I was recently invited back to Georgetown Law to participate in a panel for incoming LL.M. students. Like every responsible event right now, this panel was held virtually.
The theme was how LL.M. students can best navigate this (not so new) virtual environment for job-hunting purposes.
I spotted another mural by Lisa Marie while walking in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington D.C.
I recently had the chance to return to Georgetown Law to help with mock interviews. I get invited back to campus a few times a year either to speak on alumni panels or for networking receptions. It is always refreshing to visit campus and meet the next batch of Georgetown tax lawyers right before they start their careers.
There was a scene on a recent episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race where one of the contestants (Kameron Michaels) does extremely well in the challenge, but still prepares for the elimination lip sync just in case she is in the bottom 2 that week.
The other contestants scold Kameron for not enjoying her success, but Kameron says that she’s not the type to prematurely celebrate achievements.
While the people around me celebrated finishing tests and reaching milestones, I preoccupied myself with contingency plans.
Even when I did accomplish goals, I still ran through worst-case scenarios and planned for what would come next. Passed the bar – What if I failed the MPRE? Got a job offer – What if it’s rescinded? Finished finals – What if I failed Partnership Taxation?
It’s shortly after 3 a.m. and I’m walking across D.C. in a black suit carrying two narrow duffle bags.
I am prepared to 1) get mugged, or 2) explain to a police officer that I’m not a hitman, but rather a tax lawyer headed to the Supreme Court.
The duffle bags contain branded folded chairs from my law firm. I am on my way to a hotel to meet an associate lawyer who flew in from one of our other offices.
I make it to the hotel without getting mugged or stopped by a cop.
The associate is outside of the hotel with a woman from a competing law firm in New York. Introductions are made and we then have the most ridiculous time getting a cab – the three taxis in front of the hotel are not interested in driving us only 2 miles to court. They would rather wait for a more lucrative fare to a far flung airport.
It’s about 4 a.m. and there are already dozens of people camped out in line.
Professional line-standers in front of the Supreme Court.
The lines in front of the Supreme Court before the Wayfair v. South Dakota oral arguments.
The case that attracted this odd mix of tax lawyers, tourists, and professional line-standers is South Dakota v. Wayfair. This is the first major state and local tax (SALT) case to reach the Supreme Court in about 25 years and my SALT professors have been buzzing about the case ever since my first week at Georgetown’s tax LL.M. program.
In August, I never imagined that I would actually be present at such an important Supreme Court oral argument. (The timing at the end of the semester is terrible.) And yet here I am, in the middle of the night among new coworkers.
The year has gone by quickly partly because of my workload and the insane amount of things to do in Washington D.C.
My weekdays are spent at school, the office, and various coffee shops around town. The weekends are mostly spent skipping between D.C. and Virginia, with lots of dog park time.
Spring has also arrived (after a brief snow storm) so the city is full of cherry blossoms and tourists again. This is a fabulous way to end the school year.
Cherry Blossoms at night in Arlington, VA.
Pigeons swarming the National Mall at Washington D.C.
My job search in Washington D.C. was marked by mornings at a coffee shop in Chinatown.
I am barely in town a week when I first visit Compass Coffee on F Street. It’s August, muggy, and I am already sweating in the suit that I bought the day before.
Orientation hasn’t even started for the Georgetown LL.M. program, but I am already interviewing for externships. The law firm is in Chinatown, so I decide to metro to the area early and camp-out at a coffee shop. That way, I’ll be on-time and avoid the crush of rush-hour metro traffic.
It’s felt like spring in Washington D.C. for a while now. We’ve had warm temperatures, cherry blossoms, and green grass.
Maybe winter in D.C. isn’t so bad after all…
Every year, Georgetown and NYU’s LL.M. programs jointly host the “Tax Interview Program” (TIP) — a massive speed-interviewing event where law and accounting firms interview pre-selected candidates.
The bulk of my TIP interview invitations were from Dallas and Houston, so I had a strong feeling that I would be returning to the Texas heat in May.
But then the week before TIP, I unexpectedly received not one, but two (!!) offers in Washington D.C. — and I took one.
We braved the rain for dog walks, bowling, happy hour, and of course, study spots. The rain also coincided with a nice warm-up, which made things much more comfortable, albeit a little soggy.
The second semester of my Georgetown tax LL.M. program is marked by a lot of procedural and practical courses. That’s one of the best things about learning from adjunct professors — they tell you how things work in practice and what traps they see other lawyers falling for.
Networking is a skill that I’m constantly trying to become less awkward at, so I made a point of looking-up the chart after class. (Also, if one of the leading SALT practitioners in the country tells you to read something, you do it.)
After slogging my way through winter break, starting the semester feels like reaching the end of one of those airport moving walkways before you’re ready.
