student & employer perspectives

STUDENTS

"The Tax Court judges I met with were very impressed with the UW Program - the course of study, the faculty, and the school. Given how young the program is compared to most others with a national reputation, this is quite remarkable."
- Jennifer Auchterlonie
Former clerk to Judge Carolyn Chiechi, United States Tax Court; currently with United States Department of Justice

"The LL.M. degree is really an asset in today's job market. The degree has opened doors for me. There is no question that I have a better job because of the degree."
- Michael Lapin
Ryan Swanson Cleveland

"The quarter system allowed me to take many more courses than I would have taken at any other school. As a result, I took several courses in my own area of interest, business transactions, as well as others in many other areas, making for a well-rounded and specialized degree."
- Won Han Cheng
Preston Gates & Ellis

"The course of study is challenging, but it was definitely the most rewarding educational experience I've ever had. My tax courses in law school were interesting, but the graduate program really inspired me."
- Eugene Wong
Lasher Holzapfel Sperry

"The practice of law is challenging, but the UW Tax Program gave me the skills that I use on the job every single day. There is no doubt that one year of study at the University of Washington is comparable to two or three years of work in private practice."
- Tracey Hawk
Davis Wright Tremaine

"The faculty really take an interest in students. They cared about my well being and took an active role in my job hunt. I felt as if my success mattered to them. Plus, the substance of what I learned gave me a big jump."
- Andrew Propst
Boeing Capital Corp.

EMPLOYERS

"For a company like Amazon.com, headquartered in Seattle, the University of Washington LL.M. (in Taxation) program is an important resource. Their graduates are uniquely prepared to tackle the diverse array of challenging tax issues in a rapidly evolving business environment."
- Robert A. Comfort
Vice President of Tax and Tax Policy, Amazon.com - Seattle, Washington

"Whether it is estate planning, employee benefits or corporate and individual tax planning, we find that an LL.M. (in Taxation) is an excellent training for what we need and that the University of Washington School of Law is an excellent place to go seek people with this training and education."
- Neil R. Bryant
Partner, Bryant, Lovlien & Jarvis - Bend, Oregon

"We have highly trained tax people in our offices and it is important for us, when we look to hire additions to our staff, to have a highly-ranked LL.M. (in Taxation) program in our region."
- Charles Pulaski
Partner, Snell & Wilmer - Phoenix, Arizona

"We are so fortunate to have a top-ranked LL.M. (in Taxation) program in the West from which we can look at highly trained prospective employees, who can, when hired, hit the ground running.”
- Patti Acuff
Tax Partner, Moss Adams - Seattle, Washington

"Obviously, we like the fact that students are getting their tax training here in the Pacific Northwest. It makes it easy for us to meet highly capable applicants.
But the best part is that the caliber of students at Washington is just as good as (and often better than) any other graduate tax program with a national reputation."
- Garfield Jeffers
Partner, Jeffers, Danielson, Sonn & Aylward

"We have hired a number of students from the U.W. Graduate Program in Taxation and we could not be more pleased. When we hire a student from the Program, we know we are getting someone well-versed in tax law who has spent the last several months deep in the trenches of complex statutes and regulations. A Washington tax graduate has the functional knowledge of someone with two or three years of practice experience."
- LaVerne Woods
Partner, Davis Wright Tremaine - Seattle, Washington

"The University of Washington program in taxation has been a real benefit to us. Our hires from its program, highly trained in estate planning, as well as other areas of Federal taxation, have been a real benefit to us right from the very beginning."
- Robert T. Huston
Partner, Cable, Huston, Benedict, Haagensen & Lloyd - Portland, Oregon

"Tax planning for a business like ours constantly presents incredible challenges. We are so pleased to have the superb University of Washington Graduate Program in Taxation in our backyard. Looking over their students provides us with an excellent opportunity."
- Karl Ege
General Counsel & Secretary, Frank Russell Company - Tacoma, Washington

"We have found that graduates of the University of Washington Law School Tax Program are better prepared for the rigors of a sophisticated practice. They already have a strong background in many different aspects of taxation, which allows them to perform their work more creatively and efficiently. This benefits both us and our clients."
- Steve Severin
Tax Partner, Deloitte & Touche - New York City, New York, and Seattle, Washington