Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Emory Law Journal
Publication Date
1999
Volume
48
First Page
547
Abstract
(Excerpt)
As an attorney for approximately twenty-five years, I have been cognizant of the apparent increase in litigiousness of modem society, and of the concomitant increase in malpractice suits against professionals, both lawyers as well as non-lawyers. As a teacher of tax law, I am especially interested in how this trend impacts the tax lawyer, as well as other tax practitioners. What I am especially interested in is determining which areas of tax law and tax practice have generated the most malpractice claims so that practitioners may embark into such areas forewarned. Unfortunately, most of the existing literature focuses on various aspects of the elements of the malpractice cause of action or defenses thereto. Accordingly, I have undertaken this study primarily to analyze the reported tax malpractice cases from the vantage of substantive tax law to attempt to determine whether certain areas of tax law or aspects of tax practice seem to generate more malpractice claims than others. As a secondary inquiry, where the court addresses the measure of damages, or where otherwise appropriate, the discussion will focus on the proper measure of damages recoverable on account of the malpractice.