My classmates and I are beginning the semester in a distracted state — most of us are already in first-and-second round interviews for after-graduation jobs. While this is a wonderful position for us to be in, it is very time-consuming to prep for interviews (and fret about callbacks.)
It’s the afternoon of New Year’s Eve and I am among a group of tourists standing near the front entrance of the Washington National Cathedral.
We ignore the Neo-Gothic architecture, altars and stained glass because everyone is transfixed on the bookish tour guide. The middle aged woman who greeted everyone nicely a few minutes ago is now glaring up at the second floor balcony above the cathedral entrance.
“Excuse me,” the guide says, barely below a shout. “Get down from there now. NO — that floor is closed. You need to get down here NOW.”
She repeats herself several times. A tourist in a suit tries to help the guide with awkward hand motions to the second-floor trespassers. I can’t see who is on the balcony but it is obvious that they are lingering to take pictures and the tour guide was having none of it.
“Elevator access is shut down to that floor,” the tour guide says to the nearby suited man. “I don’t understand how they got up there or why it’s not clear to them that the second floor is closed!”
“People are just stupid I guess,” he says in a thick Italian accent.
I quickly turn to the statue of George Washington to avoid laughing.
A statue of George Washington at the Washington National Cathedral.
The front entrance of the Washington National Cathedral, near Georgetown.
Lamps and the vaulted ceiling at the Washington National Cathedral.
Minor tourist drama aside, the trip to the cathedral was a pleasant way to end the year. It was also the last trek out that I would make that day.
It became increasingly clear that I was staying in for New Year’s Eve when I still didn’t have any plans by 9 p.m.
Finals ended about two weeks ago. I wish that I could report that my post-finals life has been full of vigorous exercise, rejuvenating relaxation, and quiet progress on my tax articles – but that is not how things have worked out so far.
My life is highly structured during the semester: Between classes, research obligations and my externship, my schedule is packed from 6:00 a.m. to 10 p.m. most weekdays. Weekends are for long dog walks, brunch, and sightseeing in Washington D.C. (Oh, and more studying.)
One of the strangest things about taking the Texas bar exam this summer was that we couldn’t have any liquid whatsoever in the exam room. This was fine for the first half-day, but felt like a strangely cruel rule during the following 8-hour days of the exam.
No coffee?
Not even water?
Wasn’t this bad enough?
On the second day of the exam, a test-taker sitting next to me explained the lore around the “no beverages” rule: apparently one year someone spilled a drink on their neighbor’s computer, frying it, and condemning that student to hand-writing the rest of the exam. I was mortified but quickly forgot about that anecdote when we restarted the test.
Ten years ago I was in Miami, applying to the University of Minnesota Law School. I would have had a hard time believing that a decade later, I would be getting sworn in as a Texas attorney in Washington D.C.
I was fortunate enough to have a few “Friendsgiving” offers, but I spent the break tied to my computer so I could finish prepping for finals.
They warned us during orientation that the LL.M. program goes really quick — and they were right. My externship and classes have already ended and finals start Tuesday.
There are only three weeks left in the semester which means that finals are around the corner. The sense of dread that started last month has been replaced with a study plan and things just might be okay.
The clocktower at Georgetown Law School.
Finals may be around the corner, but I already took a major test last week — the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE).
Texas and most other states require a passing MPRE score in addition to the bar exam. Most people take the MPRE before the bar, but I’m doing things out of order apparently.
The MPRE wasn’t offered at Georgetown, so I took it at American University Law School. The school must have finished a major construction project recently — the buildings are brand new and look as if they were designed by Ikea.
Taking the MPRE at American University Law School.
I’ll find out my score in a couple of weeks (e.g. in the middle of finals.) If I pass, I’ll be officially licensed in Texas. I’ll probably wave into the D.C. bar (and perhaps Virginia) next semester.
Hopefully I won’t have to retake it. 🤞
Gunter – our Chiweenie who is not here for the Calmz Anxiety Relief System.
One of the most annoying things about finals in Minnesota was the cold and darkness. It gets dark pretty early in D.C. too, but we don’t have snow yet.
It’s also way colder than Dallas, but nothing approaching Minnesota-levels.
The Korean War Memorial in on the National Mall in Washington D.C.
Fall decorations at Washington D.C.’s CityCenter.
The World War II Memorial in Washington D.C.
Then again, it’s another three weeks until finals actually start, so there’s plenty of time for the snow and darkness to arrive just in time to ruin my test-taking mood. Hopefully everything will be fine.
I was at the library last week when I had the horrifying realization that finals are only two months away.
This was the scene playing in my head:
Professor B. recently discussed what to expect on the final exam, and how we can improve our grades:
Professor B: “It’s important to follow the instructions of the exam. When faced with 100 exams, I lose all humanity. So I terrorize you.”