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Graduate Taxation Program
Director: Professor Gina M. Torielli
toriellg@cooley.edu
(248) 751-7800, ext. 7744
Assistant Director: Professor Joni Larson
larsonj@cooley.edu
(517) 371-5140, ext. 2706
Graduate Programs Office:
LLM@cooley.edu
(517) 371-5140
LL.M. Degree Requirements
Distance Education
J.D./LL.M. Joint Degree in Taxation
Guest (Non-Degree) Student Status
Required Courses
Elective Courses
Externship Opportunities
Faculty
Course Schedules
The Thomas M. Cooley Graduate Taxation Program provides a practice-oriented curriculum, designed to help lawyers expand their practice opportunities by obtaining both a better understanding of tax law and a respected credential in the tax field. Our focus is to provide courses that give lawyers the knowledge and skills they need to accelerate their careers. To this end:
- All of our full time and adjunct faculty have significant experience in a variety of tax practice settings and specialties;
- Our curriculum is designed to produce results for practitioners, as we use problem-oriented teaching; and,
- We permit specialization within tax law through special mixes of electives and independent study for those who wish to specialize in estate planning or become corporate counsel.
The LL.M. degree can be earned at Cooley's campuses in Lansing, Auburn Hills, and Grand Rapids. The program provides flexibility through our scheduling by offering:
- Weekend courses, some weekday sections and special sections beginning after the bar exams;
- Electives scheduled to accommodate our students' interest and pace for pursuing the degree, not the instructors' convenience;
- Accelerated classes to accommodate our students' desires to balance their education and family lives;
- Short, one credit courses in "hot topics";
- Full availability of classes year-round;
- Permitting LL.M. and guest students to attend classes by videoconferencing at our Lansing, Auburn Hills, and Grand Rapids campuses; and,
- A degree that can be completed in as little as one year or as many as five years.
We keep our pulse on the marketplace to enhance the quality of our educational offerings and the career paths of our graduates by maintaining open lines of communication with the state's top tax attorneys. We are guided by an Advisory Board consisting of tax practitioners with a diverse range of experience both in terms of employment setting and practice specialty area.
LL.M. Degree Requirements
All graduate students must successfully complete each of the required courses and a sufficient number of elective courses to earn 24 credits. The curriculum consists of required three-credit hour courses plus a number of two-credit hour elective courses. One-credit hour electives may be offered on occasion.
Up to two credit hours of directed study and up to four credit hours of an externship may be substituted for an equivalent number of credit hours of elective classroom instruction, upon approval. Course credit is not given for a grade below "C." Up to two courses may be retaken in which the graduate student has received a grade less than "B."
The Master's Thesis/Research Project is an elective course in the Graduate Taxation Program.
Distance Education
The Graduate Taxation Program offers courses utilizing videoconferencing. Busy professionals now have an opportunity to earn an LL.M. degree or take a few specialized classes in tax in a manner, pace and location conducive to their family and work schedules.
Cooley uses state-of-the-art videoconferencing to offer graduate level law courses at its Michigan locations in Lansing, Auburn Hills, and Grand Rapids by linking its classrooms. A videoconference course is taught on a specific day and time in specially equipped classrooms. Faculty teach from one campus location to students at other campus locations. Students and faculty see and hear each other with two-way audio and video interaction. Students have maximum flexibility in selecting the campus location at which they wish to attend a videoconference course.
Remember that not all graduate taxation courses are offered via videoconferencing so check the Graduate Program course schedule for options. Click on the link for more details.
Cooley Announces Distance Education Initiative in its Graduate Taxation Program (2/28/05)
J.D./LL.M. Joint Degree in Taxation
Cooley Law School students have the opportunity to earn a J.D. and LL.M. in less time through the J.D./LL.M. joint degree program. The joint degree program in intellectual property and taxation allows select Cooley students to be "provisionally admitted" into the LL.M. Program while still working to obtain their Cooley J.D. Joint degree students can take up to nine credits of LL.M. coursework in their chosen area before they complete their juris doctor degree. The credits will count toward both degrees, permitting these students to save significant time and money while obtaining the knowledge, skills, and credentials for a successful law practice.
For more information about the J.D./LL.M. Joint Degree Program, click on the link.
J.D./LL.M. Joint Degree Program Application (pdf)
Guest (Non-Degree) Student Status
A guest (non-degree) student may be admitted to Cooley's Graduate Program and earn up to eight credits without earning the LL.M. degree. Click on the link for more information about non-degree guest student status. Please note that admission as a guest (non-degree) student does not guarantee admission into the program as an LL.M. degree seeking student.
Guest (Non-Degree) Student Application (pdf)
Required Courses
- Corporate Taxation (3 cr.)
- Income Taxation (3 cr.)
- Partnership Taxation (3 cr.)
- Tax Practice & Procedure (3 cr.)
Elective Courses
- Advanced Corporate Taxation (2 cr.)
- Advanced Estate and Gift Tax Planning Techniques (1 cr.)
- Advanced Income Taxation (2 cr.)
- Business Planning (2 cr.)
- Current Topics in Estate Planning (1 cr.)
- Current Topics in State and Local Taxtion (1 cr.)
- Deferred Compensation (2 cr.)
- Directed Study (up to 2 cr.)
- Estate & Gift Taxation (2 cr.)
- Estate Planning (2 cr.)
- Externship (up to 4 cr.)
- Income Tax Policy (2 cr.)
- International Taxation - Inbound (2 cr.)
- International Taxation - Outbound (2 cr.)
- Master's Thesis/Research Project (2 cr.)
- Property Taxation and Valuation (2 cr.)
- Standards and Ethics of Tax Practice (1 cr.)
- State & Local Tax (2 cr.)
- Tax Accounting (2 cr.)
- Tax Exempt Organizations (2 cr.)
- Tax Planning for Closely-Held Businesses (1 cr.)
- Tax Research and Argument Techniques (1 cr.)
- Taxation of Intellectual Property (2 cr.)
- Taxation of Real Estate (2 cr.)
- Taxation of Trusts and Fiduciaries (2 cr.)
Click here for course descriptions.
Externship Opportunities
The Graduate Program at Thomas M. Cooley Law School permits students who are selected as externs to participate in activities or studies away from the law school and receive credit when the educational objectives of the program are met. Click on the link for more information about LL.M. externships.
Faculty
Click on the link to read the biographies of the Graduate Taxation Program faculty.
Course Schedules
Trinity (Summer) Term 2008 (tentative)
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This Page was last updated on:
02/13/2008