May 15, 2007

Cooley Tax Competition Winners Announced

Dwayne Gordon and James F. Anderton V

The winners of the fourth annual Thomas M. Cooley Law School Tax Writing Competition were honored this month at the State Bar of Michigan’s Annual Tax Conference in Plymouth, Mich.

James F. Anderton V took top honors in the competition with his essay, “Nonspouse Rollovers Under the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (the ‘PPA’).” Mr. Anderton is a student in Cooley’s Master of Laws in Taxation program and an associate in the Lansing law firm Loomis, Ewert, Parsley, Davis & Gotting, P.C. In addition to his award, Mr. Anderton received a scholarship from the State Bar’s Taxation Section, a co-sponsor of the competition, to attend the tax conference from the Taxation Section of the State Bar of Michigan. He also receives $100 prize from Cooley’s LL.M. fund.

The winner’s firm had high praise for the accomplishment. "We are proud of Mr. Anderton's achievement in the Cooley Tax Writing Competition. The Cooley Tax LL.M. program generally, and this writing competition specifically, have increased the breadth of his tax knowledge. We are excited about this new dimension being added to the firm's tax expertise," said Michael H. Rhodes, shareholder of Loomis, Ewert, Parsley, Davis & Gotting, P.C.

Second place went to Dwayne Gordon, a J.D. student at Cooley who is entering the school’s joint J.D./LL.M. tax program. Gordon, born in Jamaica and raised in New York, earned his B.B.A. from Baruch College and his B.A. in sociology from University at Buffalo.

Gordon wrote on the extension of qualified tuition and related expenses deduction under the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006. Mr. Gordon received the award and the scholarship to the Tax Conference from the Tax Section, and a $50 prize from Cooley’s LL.M. fund.

Mr. Anderton and Mr. Gordon were honored in a gathering of members of the tax bar at the conference during a special luncheon. Their articles will appear in an upcoming issue of the Michigan Tax Lawyer, a journal published three times each year by the Taxation Section

Gina M. Torielli, Associate Professor and Director of Cooley’s Master of Laws in Taxation program, judged the competition. “The tax writing competition is a great opportunity for our students to gain experience in analyzing tax laws and writing scholarly articles for publication. Cooley appreciates this opportunity to partner with the State Bar of Michigan in this event. This year’s winners certainly rose to the occasion, writing timely and interesting articles on recent changes to the tax laws.”

Founded in 1972, Cooley Law School is now the largest law school in the country. Cooley has three campuses across Michigan, in Lansing, Grand Rapids, and at Oakland University in Rochester. In addition to the J.D. program, students at Cooley can also pursue an LL.M. in Tax or in Intellectual Property. Find out more about Cooley Law School by visiting the Cooley web site at www.cooley.edu.