain-English explainer of how one loophole works and why it exists
- Interview a lawyer or CPA about the JD and LLM path
- Compete in mock trial or start a chapter
